Unit 3 – Area of Study 3: Developing a brief and generating ideas

Outcome 3​

Apply design thinking in preparing a brief with two communication needs for a client, undertaking research and generating a range of ideas relevant to the brief.​​

Examples of learning activities

• Topics chosen for the students for the School Assessed Task folio may address communication design, industrial design and/or environmental design that require two distinct communication needs for a single client. For example: a program and set design for an opera production or play; a uniform and identity design for a vet; identity design and a new product for a company that makes beach furniture; interior design and magazine advertisement for a ski resort; packaging and promotional billboard for chocolates; website and merchandise for an exhibition or a special event.

Considering topics and writing a brief:

• Generate an extensive mind map of possible areas of interest; investigate a selection of areas to identify possible design problems and potential communication needs. The use of social media platforms such as Pinterest can be used to gather ‘research for inspiration’ and retain the original source for acknowledging and referencing in the design process.
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  ​​Choose an area where a specific design initiative may make a difference to the lives of others. Identify a real or imagined client and conceive two communication needs that are distinct in their intentions and will result in separate final presentation formats. Describe them in a brief. Topic areas could include: promotional safety posters and sustainably designed stations for public transportation, signage and uniforms for staff in one area of a hospital, a fundraising website, airborne food and water containers for an aid NGO.​​
• Select a client – an individual, small business or large corporation – that manufactures products and/or provides services. This can be done by investigating existing companies or inventing a background history and profile for an imagined client. Investigate branding strategies by looking at case studies on the Business Victoria website or other popular brand names. Use this to develop a client profile and outline the communication needs.
• Identify and describe distinctly different communication needs for the client and the projected outcome of the work in terms of its purposes and contexts. Pose enquiry-based questions on how best to reach the audience. Detail the purpose of the visual communication using study-specific terminology. Find examples that show effective communication in context. Evaluate the effectiveness of this format in reaching the target audience.
• Define the target audience, describing key characteristics and using study-specific terminology. Investigate and gather samples of patterns in spending behaviours and interests that link to the client. Compile a cohesive visual reference that illustrates the visual language of this target audience. Make quick sketches from these to help identify design elements and principles that are used to unpack a brief. Unpack the key information, identifying the key terminology required in the provided exemplar brief.
• Practise writing ‘reverse briefs’. Discuss the aesthetics and function of a building, object or visual communication (including print or web) and try to articulate the need in terms of its purpose, aesthetics and function rather than by referring to its name. For example, a bicycle could become a ‘human-powered wheeled vehicle’. Use a creative thinking technique to begin that product’s design generation by suggesting a range of alternative forms and structures that could achieve the same or better outcome.
• Consider and reflect on the needs of a client. Identify a group of clients such as people in different locations, different cultural groups and people of different ages. Research a variety of design versions of the same product –from cheap mass-produced to high-end design. Make a grid to identify how each product might or might not suit each client. Finally, suggest what the dream version of the product would be for each client.

Writing a brief:

• Select an existing household item that has a broad target audience and suffers a lack of clear identity in a contemporary market. Study its current market standing by observing its placement in the retail context, i.e. shelf location, immediate competition, price and visual appeal. Analyse its current packaging, summarising its strengths and weaknesses.
• Research the company by visiting its website, noting what other items are produced and how the brand is presented to the public. Use this to begin writing the brief with a client description. Introduce the need for a specialised segment to differentiate products as boutique or designer, attracting a high-income target audience with particular taste for contemporary aesthetics and good quality. Describe the aim of this marketing strategy (to change the perception of an otherwise uninterested audience to this brand and attract it to its products).
• Research and describe the target audience, including their lifestyle habits and interests that link them to this item.
• Detail the product, outlining the purpose and the context, how it will reach the target audience, and what it must achieve. Develop a strategy to create awareness of the new-look product, identifying the packaging and surface design as the focus, and the subsequent need to advertise and promote to the target audience.
• Identify any constraints and expectations that may limit the development of visual communication solutions, such as budget, materials and deadlines. Expectations of what needs to be presented to the client at various stages of development can be planned and dates proposed.
• Formalise the written document with dated signatures of both the client (teacher) and designer. The brief may take the form of a letter from the client to the designer, or a structured document.

