Create and Manipulate Complex Layouts - Part 1

Yes, back to business now, and I have finally gotten that assignment out of the way.  So now, here is what I have done so far.

31187a - Progress Challenge 01

By Colleen Sedgwick

Formalising the design brief

This challenge requires you to create a formal design brief based on the initial project details for the hypothetical scenario. The design brief should include the following:

1. The communication objectives of the project describing the target audience and the purpose and message of the brochure and travel guide.

2. The technical requirements of the project that includes the delivery specifications and possible timelines for both the brochure and travel guide.

3. Creative objectives of the project that includes style guidelines.

TIP: Navigate to the student forum to engage in the discussion with your peers.

Answer

Creative Brief Template[1]

Project Name: Advertising campaign for local area

Version: 1

Date: 5/11/2016

Overview

Imagine the city or area you live in is embarking on a new and fresh campaign to attract and inform visitors to the area to experience the local sceneries and attractions in the area.  The focus audience are young families across the country. As a member of the community, you have agreed to provide them with the design and layout of two publications that would serve as their main tools to solve this communication problem.

Objectives

These are two publications:

1.     A 6-page English language brochure

2.     A 20–30 page English language Visitor Guide or Travel Planner

Schedule and Budget

1. Identify the target due date for the finished project and any event date driving completion: i.e. public holidays, festivals in and around the area (e.g. Cameraygal Festival in Lane Cove, music festivals like Shoreshocked).
2. Include major milestones or checkpoint dates that occur during the creative and production process: completion of thumbnails, mood boards, mind maps and other creative thinking stages; rough drafts; finals and mock-ups.
3. Provide budget information for the project as appropriate: costs may include printing, mailing or other delivery or shipping, advertising and resources that go into this provision of

Target Audiences

Tourists from across Australia

Provide the following types of audience information:

1.           Audience types – tourism industry (primary), families and other travellers (end users)
2.       Buyer types – travellers/tourists; wholesale and retail travel agents; owners of resorts, caravan parks, motels, and other tourist facilities.
3.           Key motivations – What makes them act? The main motive is to take a holiday and see what the place has to offer, another motive is to ‘get away’ from it all (i.e. ‘de-stress’). What emotion can we connect with?  Holidays for me indicate joy and hope (something to look forward to), a chance to unwind and to experience something different.  They also fill me with a sense of nostalgia (for instance, the family camping trips we used to do when we were younger).
4.           Key issues – What are their problems that we can solve? For people in the tourism industry, this means promoting their products and services.  For tourists, it means obtaining information on places to go and things to do and see.
5.           Characteristics – Where do they access information? What types of media do they consume?  Prior to the internet, people used to call into travel agents and/or tourist information centres to obtain information in the form of a brochure; other people would see something on TV or hear about it on the radio.  However, with the internet, most people can access information 24/7 and can download a brochure.  More recently, they can access information on their mobile phone via an app.
6.           Demographics – gender, age, etc.  Most of these are young families (i.e. Mum, Dad, the children, maybe a dog) or a young couple

Tip: Provide persona profiles if you have them developed. Personas can flesh out valuable target audience information in a personal way and can create a common language for your project team.

Key Messages

Present information that can be used in developing the creative.

          Value proposition – show the area in the best light

          Benefits and features – things to do and see; places to stay.

          Facts and proof points – research by credible 3rd party, major milestones: show what is important about the area, with references to other websites, or to history books; major landmarks

          Testimonials, case study examples i.e. past comments by travellers, particularly those who have enjoyed the place.

Call to Action

What action do you want the audience to take? A brochure that primarily attracts and encourages the audience to be interested in and to visit their website or grab a more extensive visitor guide to get more information.

Where do they go or click? What is the experience?  A publication that interested visitors can download from the website to provide them with more information, while convincing them to visit and stay in the area.

Creative Considerations

Identify any requirements and brand considerations that impact format, copy, and visual elements, including:

          Format – web, print, video, sound: this could be all of them – a brochure (as I have been asked to do) and a PDF copy of the guide book (A similar example is the Visit NSW Guide Book[2]).

          Layout – considerations in accordance to your brand guidelines

          Tone – personality or voice that resonates with the audience or as required in accordance to brand guidelines

          Visual – colour palette, typography, graphics, photography, logos, icons

          Localization – any language or regional considerations or requirements: Australian English

Testing Considerations

Provide any A/B split testing or other testing requirements.

Tip: Testing considerations should focus on 1 or 2 elements only. Multi-variate testing can be difficult for a creative team or agency to consider. Plus, testing can dramatically multiply the number of deliverables required to be produced.

One way to do this is via a survey – either on paper or online, to measure what people think of the place and where they obtained the information.  Locally (offline), one can have a guest book where people can say what they think (many visitor centres have these where people write their names, where they are from and what they think).

Resources

Link to additional resources and reference materials that can be researched during creative development, including:

          Brand guidelines i.e. the travel agency or tourist information centre advertising the products and services

          Existing source materials and content, including business plans, technical documentation, research, websites, and previous campaign collateral.

          Competitive analysis and examples – who are the competitors e.g. nearby places and services which may also compete for the tourist dollar.

          Benchmarks or best of breed comparable examples – best travel agency or tourist organization.

          Legal considerations – copyright considerations, moral rights (would we be allowed to use the images of people on holiday), are there nearby indigenous communities to consider?

The project needs you to develop and use your own logos, diagrams, images and assets in developing your design and layout solution.

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[1] Angus, B (2011): Free Creative Brief Template in

http://www.bobangus.com/free-creative-brief-template/; accessed Wednesday, 11 May 2016 at 1:13:15 AM

[2] Visit NSW (2016): Your Guide to Regional NSW, in http://www.sydney.com/sites/default/files/your-guide-to-regional-NSW.pdf; accessed Wednesday, 11 May 2016 at Wednesday, 11 May 2016 at 2:00:54 AM