#johncjay

An eminent question of which the answer, from my perspective, mostly gets insufficient attention in the mess of day-to-day routine. Too often briefings are seen as a kind of administrative mandatory starting point. I think a brief should never be a to do list like thing which has to be completed as fast as possible. We should appreciate the briefing as a chance to do great stuff.

So, this post is here to remind us of the unique chance which lies in every brief. I mean, in every brief!

I´ve recently again stumbled upon this inspiring twenty-seven-minute film from Bassett & Partners called “Briefly”. It gives some good descriptions of what a brief is and gives insight into how it´s used to come up with exceptional creative results.

For this Frank Gehry (Founder Gehry Partner), Yves Béhar (CEO fuseproject), Maira Kalman (Illustrator), John C Jay (President @ GX, Partner @ Wieden + Kennedy), David Rockwell (CEO Rockwell Group), and John Boiler (CEO 72andSunny) were interviewed.

I especially loved the case of the Nike 1996 Olympic games brief put into just one sentence: sport is war minus the killing. But see yourself.

Some more highlights:

“The most important thing about the creative brief would be that it has to inspire the people who are given the task of solving the problem.” John C Jay

 “Simplicity is everything. The more concise and the sharper the point of view is – as to what is the problem – the better the work will be.” John C Jay

“I put the duality in the brief which is a deadline and a dream.” Maira Kalman

 “Those ideas (referring to the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas project – ed. note) would not have come about without a brief that had limitations and an invitation.” David Rockwell

Being an active participant in culture is necessary in order to stay fresh with our ideas. As a creative person, you cannot depend on the inspiration of others, it’s imperative to create your own network of relationships with eclectic people… your ability to stay relevant means being uncomfortable with what you know and engaging with society in order to appreciate what you need to learn.