What does a brief look like? As in a document that kicks off a project? A brief is an amazingly non magical thing yet can be very useful in determining if you achieve your goals at the end of the project. A brief can be almost anything that specifies those end goals in a clear concise manner but here is what I like to have in a brief:
- What is it? (IE its a lamp)
- Who is it for? (IE lovers of mid century modern design who do not want a vintage piece are are willing to spend 5x what a normal lamp costs because their income is X, they live here, like these other things…)
- What is the unique selling or value proposition? Sometimes called a USP
- What technologies does it use? IE LED, touch, gesture, CNC machining, 3d printing
- what should the retail cost be, the BOM cost, and where will it be sold for what margin?
- competition: who else is in the space, with what product, with what features, at what prices?
- why will your be better then those?
You don’t have to have the answers to all of these but you should be able to get to some at least notional answers from which you can start putting together some mood boards, color and material research, and maybe a more thought through persona. Build out what their entire room, or home should look like. Maybe do some interviews with people who fit the persona and photo document their homes… I’m getting carried away… you could also just design some lamps.