What should a good creative brief contain, and what do you do if the brief you receive is incomplete?
What the interviewer wants to hear
- Objective and the problem to solve
- Target audience and key message
- Deliverables, formats and mandatory elements
- Timeline, budget and approval process
- Ask clarifying questions and confirm in writing
Model answer
A good brief explains why the project exists: the objective and the problem we are solving, plus how success will be measured. It describes the target audience and the single key message we want them to take away. It lists deliverables with sizes and formats, mandatory elements like logos or legal text, brand guidelines to follow, the budget, the timeline and who approves the work. When a brief is incomplete, I do not guess. I set up a short call and ask specific questions, such as who the audience is, where the design will appear and what the client liked or disliked in past work. Then I summarise the answers in writing and get confirmation before starting, so we both agree on the target and later feedback can be checked against it.
Can you answer it under time pressure?
Take a timed easy round and get scored on every answer.
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