The brief is a mood wearing a PDF

The deck contains a beautiful photograph of a staircase. We are designing an email. Nobody is prepared to explain the staircase.

A reference can help communicate tone, but a collection of references is not enough to begin a project. The designer still needs to understand who the work is for and what that person should learn or do.

Ask for a concrete example of the problem. What currently confuses people? Where will the piece appear? Who will approve it? Those answers can change the direction more than another page of aspirational imagery.

Write a short interpretation of the brief and send it back before designing. This gives the client something specific to correct. It also reveals whether two people have been nodding at completely different assignments.

Keep the staircase if it helps explain a decision. Otherwise, release it back into the world of architecture.

The email has enough obstacles without requiring planning permission.