minimum requirements for the brief?

Now I will admit up front that I didn't check the process behind putting up a contest, but often times I find some briefs severely lacking in any useful information.

Sometimes a brief comes along that either offers no information on what they actually want, or gives information that seems in direct contrast to the highest rated logos on the contest.

I know the latter isn't really something we can do anything about. But I feel it would benefit both the CH and the designer if there were some general questions that a CH has to cover in the brief.

A lot of the features we already have are helpful, but sometimes I feel like I just have to make blind shots in the dark, which doesn't help anyone.

I thought it might be simpler to have a standard questionnaire or a "cheat sheet" for a CH that has easy to understand questions that give the designers a clear cut idea of what the Ch is going for.

Having question like what type of fonts do you prefer? might be good.

Better yet we could have a series of examples that the CH chooses their favorites from that give us an idea of the look they are going for.

Having them choose between a simple iconic log like Apple or a more complex logo like monster.com little cartoon guy would help set the record straight.

I know I am being a but vague here, but I would love to get a think-tank together and churn out something that would help streamline the process, and make things more clear for everyone's benefit. Thoughts?

RC3, I totally agree with you. A recently attended a contest that there was almost no information beyond everything and was blind. It is really hard to understand what CH wants. And sometimes burn all entries trying to guess what CH wants. We lost a lot of time in the process of divination.

Yes RC3, There are so many projects where it seems the Contest Holder is still figuring out what he/she wants, and is using the submission feature not to choose a design but to create a briefing of what he might want, extending the design, the amount of submissions. Some things are simple such as use of color, but other are more complex when it comes to web design, where contest holder don't know yet what they want until they see other designer submit.

Great thread. It's always frustrating when a CH doesn't provide enough information. The more information the better.

I agree. I think questions like that might help the CH think more about the contest they are about to have and what direction that want to go it.
Many probably don't know what they want before they see it- but giving as many details as possible is helpful for all of the designers.
I think grouping fonts together and having them direct designers to what their preferences could be a great idea.
A CH might like certain things though and it won't fit their company/products at all.

I totally agree. It is not worth submitting to a contest where the CH doesn't provide a detailed explanation of what he is looking for.