Most financial companies say: “Here’s the brief…” And most of the time it’s anything but brief. It’s everything but the kitchen sink.

‍

Yet, it’s called a brief for a reason. Just like customers don’t want to read anymore, your brief also should set the tone for brevity. If you can’t get it on one page (with double spacing), it will cause problems during ideation. That’s why we as creators strive for two things:

‍

1. Edit yourself. Than wait a few hours and edit yourself again. Just keep asking yourself; what is really important here? Than edit some more.
2. Finally, stick to the one page rule. Pop your final brief in 11 point type with double spacing on a page and do not use the back. (That would be cheating).

‍

It’s not easy. (We know). You think you can pull that off?