Understanding projects and briefs

A project is the container for all work relating to a specific production job. It brings together people, content, and workflows into one structured workspace: the brief that defines the work, the collaborators involved, the resources they need, and the reviews and decisions that move the work forward.

Everything relating to a job is managed in one place. Within a project, you upload resources, assign collaborators, communicate through comments, review content, and track progress.

Projects follow a structured workflow. Work moves through defined stages, with each stage outlining what needs to be done, who is responsible, and what happens next. Transitions move the project from one stage to the next, triggering notifications to keep work progressing.

The stages, roles, and requirements on each project come from the project type chosen when the project is created.

A project type is a preconfigured template that determines how a project is set up and how work flows through it. When you create a project, you choose a project type, and that choice applies the workflow stages, collaborator roles, milestones, and requirements that suit the kind of work you are doing.

Different kinds of work have different needs. A social media campaign may need a fast turnaround with lightweight approval, while a print catalogue might require multiple review rounds, detailed specifications, and several specialist roles. Project types capture these differences so the process is consistent for a given kind of work every time.

A brief is a structured form within a project that captures all the information needed to support a content request. It describes what is needed, by when, for which market or brand, and any other details that shape the work.

You complete the brief through a series of tabs, each covering a different aspect of the request: the basics of the project, who is involved, what the requirements are, any additional fields specific to the project type, reference resources, how the work will be reviewed, and a summary to check before submitting.

Once the brief is complete, it becomes the source of truth the rest of the project works from. The workflow does not progress until you mark the brief as complete, because every subsequent stage depends on the information it contains.

A project type defines the shape of the work: its stages, roles, and requirements. When you create a project and choose a project type, the project inherits that structure. The brief then fills in the specifics: what this particular job needs, who is working on it, and when it is due.

The relationship works like this:

From there, the project moves through production, review, and approval as described in Understanding Collaboration Hub.