# AI-Ready Creative Brief

The quality ceiling of any AI output is set by the brief. This template works for briefing a model, a junior collaborator, or yourself. Fill every section — "n/a" is an answer; blank is a hole.

**Quick rule:** if a section is vague, the output will be generic exactly there.

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## Project
One or two sentences. What is being made, for what occasion/context?

## Audience
Who actually encounters this? Be narrow ("Dublin gig-goers aged 18–30 who already like synth music"), not broad ("everyone").

## Goal
What should the audience think, feel, or do? One sentence.

## Track
Motion / illustration / UX / animation / graphic design / 3D / video / mixed. (Changes the deliverable specs and critique criteria — see Week 2.)

## Constraints
The most important section. Format, dimensions, duration, colour limits, budget, deadline, technical limits, brand rules, things that are non-negotiable.

## References
2–4 references, named as *qualities* you want ("the flatness and misregistration of 1970s risograph posters"), not as living artists to imitate. Note what each reference is FOR.

## What to Avoid
Clichés, competitor looks, anything off-limits. Models respond strongly to explicit exclusions.

## What AI Can Help With
Name the friction: options, variants, research, structure, checklists, critique.

## What Must Stay Human
Name your authorship territory for this project. Decisions, final craft, voice.

## Output Format Needed
Exactly what shape should the response take? ("5 directions, each: one-line concept, layout in words, one risk. Don't pick a winner — that's my job.")

## Critique Criteria
3–6 questions any draft will be judged against. These become your rubric (see `critique-rubric-template.md`).

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### Worked example (compressed)

> **Project:** A1 poster for NCAD degree show "Field Notes." **Audience:** Dublin creative industry + families. **Goal:** Feel the calibre of the work; attend. **Track:** Graphic design. **Constraints:** 2-colour riso (teal/warm black), works at A1 and as a phone story, typography-led. **References:** Swiss poster hierarchy (clarity), riso misregistration (warmth). **Avoid:** corporate gradients, "AI look," stock-photo energy. **AI helps with:** direction options, headline variants, production checklist. **Stays human:** concept choice, final type, all judgment. **Output:** 5 directions w/ risks, no winner. **Critique criteria:** Hierarchy at 5 m? Survives 2 colours? Would a student be proud to share it? Generic test: could this be any college's poster?