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Creative briefs: the best way to track design projects if you’re short on time
How to provide “just enough context” for your projects
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Designers often assume everyone has context, a mistake that results in a blank look when presenting your ideas.
Whether it’s an awkward silence after you present user research or executives interrupting and asking questions, you might have suffered from assuming your team has context.
That’s why taking a step back and giving more context is often a critical part of most presentations.
However, it often turns into a Goldilocks problem.
The most common mistake, especially in job interviews, is to provide too much context. But too little context doesn’t help you, either.
What’s the exact right amount of context to present your ideas? It often takes the form of a Creative Brief.
Creative briefs: a designer’s secret template
In The Design Method: A Philosophy and Process for Functional Visual Communication, Eric Karjaluto highlights how creative briefs are often one of the most versatile and powerful ways to provide context.