writing good briefs - the first step on the road to digital innovation

@thoughtbenBen Templeton

ben@thoughtden.co.uk

Writing good briefs

Web

Mobile

Installation

Outdoors

“Playful learning”

School ground games Board gamesPhysical games

Families & Kids

Raise awareness of Arkive’s archive

Mobile game

35,000 so fariOS & Android

15,000 downloadswithin 2 weeks

Casual audiencePlayful experienceOutside the gallery

2,500 artwork‘tags’

@thoughtben

iOS65,000

Nokia55,000

110,000 so fariOS & Nokia OVI

Bring archive to life

Innovate & Engage

BristolZooGardens

“Wouldn’t it be cool if...”

You could strike a pose to unlock an animal!?

Bring the space to life

Engage with exhibits

Innovate

Launching May 17th 2013

Online +in Gallery

Science of painInstantly fun

A good brief is...

freedom...?

A good brief is...

freedom...?

A better brief has...

restrictions!

Common fears...

Technology!?Focus on the audience, the outcome, the story

Buying something complicatedPut a support contract in place. Technology breaks.

How much detail?Don’t wildly guess, be honest.If the vision is clear, lay it out. Don’t be precious.

Who to commission?Engage the community.Talk with agencies because people and communication are important

How briefs commonly fail...

Asking too muchOnly so much can be achieved. Think small and well formed.

Not practicalAn idea might be great in theory, impossible in practice.

Too verbose / too vagueWe’re not academics, keep it as short.Be clear what you want!

Technological restraintsTechnology isn’t an issue, we can overcome it.Our techies can play nice with your techies.

Admirable brief-writing behaviour...

A visionA clear ideal and a drive to follow it through.

BraveryNot just following the crowd. Roll the dice!

CollaborationWork with us, not against. Get involved! Contribute knowledge.

FlexibilityConcepts evolve. Plan for unforeseen problems / new potential

ClarityNo surprises down the line please. What do you / don’t you know?

The 8 stakes of brief-writing...

Tone / styleChallenging / naughty / authoritative / playful / dramatic / serious ...

AudienceSpecifically who is it for? What do they like? How do they behave?

ContentText / images / video / user generated / academic / crowd sourced / stories

InteractionGamey / tool / feedback / collaborative / competitive / touch / gesture / mouse...

InspirationProjects / activity you admire. Ideas that can be ‘re-appropriated’

ResultUnderstanding / awareness / ‘Likes’ / site traffic / social shares / UGC etc

ContextWhere / when / why / how is the project used? Political / social / surroundings

PlatformInnovative / safe / PHP / mobile / TV / audio / Facebook / Twitter...

You only need THREE for a good brief

Tone / style“Challenge the audience member to think for themselves. Dramatic, profound.”

AudienceSpecifically who is it for? What do they like? How do they behave?

ContentText / images / video / user generated / academic / crowd sourced / stories

Interaction“Relaxed, calming. A dip-in, dip-out experience. Delve for more.”

InspirationProjects / activity you admire. Ideas that can be ‘re-appropriated’

ResultUnderstanding / awareness / ‘Likes’ / site traffic / social shares / UGC etc

Context“Our audience should feel comfortable & safe, so most likely at home, at night.”

PlatformInnovative / safe / PHP / mobile / TV / audio / Facebook / Twitter...

@thoughtbenBen Templeton

ben@thoughtden.co.uk

Exercise / Questions

@thoughtben

Links

“Magic Tate Ball” press page - http://www.thoughtden.co.uk/magictateball“Magic Tate Ball” Guardian Culture Pros - http://tdn.lv/MTBguardian

“Zoom” overview - http://www.thoughtden.co.uk/zoom

“Survival” download - http://tdn.lv/playsurvival / http://bit.ly/survivalandroid“Survival” press page - http://tdn.lv/s7uzJJ

“Capture The Museum” - http://www.capturethemuseum.com

“OUCH” the game - http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/ouch“OUCH” Guardian Culture Pros - http://tdn.lv/ouchpress2

Further Thought Den work - http://www.thoughtden.co.uk/portfolioThought Den discussion / analysis - http://www.thoughtden.co.uk/blog