A brief with gaps is not incomplete. It is complete, with someone else's answers filled in. Every question your brief does not answer, your designer answers by default, usually on the first day, usually without mentioning it, and usually in the way that makes the job smallest. Not because they are cutting corners. Because a designer who quotes for the biggest reading of a vague brief loses the job to one who does not, and they have learned that.
This guide is about what gets filled in for you, and the one line that overrides each default. Read it with your last brief beside you.
Technique defaults to the cheapest reading
"A video for the launch" becomes motion graphics on existing material unless the brief says otherwise, because that is the technique that needs the least from you and carries the least risk for them. If what you had in mind was a shoot with people in it, the quote you receive is a quarter of what the job costs, and the conversation that follows is the one where the relationship gets its first dent.
“We would like a short video to launch the new range.”
“Live action, one shoot day, with our own product stills cut in. If you think animation would work better for the budget, say so.”
Deliverable count defaults to one
One film, one site, one pack. A brief that mentions Reels, the Meta feed and YouTube in passing has described three aspect ratios and, with two languages, seven deliverables. A designer reading it in a hurry prices the hero and treats the rest as exports. The count is the single most common reason a quote turns out wrong, and it is arithmetic you can do in the brief in two minutes.
“It will run on our social channels and YouTube.”
“Three placements: Instagram Reels, Meta feed and YouTube pre-roll. Two languages. Seven files in all; Reels is the hero cut.”
Approval defaults to one round
Designers price for one round of changes after a first presentation, because that is what a decisive client needs. If four people have to approve and nobody has said whose view wins, the real number is three or four rounds, and the second round is the one where the schedule breaks. The number of people who sign off, with a named tiebreak, is worth more to the schedule than the deadline itself.
“The team will review and get back to you with feedback.”
“Two people sign off: Mette and Jonas. If they disagree, Mette decides. One round of changes after the first presentation.”
Copy defaults to “supplied”
The words. Your designer assumes the words exist, or will arrive on time, because the alternative is to price a copywriter nobody asked for. If the copy is not written, every page that depends on it stops at the layout stage, and the launch date has already moved before anyone notices. Say whether the words exist, who is writing them, and when.
“Copy to follow.”
“Copy is not written. Anna is writing it. Drafts by 1 October, final by 15 October. Design can start on the home page with placeholder text.”
Dates default to comfortable
A live date with nothing attached to it is read as a target, and targets slip. If the date is a media booking, a trade show or a shelf date, say so, and say it next to the technique, because the two decide each other. A 3D piece needs about six weeks. A live-action shoot needs about five. A date inside that window is not a schedule. It is a problem, and it is far better to have it visible in the brief than discovered in week two.
“Ideally live by end of October.”
“Live 24 October. The date is fixed by the media booking. That is 2.9 weeks from today, which we know is tight for live action; tell us what would have to give.”
When you do not know
Every one of these defaults has an honest alternative to a guess: say it is open. "Technique open, please recommend" is a brief for a proposal, and a designer can price a proposal. "We do not yet know who signs off" is a warning your designer will thank you for, because they can build a second presentation into the plan. The default only bites when the gap is silent.
What to do about it
Answer the questions the defaults are standing in for. Most of them are one tap. HereBriefly's three briefs are built around exactly these five: technique, count, sign-off, copy and dates are asked directly, the specifications are written from the answers, and the review screen lists every assumption the brief itself made, so that none of them is silent when your designer opens it.
Nicolai Højfeldt founded HereBriefly and writes these guides. Everything in them comes from briefs that went wrong on one side of the table or the other, and from the ones that went right.
