Write a creative brief in seconds.

A good creative brief is short, sharp and a little brave

Most briefs are too long.
They list everything. They decide nothing.

A creative brief should do the opposite. It should make choices, so the creative team does not have to guess.

✦ The question behind the question

Every assignment starts with a request. "We need a campaign." "We need a new flyer."
Ask why. Then ask why again.

Often the real problem is different. People do not know the product. Or they know it, but do not trust it. That problem belongs in the brief. Not the flyer.

✦ What a creative brief contains

• The challenge. One or two sentences. What needs to change?
• The audience. Not "everyone aged 25 to 55". A real person with a real situation.
• The insight. Something true about that person that the idea can build on.
• The single message. One thing to remember. Only one.
• Tone of voice. Three words that describe how it should feel.
• Mandatories. Logo, legal text, deadlines, budget. Keep this list short.

✦ How to use this generator

1. Fill in what you know. It is fine to leave gaps.
2. Generate a first structure.
3. Now cut. Remove every sentence that does not help someone make a decision.
4. Rewrite the single message until it fits on a sticky note.
5. Share it with the team and ask one question: is anything unclear?

✦ The sticky note test

If the core of your brief does not fit on a sticky note, it is not a core yet.
Write it by hand. Stick it to the screen. Look at it every time you design.

✦ Common mistakes

• Three messages instead of one. People remember none of them.
• Describing the solution instead of the problem. "Make it blue" is not a brief.
• An audience description that could fit anyone.
• No room for surprise. A brief should guide, not dictate.

✦ In practice

A library wants more young visitors. The first request is "a cool Instagram campaign".
Ask why young people stay away. Maybe they think the library is only for books. While it has study spaces, free wifi and a quiet place to work.
The single message becomes: this is your quiet place in a loud city. Now the campaign has a direction.

A bakery opens a second shop. The owner wants "the same, but new". That is not a brief yet.
What is the same? The bread, the people, the warmth. What is new? A different neighborhood, other customers.
Write both down. The designer now knows what to keep and what to invent.

An internal campaign about safety. Everyone already knows the rules. The problem is not knowledge. It is habit.
The brief should say that. It changes the whole idea.

✦ Four questions before you send it

1. What do you want to say? The single message, in one line.
2. What must be seen first? The part of the brief the team should read even if they read nothing else.
3. What can go? Every line that does not help anyone decide.
4. What is the next small step? A short meeting to check the brief. Before any design starts.

✦ A small checklist

• The problem is described, not the solution.
• The audience is one recognizable person.
• There is exactly one message.
• The deadline and the decision-maker are named.
• The whole brief fits on one page.

✦ From the classroom

We let students write a brief for someone else, and then design from a brief they did not write.
They learn fast what a vague sentence costs. And how much one clear line can give.

Less text. More direction.
That is a good brief.