simplicity & the project brief

questions complicated and answers are simple

 

For an industry (advertising) where we talk about simplicity ad nausea we are one huge family of complicators.

 

 

And as I pondered this issue and scratched my head I began thinking that the issue begins with step one (and just compounds from there on out).

 

 

Step one?

 

The project brief.

 

The creative brief.  The project brief.  The brief.

 

Regardless whatever kind of brief you want to call it … inevitably it turns out to be anything but brief.

 

 

I feel I am qualified to write about this because for over 2 decades (a score if you want a Gettysburg Address reference) it seems I have wrangled with the ‘right words’ with the intent to not only create an effective brief but also be brief (and yet informative … and inspiring).

And throughout I have encountered endless suffering through countless edits and rewording and every imaginable method a creative brief or project brief can get mangled (and complicated).

 

I like brevity.

 

No.

 

 

I love brevity.

 

But that doesn’t mean I have always been successful.

 

 

In the end I have learned only one thing.

 

 

Being simple is complicated.

 

 

Ok.

 

I have learned two things.

 

Being simple takes remarkable effort.

 

 

Even if you intend to abandon all the complexity and go with just the basics it is next to impossible to consistently deliver a simple project brief.

 

 

So.

 

 

I always laugh when I read some training manual that begins (or ends) with “keep it simple.”

 

 

Because if it were that simple everyone would do it.

 

 

Look.

Lets be clear.

 

Simplicity shouldn’t be confused with simplistic. Simplicity is straightforward and easy to understand—even the most complex things.

 

Simplicity starts with the language you use.

 

 

Don’t overcomplicate things.

 

 

Draft, rewrite, edit and edit again (and probably rewrite).

 

 

Think shorter sentences (which are almost always better than long sentences).

 

 

Avoid using passive sentences that leave readers scratching their heads.

 

 

Don’t use too many adjectives. I would suggest not using any, but that is difficult if you want to insure some personality is incorporated.

 

 

I guess its (theoretically) simple. It’s just about using plain, easy to understand language.

 

 

But.

 

The truth is that most brief development process end up “editing’ (I use that term loosely) nice simple, clear instructions (that should normally take at most several paragraphs to communicate) into a mouse-type (so it all fits on one page) malaise of muddled confusion reflecting bureaucratic inefficiency as person after person layers in ‘what they think.’

 

 

I do have a theory as to why this happens (its not really my theory so I will source it)

 

 

The book “Made to Stick” calls it “The Curse of Knowledge:”

Too much knowledge becomes bad when it becomes a curse that prevents smart people from sharing smart advice that less knowledgeable people can understand. Example:

Use the friendship paradox to identify the social brokers at opaque target markets. Identifying people closer to the center of the social graph delivers higher ROI when evangelizing.”

Yikes.

 

 

Look.

 

 

At some point the purpose of the brief is to communicate what our intentions are for a specific task to someone who has to actually do something.

And it must be communicated quickly and easily in a way that can be understood by anyone. And sometimes even communicated to someone without an understanding of who we are or what we do.

Yes. This can be very difficult. Especially when dealing with complex issues with multiple outcomes.

 

 

But we should always seek to communicate using simplicity to describe the indescribable (because that is what we do).

 

 

In the end you need to be ruthless (and ‘you’ means anyone who touches a brief) to attain simplicity.

 

 

And don’t fall under the curse of knowledge.

 

Less is more, and anything too complex or distracting will fail in its aims.

 

 

So.

 

 

I say all that because I recently saw an example of simplicity in instruction.

 

True clarity in expectations and direction.

 

 

It consists of 3 paragraphs (succinct).

 

 

It is entirely devoid of bullshit, corporate lingo, fine print or filler “content”.

 

 

It conveys everything it needs to convey (with candor associated with the personality of the “brand”).

 

 

It is the kind of project brief we would all like to write one day.

 

 

It is the project brief written by Mick Jagger to Andy Warhol for the cover for the Sticky Fingers album.

 

 

What else could anyone ever ask for in a creative brief?

 

 

For that matter, what else could anyone ever ask for from all of your organization’s communications, digital or otherwise?thinking brain technical difficulty

 

 

Simple instructions with character (the latter setting the “what is acceptable” parameters).

 

 

Sounds simple.

 

 

(its not)

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Written by Bruce