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The Brief Version 1
Where to post the brief: Post each draft of your brief into the writing folder in your project tab. Give each draft a title "brief v1", "brief v2", "final".
The brief is a strong narrative that ties together the Why, How and What and Who of your project through clear, cogent writing. It tells the story of how your idea was born, developed, and manifested.
Create 1 post titled “The Brief” in the Writing tab with text that includes the following 2 items, numbered:
- A 1-2 sentence project description that describes your project in just two sentences to someone who knows nothing about it. This communicates the fundamental information of your project and will serve as the basis of the Project Description that appears in your transcript. This description should not include the name of the project and should be written in the third person. The description should address the following questions:
- What is the "soul" of your project? Describe the idea of the project in conceptual terms. This should paint a conceptual picture in the readers mind. (1 sentences)
- What is the "body" of your project? Describe the basic technical or physical construction of the project. This should NOT go into excessive detail, just provide an overview. Describe the project to someone with no technical knowledge in as few words as possible. The reader should be able to envision what the project looks like.
examples:
Night Light Blankie: A child's sensory blanket that provides comfort and privacy in the high stress environment of the hospital using weight, textures, and light. The blanket transforms into a mini light up fort over a child’s head.
Cocoon: a shroud that explores human spirituality and the concept of life after death through the use of repetitive religious iconography. Composed of over 300 pieces of laser cut balsa wood lined with space tape, the icons are arranged using a mathematical strange attractor.
- A 1-2 paragraph brief for your project based on the description below. This writing should focus on style. The NuVu writing coach will give you feedback and you will have the opportunity to revise this text before the final presentation. The primary purpose of The Brief is to explain, entice, and convince the reader that your project is amazing and important. Imagine your project on display in the Museum of Modern Art. The Brief is hanging on the wall next to your work. In 1-2 paragraphs, a viewer should understand what your project is, why it exists, and how you made it, and who it is for. More importantly, the viewer should be interested and care. You will draw them into your project through a compelling narrative.
Things to think about:- Use the information in your Outline if you used this. Then you must weave it together into a clear story.
- The what is a clear statement of the thesis or problem+solution. Your project description for your transcript (#1 above) can be adapted for this purpose.
- The why explains how your project changes the world. It is the reason your project exists – what social issue is it engaging, who is your project helping, how does the project change the world, and what important social, intellectual, or technical questions does it raise? The scope of the why can vary widely.
- The how briefly explains what technical prowess, innovative methods, or cool materials you used in your solution.
- The who explains who will use your design, why they will use it, and in what context.
- Think of the reader - it is good to imagine that a college admissions officer AND a potential employer in the field of your design should both be able to understand and be excited by the project based on your writing.
Write in the Third person in an explanatory fashion. Resist using I, WE, OUR, or YOU and focus on describing the work.
For some students, creating an Outline first can prove a helpful step prior to creating the written brief. The following questions can be considered prior to drafting your Brief:
- How would you describe your project in just two sentences to someone who knows nothing about it?
- What is the "soul" of your project? Describe the idea of the project in conceptual terms. This should paint a conceptual picture in the readers mind. (1 sentences)
- What is the "body" of your project? Describe the basic technical or physical construction of the project. This should NOT go into excessive detail, just provide an overview. Describe the project to someone with no technical knowledge in as few words as possible. The reader should be able to envision what the project looks like.
- Why does your project exist? The why explains how your project changes the world. It is the reason your project exists –
- What social issue does your project engage, if applicable? (1 sentence)
- Who is your project helping, if applicable? (1 sentence)
- What important social, intellectual, or technical questions does it raise? (1 sentence)
- Who is the project for? Who will use it and in what context, if applicable (1 sentence) If you are designing for a specific person, answer the following:
- What is the client's name and what is their medical condition, if any? (1 sentence)
- How does their condition relate to your project? Include concise and compelling information about the client you are working with, their condition, and how that relates to your project design. (1 sentence)
- How does your project work? (In non-jargonistic language)
- What is the basic technology behind your project? (1 sentence)
- What is technically innovative about your project? How does it differ from existing technology? (1 sentence)
- How does a user physically and mentally interact with the project? (1-2 sentences)
Here is an example from Penelope the Pain-O-Monster:
Pediatricians and other doctors find it challenging to collect accurate self reported information from children about their level of pain due to lack of communication skills, fear, anxiety, and discomfort. Traditional 1-10 pain scales do not fully address these issues, often leading to uncomfortable children and inaccurate symptom information. Penelope the Pain-O-Monster is a cute plush toy that uses integrated pressure sensors to allow children to express their source and level of pain through play.
A previous project, The EmoOwl, helped children with autism to express themselves by translating motion into color. Penelope the Pain-O-Monster grew out of the desire to expand children’s health menagerie with a different stuffed animal, one that makes the pain charts patients use to express their pain more interactive and easier for a child to use. Because research has shown that playing with stuffed animals can take children’s mind off pain, an additional “Fun” mode was added to distract from pain and anxiety. The handcrafted stuffed animal uses force sensors in different body parts that light up from blue to red depending on how hard they are pushed to show the child’s pain level. The hope is that, as one of many future healthcare friends, Penelope can help sick children feel safer while providing more useful information to care providers.