Hi! Nicos,

I don't know whether you are asking a practical question or a more research
based question.

My PhD thesis is related to the formulation of design briefs and you can
access the full copy via the electronic database. In short, I summarized
the three existing approaches to formulate a design brief from literature.
I labeled them, the cognitive approach based on Simon, the expertise
approach based Schon, Ericsson, and the contextual approach (how design
briefs are formulated in actual settings, like the book that you
mentioned). Each approach is quite self explanatory and frames the issue of
design brief formulations from a different perspective emphasizing on a
particular construct.

Based on my experimental studies using card-sorting with industrial
designers, I proposed an integrated framework to accommodate for the
different theoretical assumptions associated with each approach. The
proposed frameworks of design brief production and design brief reception
loosely based on the hermeneutics circle suggests that the design brief
writer, the design brief, the receiving designer and the given context are
all relational and cannot be discussed separately. Using the framework, one
can fix a certain element in order to understand the reaction or the
consequence of a design brief. It details the interaction among the
formulation elements, the expertise elements and the educational context
vs. the professional context.

For instance, on the one hand, if one chooses to select the professional
context element, then the implicit assumptions of what a design brief is in
the given context will be more important than the actual design brief since
there are many conventions that are not explicit and design brief writers
need to be aware of these limitations.

On the other hand, design brief formulations and interpretations in the
educational context are more straightforward and the design brief may
choose to optimize a design brief based on the required evaluation criteria.

Again, formulating a design brief for expert designers is another story.

Finally, I develop a few guidelines that I called designer-centered ways of
formulating a design brief in order to motivate or challenge designers of
various levels of expertise in different contexts.

Since I am not sure of your purpose, I hope my summary can give you some
insights into tackling your problem.

Lau, W. C. (2010). *Towards designer-centered design brief formulations in
industrial design : relating design brief perception to design expertise
and design context.* Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China.

http://repository.lib.polyu.edu.hk/jspui/handle/10397/4289


Best regards,
Wing

Wing C. Lau, Ph.D.
Research Coordinator
Address: Room A-810,
SHAPE(DE), Hong Kong Design Institute,
3 King Ling Road, Tseung Kwan O, N.T., H.K.
Tel: (852) 3928-2581
Email: [log in to unmask]



On Tue, Apr 16, 2013 at 12:59 AM, Jean Schneider <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Hi Nicos,
>
> You could take a look at the websites of the design council, better by
> design (new zealand), the DBA, to mention at least three professionnal
> organisations that have strong recommendations about the issue (they have
> to deal with businesses and professionnals every day). That's for resources
> in english, of course.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Jean
>
>
> Le 15 avr. 13 à 08:59, Nicos Souleles a écrit :
>
>
> Hallo to all.
>
> I was wondering if anybody can recommend a good generic text book for
> developing and managing a design brief.
>
> Right now I am looking at: 'Creating the perfect design brief: How to
> manage design for strategic advantage'. I wonder if anybody has an opinion
> on this one, or another one :)
>
> Thank you.
>
> Nicos
>
>
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-- 
Wing C. Lau, Ph.D.
Research Coordinator
Address: Room A-810,
SHAPE(DE), Hong Kong Design Institute,
3 King Ling Road, Tseung Kwan O, N.T., H.K.
Tel: (852) 3928-2581
Email: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]


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