Lesson 2 of 3 · 5 min
Why context changes output
You can tell whether a weak result is a weak brief or missing context.
When a result comes back wrong, there are two possible causes and they need opposite fixes. Either you did not say enough, or the project does not know enough. Guessing wrong means you rewrite a brief that was fine.
Steps
- Look at what your project knows: product, audience, tone, and anything it has researched.
- Write a deliberately vague brief and generate it.
- Read the result and find the parts you never asked for. Those came from context.
- Now add the one detail context could not know, and generate again.
How to tell them apart
Context does not override your brief. It fills gaps. So if the result contradicts something you explicitly said, that is not a context problem, and adding more brand information will not fix it.
If the result is generic in a way you did not ask for, that is context. The tool had nothing better to use.
What to watch for
A well set up project makes thin briefs work, which is good, but it also hides the fact that your briefs are thin. When you move to a new project and your usual brief stops working, this is usually why.