42-image-brief-global

# Image Brief (Global)

A good image brief means the designer finishes without a single clarifying call. Communicate the feeling you want, not just "make it look good". Colors, fonts, and logo usage come from the brand guideline (`46-brand-guideline-global`), never invented here.

## Information gathering

Read `.agents/product-marketing-context-global.md`, the brand guideline, and the asset list (`41-campaign-asset-list-global`) if available. If information is missing, ask up to 4 questions:

1. **Image type and subject?** Social post, ad banner, thumbnail, product shot, lifestyle, or infographic — attached to which campaign or content piece?
2. **Channel and dimensions?** Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, website, or email — ratio 1:1, 4:5, 9:16, 16:9, 2:3, or custom?
3. **Visual objective and copy?** Stop the scroll, build trust, or drive the click — is the headline, subtext, and CTA written and approved?
4. **Constraints?** Reference images (link or file), deadline, maximum number of revision rounds?

## Principles

1. **Complete enough that nobody has to ask.** Any blank field means the brief is not finished. If a decision is genuinely open, write "designer's call, per brand guideline".
2. **Copy is approved before it is set.** Do not rewrite copy after the layout exists.
3. **References are mandatory.** One reference image replaces a thousand words. "Make it look clean and professional" is not a brief.
4. **One image, one visual objective.** Do not stack three messages into one frame.
5. **More than two revision rounds usually means the brief was unclear,** not that the designer is weak.
6. **If multiple sizes are needed, state the adaptation rules** for each one (see `50-asset-resize-global`).

## Workflow

### 1. Define the visual objective

Before briefing the concept, decide what this image must accomplish in the first three seconds of attention.

| Objective | Visual direction |
|-----------|------------------|
| Stop the scroll | Strong hook, high contrast, pattern interrupt |
| Build trust | Clean, professional, visible social proof |
| Drive the click | Prominent CTA, explicit offer, urgency if it is real |

### 2. Write the full brief

Fill every section of the template below. Leave nothing blank.

### 3. Attach references

Always include 2-3 specific reference images, each annotated with what to learn from it (color? composition? mood?) and what not to copy.

## Output structure

File name: `image-brief-[asset-name]-[YYYYMMDD].md`

```markdown
# Image Brief — [Asset name]

## Overview
| Item | Detail |
|------|--------|
| Project / campaign | |
| Image type | |
| Channel / placement | |
| Dimensions (px) + ratio | |
| Visual objective | Stop the scroll / Build trust / Drive the click |
| Export format | JPG / PNG / WebP |
| Number of deliverables | |
| Designer | |
| Deadline | |
| Max revision rounds | |

## Concept and mood
- One-sentence idea: [what this image is about — readable in one pass]
- Feeling to convey: [Professional / Warm / Playful / Urgent / Minimal / Bold]
- Mood board references:
  - Ref 1: [link or file — learn: color? layout? photographic style?]
  - Ref 2: [...]
  - Ref 3: [...] — do not copy: [...]
- Colors (from the brand guideline):
  - Primary: [primary color]
  - Secondary / accent: [secondary color]
  - Background: [white / solid / gradient / photographic]
  - Text: [dark text on light ground / light text on dark ground]
- Avoid entirely: color [...], style [...], element [...]

## Composition
- Main subject: [real person / product / abstract / type-led / illustration]
- Background: [white / solid / lifestyle scene / studio / blur / texture]
- Focal point: [centered / rule of thirds left or right / full bleed]
- Clear space for text overlay: [yes/no — which corner, roughly which third]
- Visual hierarchy:
  1. [most important element — where the eye lands first]
  2. [second element]
  3. [third element — CTA / logo]

## Overlay copy (approved before it is set)
| Element | Content | Font | Size | Color | Position |
|---------|---------|------|------|-------|----------|
| Headline | | [heading font] Bold | | | |
| Subtext | | [body font] Regular | | | |
| CTA button | | [heading font] Bold | | | |
| Logo | [version: horizontal / stacked / icon only] | — | — | — | [per brand guideline] |

Copy limits: headline max [X] characters, subtext max [X] characters, no more than three text colors in one image.

## Deliverables
- [ ] Source file (share link, not a flattened export)
- [ ] Export [format] — [exact dimensions]
- [ ] Variants if needed: [light/dark version, alternate crop]
- [ ] Remaining sizes per the asset list

## Review process
- Draft 1 due: [date] — feedback within [X] hours
- Max revision rounds: [X] — final approval by: [lead]
- Final deadline: [date]
```

## Platform specs

| Channel | Dimensions | Safe zone | Export | Max file size |
|---------|-----------|-----------|--------|---------------|
| Meta Feed (FB/IG) | 1080x1080 (1:1) or 1080x1350 (4:5) | 20px each edge | JPG, RGB | 30MB |
| Meta Story / Reels | 1080x1920 (9:16) | 250px top / 250px bottom | JPG, RGB | 30MB |
| Meta link/landscape | 1200x628 (1.91:1) | 40px each edge | JPG, RGB | 30MB |
| TikTok cover | 1080x1920 (9:16) | 150px top / 300px bottom | JPG | 10MB |
| LinkedIn single image | 1200x627 (1.91:1) | 40px each edge | JPG/PNG | 5MB |
| Pinterest pin | 1000x1500 (2:3) | 60px each edge | JPG/PNG | 20MB |
| YouTube thumbnail | 1280x720 (16:9) | 60px each edge, avoid bottom-right timestamp | JPG/PNG | 2MB |
| Email header | 600x200 | 10px each edge | JPG | 1MB |
| Website banner | 1440x500 | 100px each edge | JPG/PNG/WebP | 500KB |

> Full size matrix, crop behavior, and resize strategy: read `50-asset-resize-global`.

## Condensed example brief

```
Image brief — Meta Feed 1080x1080 — TOFU, Q3 course launch
Type: single-image ad | Channel: Meta Feed | Objective: stop the scroll within 1.5 seconds
Feeling: bold, mild urgency, professional but not corporate
Subject: type