ISSUES IN COMMUNICATION

DESIGN PROFESSION
Creative Brief and Contractual Agreement

By

Dr Ginn Assibey Bonsu

Communication Design Department
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Lecture Objectives
At the end of this lecture students should be able to:
1. explain creative brief and contractual agreement;
2. state the importance of creative brief and contractual agreement;
3. state and explain the challenges associated with creative brief;
4. state and explain the key components of a creative brief and
contractual agreement as aids for developing them.
What is a creative brief?

It is a document used by the creative professionals for guidance when creating

creative deliverables such as logo, advertising copies, websites and more. it's
serves as a key element to any overall strategy and project goal.

It can also be defined as a document that organizes a client’s objectives and

serves as a guide throughout the design process.
Benefits of a creative brief?
1. It ensures that all the design project team members are well informed about
the design project to be executed to enable them work collaboratively.
2. It helps communication designers to know the communication objective of the
project.
3. It directs the creative journey to achieve the project’s communication
objectives and keeps the creative team on course.
4. It ensures that the communication designers work according to the timeframe
given for the project deliverables.
5. It helps the communication designers to work faster since they have all
needed materials from the onset.
Challenges surrounding with a creative brief
1. Lack of detailed information from clients on what clients want.
2. Some clients do not know exactly want and therefore their explanations are
blurred
3. Some graphic designers who are not used to working with creative briefs may
have wrong understanding of task at hand.
4. Some communication designers undervalue the importance of a creative brief
and therefore work mostly from their intuition instead of using the brief as a
guide.
5. Some clients keep on adjusting their creative briefs while the communication
designer is far advanced working on the project making meeting the
communication objective of the clients difficult and cumbersome.
Continuation
Creative brief key components
for CVI, documentary & collateral
1. Client Information
2. Technical Specifications for Deliverable Materials
3. Details about the Product/Service
4. Brand Elements
5. Deliverable Materials
6. Stylistic Preferences
7. Project Timeline
Creative brief key components
for advertising copies
1. The background to this job - such as launching a new brand, gaining back
lost sales from a competitor, or introducing a new version of an established
product.
2. The project execution strategy – logical or emotional (Head or Heart
Strategy – demonstration, straightforward, documentary, expert and
spokesperson approach)
3. Project task or deliverables on this job – TV commercial, radio spot,
billboard, advertisement in transit and online video commercial.
4. Corporate or brand positioning - the brand’s positioning statement.
5. Communication objective – what the designed work is meant to achieve
after audience are exposed to the it.
Creative brief key components
for advertising copies
6. Target audience – audience demography, psychograph and geography.
7. Single-minded proposition – USP or UVP that the Big Idea will communicate
to audience.
8. Required action from audience –audience to purchase the brand within a
certain time period.
9. Project Timeframe
10. Budget for the project
12. Media – Channels for deliverables

Continuation
Contractual Agreement

“A legal agreement between two parties in which each agrees to do, make,
buy, or sell a good or service, or in which one party grants a right or
undertakes an obligation, often in exchange for a fee. It is also referred to as a
binding agreement”.

“Designing compelling art for your client or delivering on their vision is

important, but your design skills and talents alone won't help you create a
successful career.”
Contractual Agreement - issues

1. Some designers think they don't need a contract because they know their
clients and won't have an issue over what they are going to provide. The truth
is that you never know when something can go wrong.
2. Without contractual agreement project creeps are likely and that can cost you
time and money.
3. Working without a contract exposes you to liability.
4. It also makes it difficult to enforce your claim to money if a client hasn't paid or
refuses to pay due to a bad printing, meeting someone who promises to
charge cheaper, is no more interested.
Contractual Agreement - Template
1. The name of the graphic designer and his/her client
2. The description of the project
3. The Project Schedules
4. Client Approval and Revisions
5. Payment terms
6. Confidentiality
7. Ownership Rights
8. Representations and Warranties - Designer and Client4
9. Limitation of Liability
10. Severability
11. Legal Fees
12. Legal and Binding Agreement
13. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
14. Entire Agreement
15. The Parties agree to the terms and conditions set forth above as demonstrated by their signatures as follows:
References
https://www.business2community.com/strategy/6-reasons-important-strong-creative-brief-01450576
https://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Contractual+agreement
https://www.upcounsel.com/graphic-design-contracts