YCN - Nescafe Dolce Gusto: Identifying the Brief

Understanding what the client is asking for is a no-brainer. Producing a creative, interesting product is important, but ultimately it needs to be fit for the job. The main reason I identify the brief first is because it helps me to understand and digest the requirements of the client.

My approach to doing this was to highlight the key points on the brief and to note these down on a separate sheets, so that I know what the key requirements are. I broke this down into:

• About the product - This is about understanding the company and the product being sold: Nescafe Dolce Gusto. I did this because understanding the existing brand is key. Since the final outcome needs to fit with their existing brand, this list helped me to identify that.

• The creative challenge - This is the deliverables of the brief - Understanding what the client wants. Nescafe want an advertising campaign to present and portray their Dolce Gusto products. Obviously understanding this was essential because it's important that the subject in the designs is accurate and answers the brief.

• Target audience - This is who will be using and viewing the design, essentially the audience. NDG aim at the younger audience who have just moved into their new home. Understanding this is vital because the success of the design will depend on whether it works and appeals to the target audience, as explained by Mark Cossey:

"I always put myself in the customer/end-users shoes. It’s all very well getting briefed from the head of marketing and lead developer of new dating site for over 60′s but ultimately, what you produce will need to be loved an understood by those silver surfers." (Cossey, 2010)

• Presentation - This is how the client wants the product to be presented to them. They ask for a poster design and an online ad design, presented in an A4 PDF. With this, they want me to sum up my concept in under 300 words, explaining my concept. Understanding how the client wants the design to be presented is essential to meeting the brief.

References

Cossey, M (2010) Understanding the Brief [Online] 4th April 2010
Available from: http://www.burning.me/2010/04/understanding-the-brief/
[Accessed: 14th May 2013]