Getting Started: Brief and Research

Before you start any project you should always write out a brief and do your research. A brief is just a series of short answers that speak to what the project is going to be about. You can use the questions below as a baseline.

What am I doing?
Creating a plus sign button that, when clicked turns into a minus sign. Clicking again will bring it back.

Why am I doing it?
Eventually I want to create a series of easy-access menus and need a simple to understand icon to expand or contract these menus.

What is the end product?
A rounded button in flash which switches between + and - upon click. Asset is a .fla files and a .swf.

What factors do i need to consider?
How do I want to transition the animation. Is it a quick switch or something else. Vector or Raster art.

What is the artistic style/mood of the piece?
Generic - can fit many styles.

Who can it benefit?
Myself. People making menus.

Next you do the research. Research is primarily to prime the pump of your subconscious. The subconscious can be thought of as your conscious mind on steroids. You can't control it but it "leaks" information to you. Doing research and then leaving something alone for a while can be a great boon - I always leave myself several days between an idea and executing it - this allows my mind to do its work. Rarely fails.