The Adnostic

I got married last weekend and it was pretty awesome.

The wedding was in Seattle, but most of planning was done remotely in LA and Vancouver. Thanks to the internet, finding and hiring the right vendors was a breeze, but once they're on your team, if you can't meet with them face to face, then you have to know that you are communicating your vision for the wedding clearly.

Lucky for me, because I've spent the last few years working in the ad business where knowing how to communicate and effectively critique and direct creative is key I had a secret weapon on my hands, which I am now going to pass on to you - The Creative Brief.

The brief is usually a one pager detailing the project at hand and what the tone and messaging need to be. Because in this case the task at hand was clear (Get Us Married), and the roles each vendor would execute were unquestioned (DJ - keep people dancing, Florist - flowers, Fiance´ - design all print materials) it was the tone and creative vision that needed to be communicated. That's where the brief comes in and in these cases, I prefer visual briefs.

A basic visual brief is basically a bunch of pictures that give the receiver a clear idea of what you're going for. Try to avoid using pictures of other peoples' weddings. This will tell the vendor that you want someone else's wedding and that you don't trust their creativity to do something unique. Instead, use pictures you like that set the stage for what you're going for. For instance, I told the florist that I wanted to use black calla lilies as the predominant flower at our wedding and the brief I gave had photos of autumn, Japanese maple leaves with their deep purples and reds, wrought iron, silent films, and elegant New Orleans-style decay. This pictorial communication meant the difference between black calla lilies....

and Black Calla Lilies.

Especially considering that we never met our florist face to face. For all he knew I could have been a wicked clown for life, but the brief gave him guidance in another direction.

So when you're working with creatives, try putting together a brief to get everyone on the same page. It helps them understand your vision and it helps you stick to your vision.