BRIEFS

After two years of figuring this out the hard way, here is what actually works for commission work.

The brief document is everything. I send a structured intake form before any work begins — medium, dimensions, usage rights, revision count, timeline, and a reference folder link. If a client can’t fill that out, that tells you something.

Sketch phase is always three options at thumbnail scale. Not because the client needs three — because drawing three forces you to find the genuinely best one rather than the first serviceable one.

Revisions are scoped to the phase they belong to. Compositional feedback at sketch phase. Color feedback at color rough. No structural changes at final line. This is in the contract, and I enforce it gently but firmly.