Research for understanding the brief, for information and for inspiration:

• Discuss sources that could be used for research. (Teacher uses guided questions to suggest internet, social media, libraries, field trips, etc.) Create a table in the folio of research until students have at least one example from each resource. As a class, discuss the benefit of each source.
• Look at a variety of designs; for example, Marc Newson’s Lockheed Lounge (1986). Discuss how he combined inspiration from early polished aluminum planes with a re-envisioned chaise longe. Collect or draw examples of inspiration from a range of sources that could inform a completely different approach to the design of a new product.
• Complete refined observational drawings of existing examples of visual communications in their location, recording information such as scale in relation to the surrounding environment. Consider different views for best visual impact on the target audience. Use a range of methods, materials and media.
• Use school and public libraries to research design books, journals and periodicals, for visual information of existing examples of visual communication formats, by local and international designers. Use the web to gather a wide range of innovative applications of visual communication formats. Focus on examples that target a similar audience as the one intended in the brief. Where appropriate, include unconventional methods used to attract the attention of the audience.
• List probable activities and interests of the target audience that may have a bearing on the brief. Consider historical references that carry suitable aesthetics and style to appeal to the target audience.
• Analyse collected material through written annotations and sketches, identifying dominant design elements and principles that are effective in communication, as well as effective use of methods, materials and media to attract the attention of the target audience. Consider how these examples could be used as a starting point or adapted for individual student ideas.
• Create a ‘palette’ of design details, assembling a page of type styles, colour schemes, and other design elements and principles as a form of visual annotation.
• Gather visual information on the aesthetic appeal suited to the target audience. Look for a range of production methods, materials and media and for distinctive visual language used to communicate with this target audience; include a range of contexts and formats.

Generating ideas:

• Take one stimulus source and quickly and loosely sketch it with a fineliner; apply water with a brush to ‘bleed’ the ink, creating a quick tonal effect. Make quick drawings using ink with a brush to capture a linear profile of a form; for example, the sweeping curve of a pebble to generate an idea for a logo for a landscape design company.
• Use creative thinking strategies such as mind maps, brainstorming, SCAMPER, word associations to extend idea generation.
• List key requirements from the brief on small notepaper to keep in view while generating ideas; evaluate the potential of ideas to solve the requirements of the client against this list.
• Create quick simple gestural drawings to make a note of the dynamic or stable essence of a design.
• Use visualisation drawing to generate a range of responses stimulated by the research material. Consider reassembling pieces from the visual palette, or building onto a segment. Use diagrams and/or freehand sketching methods; add colour, tone and texture quickly; focus on communicating different concepts rather than details.
• Use two- and three-dimensional drawing as appropriate, including third-angle orthogonal, perspective and paraline drawing systems.
• Use thinking strategies to reflect on how details of the brief have been addressed, such as relevance and appeal to the target audience, ability to prompt action, effectiveness in the context and competition.

 

​​Detailed example

Designing for change

Students choose an area where a specific design initiatives may make a difference to the lives of others. They identify a real or imagined client and conceive two communication needs that are distinct in their intentions and will result in separate final presentation formats. They describe them in a brief. Topic areas could include: promotional safety posters and sustainably designed stations for public transportation, signage and uniforms for staff in one area of a hospital, a fundraising website, airborne food and water containers for an aid NGO.

Students undertake extensive research in seeking to clarify the nature of the client and the nature of design problems. They do this by using a range of sources of inspiration including observational drawing and written notes.

Students analyse and synthesise information gained through their research in order to focus their understanding on the precise needs of their client, and to stimulate the growth of ideas stemming from the process of research and analysis. They reference and acknowledge all non-original content used or informing their generation of ideas, showing an understanding of trademark and copyright (i.e. the legal and ethical obligations of designers).

Students make their design thinking visible and employ a variety of creative thinking strategies to enable them to produce a wide range of possible concepts for each of the communication needs. They think about the problems from different points of view by swapping, modifying or substituting concepts, elements or components of each design. Examples of how to promote innovation include: visualising ideas in different cultures or historical periods, imagining different materials or limitations on what can be used in each drawing.

Ideas may appear independently of each other or they may create chains. Students focus on the development of freehand drawing skills as they seek to visualise their responses to the brief and their research and inspiration. They maintain a process of creative divergence and innovation and minimise the tendency to select and reject ideas during this stage of the design process. Students use written annotations to describe their generation of ideas and explain their design thinking. They evaluate the effectiveness of ideas to refocus on the needs described in the brief and pinpoint areas for further exploration.

The brief is placed at the beginning of the student’s work. The results of research, analysis, observational, visualisation drawings and written comments pertaining to each need are organised into folios and comprise the beginning of two distinctly different design processes to be completed by each student.

During this area of study, the teacher provides several opportunities for peer feedback. ​​