The brief's purpose is to direct the designer to create the site as the client intends it to look (Chapman, 2010).
A good design brief must be clear and concise with aesthetic instructions that minimise misinterpretation (Cooper, 2016).
Evaluation of my clients brief
Elliot gave me a spoken brief, to which notes where created and written on.
However in reflective evaluation I can note that Elliot was not initially clear about what his primary distinction of the site was to be. Initially Elliot was very indecisive as to whether he wanted his website to present him as a freelance sound technician or a documentary maker.
The way he described the brief to me was unclear leading me to be unsure of what to make as a dominant. Elliot mentioned wanting it to focus on the sound technician role, however then instructed me to include his documentary work on the first page which in my opinion could cause confusion from a users perspective to the purpose of the site and may lead Elliot to be dissappointed with the outcome .
Instructions that aren't clear or concise could lead to confusion and a misinterpretation that would affect the final outcome, and possibly disappointing the client (The key to success is a creative brief, 2010). Therefore the clarity of a written brief is very important.To avoid misinterpretation of elliot's vision for the wireframe, the unclarity lead me to refer back to him for more guidance and a clear understanding of this.
The photo on the left shows how I had to refer back to elliot in order to gain a clearer understanding, yet it also shows how he still wasn't 100% certain of what it was he wanted which could cause problems with my design regarding wether his vision is interpreted correctly and how he wanted it.
The photo on the left shows how I had to refer back to elliot in order to gain a clearer understanding, yet it also shows how he still wasn't 100% certain of what it was he wanted which could cause problems with my design regarding wether his vision is interpreted correctly and how he wanted it.
Aside from this, the rest of the brief regarding content information, layout and navigational instructions are instructed clearly and an F-shape Pattern is also considered regarding layout and can be formed easily from the brief given to me.
The brief was good because in addition to providing basic information about how he wanted it to look, he also pointed me towards a website that he gained inspiration from. By doing this the style and design of the website can be interpreted using the inspiration to achieve the clients desired outcome.
However having said this, Elliot told me he wanted his site to be really similar to 'kudos.com' (Kudos, n.d.), however kudos being a company rather than a personal portfolio meant the connection between the two was quite difficult to achieve.
Kudos' website is made up from a series of photo's from the programmes they had made, and Elliot's being for a sound technician meant it was fairly difficult to achieve a similar look. The documentary work he desires to be on his website would work in this way, however since he wanted his primary focus to be on sound, putting the documentary work first would be sure to provide confusion.
A layout design brief was therefore slightly unclear which led me to do my own research on sound technician websites and personal portfolios. Although this solved the issue, this could cause problems because by conducting research myself and coming up with ideas, the client could be possibly disappointed with the outcome, which is a negative criticism of Elliot's brief.
This issue was shortly solved as I constructed a wireframe that was based upon a series of photos of sound equipment and Elliot at work which additionally conforms to the brief he set me.
Furthermore, regarding the rest of the brief content, because there was enough detail in the information given, this helped me to come to conclusions and bring together an organised and detailed idea of the content and purpose of the site.
The client explained that he intends to use the website for self promotion, due to this I could successfully understand his required target audience, i.e. employers, and begin to construct the wire frame keeping in mind the idea of self promotion during the design process.
Elliot considered that his most important information should be large and covered across the top and centre of the page, with less important information underneath, which conforms with the F-shape pattern and also successfully gave me concise direction of where to place the features and content.
The brief was good because in addition to providing basic information about how he wanted it to look, he also pointed me towards a website that he gained inspiration from. By doing this the style and design of the website can be interpreted using the inspiration to achieve the clients desired outcome.
However having said this, Elliot told me he wanted his site to be really similar to 'kudos.com' (Kudos, n.d.), however kudos being a company rather than a personal portfolio meant the connection between the two was quite difficult to achieve.
Kudos' website is made up from a series of photo's from the programmes they had made, and Elliot's being for a sound technician meant it was fairly difficult to achieve a similar look. The documentary work he desires to be on his website would work in this way, however since he wanted his primary focus to be on sound, putting the documentary work first would be sure to provide confusion.
A layout design brief was therefore slightly unclear which led me to do my own research on sound technician websites and personal portfolios. Although this solved the issue, this could cause problems because by conducting research myself and coming up with ideas, the client could be possibly disappointed with the outcome, which is a negative criticism of Elliot's brief.
This issue was shortly solved as I constructed a wireframe that was based upon a series of photos of sound equipment and Elliot at work which additionally conforms to the brief he set me.
Furthermore, regarding the rest of the brief content, because there was enough detail in the information given, this helped me to come to conclusions and bring together an organised and detailed idea of the content and purpose of the site.
The client explained that he intends to use the website for self promotion, due to this I could successfully understand his required target audience, i.e. employers, and begin to construct the wire frame keeping in mind the idea of self promotion during the design process.
Elliot considered that his most important information should be large and covered across the top and centre of the page, with less important information underneath, which conforms with the F-shape pattern and also successfully gave me concise direction of where to place the features and content.
Although at first unclear, the overall brief has successfully enabled the creation of a wireframe that was made under the brief's instruction
References
Chapman, C. (2010) 7 basics to create a good design briefWebdesigner Depot. Available from: <http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/03/7-basics-to-create-a-good-design-brief/> [Accessed 9 March 2016].
Should wireframes or functional requirements be created first?(2016) Available from: <http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/25415/should-wireframes-or-functional-requirements-be-created-first> [Accessed 9 March 2016].
The key to success is a creative brief (2010) Webdesigner Depot. Available from: <http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2013/11/the-key-to-success-is-a-creative-brief/> [Accessed 9 March 2016].
Liam Morris Audio engineer UK (n.d.) Liam Morris Audio Engineer UK. Available from: <http://www.liammorrisaudioengineer.co.uk> [Accessed 10 March 2016].
Watson, K. (2011) Kim Watson - freelance sound engineer Available from: <http://www.polarisaudio.co.uk/testimonials.html> [Accessed 10 March 2016].
XL, D. (2016) Henry Gwynne - freelance sound engineering Available from: <http://www.henrysoundengineer.co.uk> [Accessed 10 March 2016].
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