Project Brief with a Contract

This assignment measures Module Objective 5.2, which supports Course Competency 6.

Objectives

• 5.2 Identify the questions, clauses and terms (scope, schedule, payment, revisions, cancellation, ownership) a client agreement must cover. (Course Competency 6)

Overview

Before paid design work begins, you and your client agree in writing on what you are making, who it is for, when it is due and what it costs. The document goes by several names: project brief, letter of agreement, proposal or statement of work. You will write a plain-language brief for a hypothetical client, using Gemini for the first draft and your own judgment for everything that follows.

10 points, Process Work. About 3.5 hours.

Instructions

1. Invent a realistic client scenario in your field: a restaurant that needs a rebrand, a musician who wants album art, a nonprofit that needs an explainer animation.
2. Ask Gemini with your Maricopa account for a plain-language first draft covering deliverables and file formats, audience, timeline with milestones, payment schedule, revisions, cancellation, and ownership. Use your name and an invented client name only.
3. Read the draft critically. Rewrite any section that does not describe your project or could be read two ways.
4. Use the ownership clause you wrote in Copyright for Digital Media Artists.
5. Add a scope note that states what is not included, for example: “This brief covers the brand identity only. Website design, copywriting and social media assets are not included and require a separate agreement.”
6. Format it professionally: your name, the client’s name, the date and a signature line for both parties.
7. Write one paragraph: what was hardest to write, and what Gemini got wrong that you fixed.

Background: What Goes in a Freelance Brief?

Think of a project brief as the answer to six questions:

1. What are we making? Describe the deliverables specifically, not “a logo” but “a primary logo, one alternate lockup, and a one-color version, delivered as AI, PDF, and PNG.”
2. Who is it for? Who is the client’s audience? What tone or feel are they going for?
3. What is the timeline? Start date, key milestones (first draft, revision round, final delivery), and end date.
4. How much does it cost? Total fee, payment schedule (e.g. 50% upfront, 50% on delivery), and what triggers additional charges.
5. How many revisions are included? This is the most common source of conflict. Two rounds of revisions is standard. After that, changes are billed at your hourly rate.
6. What happens if the project gets cancelled? You keep any fees paid for work already done.

Resources

• The State of Our Contracts, AIGA Real designers talking about what works and what doesn’t. Key quote: “People think contracts are for resolving disputes. Their real purpose is preventing them.”
• AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services The industry standard. Too long for a small project, but excellent as a reference for what terms matter and why.
• Freelance Contracts: Do’s and Don’ts, Smashing Magazine Practical and plain-English.

Example

“I’m a freelance graphic designer and I need to write a plain-language project brief for a new client. Here’s the scenario: [describe your hypothetical client and project]. Please write a project brief that covers: what I’m delivering and what file formats, who the audience is, a timeline with start date, first draft, revision round, and final delivery, payment terms (total fee with a 50% deposit), how many revisions are included and what happens after that, and what happens if either of us cancels. Write it in plain English, no legal jargon.”

Accessibility

Make the document readable by a screen reader: use real heading styles (Heading 1 and Heading 2 in Google Docs or Word, paragraph styles in InDesign), keep text contrast high, add alt text to every image or logo, and export a tagged PDF (InDesign: Create Tagged PDF; Word or Google Docs: keep document structure tags on when you save as PDF).

Submission

Upload the brief as a PDF, write your reflection paragraph in the text box, and add your AI-use log row.

Rubric (10 points)

Due