OUIL503 Responsive - Workshop 2 - Breaking down the brief

Before this workshop, we were asked to bring in a potential of 3 YCN briefs that we liked the look of in order to break down and analyse them in the session. I brought in Topdeck, Propercorn and MOO business cards. 

After completing the session, I decided that MOO would be the most suitable brief for me to do, because their tone of voice suits the sort of work I do. Topdeck seemed a bit too graphic-designy for my tastes and I know a lot of others in the group were also choosing to look at Propercorn - which would leave more scope for competition from illustration-based entries.

We were then asked to complete these set of questions below, breaking down the brief into the most compartmental parts:

5 Most important words from the Brief

1. Friendly
2. Reliable
3. Professional
4. Trustworthy
5. Yay!

5 Most important considerations

1. Must communicate 'design works wonders' in some way shape or form
2. Needs to promote MOO and the services they provide
3. Must have the MOO logo and their URL on in some form
4. Must fit in with their brand and style guidelines
5. Must suit the business' tone of voice.

5 Related products

1. Business Cards
2. Wrapping Paper & Packaging
3. Stationary 
4. Personal Identities
5. Business promotion

5 Related places/people associated with the company

1. Trendy young professionals
2. Independant business owners
3. Artists, Models, Actors - Creative practitioners
4. People who want slightly more higher quality identities
5. People who want something a bit different from the norm

We then swapped briefs with another person from the group, who carried out the task again from a fresh perspective.

5 Most important words from the brief

1. Playful
2. Social
3. Open
4. Encouraging
5. Helpful

5 Most important considerations

1. Who exactly would buy a MOO business card?
2. Where would the end product be seen?
3. What ways can the end product exist?
4. Ensure URL and Brand logo is visible
5. Make sure the end result solves what they're actually asking for

5 Related products

1. Business Cards
2. Stationary Sets
3. Promotional Material
4. Leaflets
5. Wrapping & Packaging

5 Related places/people associated with the company

1. Online Adverts & TV
2. Vistaprint (rivals)
3. 'Up-to-date' Customers
4. Young professionals
5. Businesses need branding

The task was good to help see the brief from an angle I hadn't ordinarily looked at. The suggestion to look past the brief at what the client was actually asking for worked well, as by identifying that MOO wanted a greater profile as a company it helped to develop further ideas about who the eventual idea needed to be aimed towards - their existing customers? Or to the customers who their rivals are targeting?