A Simple Design Brief
How can a designer justify what he or she is doing for a specific package design? (or any design for that matter)
This is how I would approach it.
Start with a clean slate.
Begin with writing a really short and crisp design brief that answers three fundamental questions.
What is it?
-- Name of product / its identity --
What’s the story?
-- The product and its benefit --
Who is it for?
-- Intended audience --
Sometimes, a product's benefit needs to be called out loud and clear, at times its the brand name, and almost all the time it needs to communicate to the intended audience.
A designer needs to debate what he thinks should be the basis to his or her design direction that brings forward the very essence of the product's identity.
Now start designing an elegant and unique package that communicates the products qualities in the best way possible and does the job extremely well.
Then leave it to the market to decide.
This can also be validated in a qualitative research, but I haven't seen any research (yet) conducted that actually helps a given design direction (I'm sure it can) and makes it stronger, instead of dictating it to the smallest detail.
If it hits the spot, the package is successful. It will then take away the subjectivity from the clients, brand managers, marketing mangers, sales force, CEO etc. about a design solution, and have a measurable output. Further communication channels, such as advertising (if the company feels the need for it) or just plain word-of-mouth will do the rest.
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By answering these three questions does not end a brief either, but it should pretty much get the work started.
The following understanding will further help the design direction:
- Category understanding
- Priority audience understanding
- Brand understanding (if the brand is not new)
- Product understanding
- Contextual setting
This is how I would approach it.
Start with a clean slate.
Begin with writing a really short and crisp design brief that answers three fundamental questions.
What is it?
-- Name of product / its identity --
What’s the story?
-- The product and its benefit --
Who is it for?
-- Intended audience --
Sometimes, a product's benefit needs to be called out loud and clear, at times its the brand name, and almost all the time it needs to communicate to the intended audience.
A designer needs to debate what he thinks should be the basis to his or her design direction that brings forward the very essence of the product's identity.
Now start designing an elegant and unique package that communicates the products qualities in the best way possible and does the job extremely well.
Then leave it to the market to decide.
This can also be validated in a qualitative research, but I haven't seen any research (yet) conducted that actually helps a given design direction (I'm sure it can) and makes it stronger, instead of dictating it to the smallest detail.
If it hits the spot, the package is successful. It will then take away the subjectivity from the clients, brand managers, marketing mangers, sales force, CEO etc. about a design solution, and have a measurable output. Further communication channels, such as advertising (if the company feels the need for it) or just plain word-of-mouth will do the rest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By answering these three questions does not end a brief either, but it should pretty much get the work started.
The following understanding will further help the design direction:
- Category understanding
- Priority audience understanding
- Brand understanding (if the brand is not new)
- Product understanding
- Contextual setting
- Users immediate environment (physical)
- Users mental space (psychological)
- Users cultural environment (physiological)
- Business objectives
- Product/brand expansions (future possibilities)
- Print/Packaging Technology understanding
What kind of brand is it? If it is part of a larger brand? e.g. Is it monolithic, endorsed, or branded.
What difference does it make to the customer's life? What is its purpose?
Where does it live in the users life?
- Product/brand expansions (future possibilities)
- Print/Packaging Technology understanding
What kind of brand is it? If it is part of a larger brand? e.g. Is it monolithic, endorsed, or branded.
What difference does it make to the customer's life? What is its purpose?
Where does it live in the users life?
Who else might be influenced?
-- Define a tertiary audience, if the priority audience is narrowed down to a group --
This will help define a outer limit to the design direction.
-- Define a tertiary audience, if the priority audience is narrowed down to a group --
This will help define a outer limit to the design direction.
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