A sunny bit of yellow on a rainy day.

Well, in our line of work I find the hardest part of the project is getting the content delivered when needed. Images for branding, copy - whatever, sometimes takes incredibly long to deliver. The why of this can be for a few reasons: a) the content provider doesn't understand what content is required, b) the content provider doesn't have clear deliverables dates - or c) both of the above.

D. Keith Robinson has written an excellent article on a content brief which addresses both of these concerns - it should prove to be an indispensable part of the project process. I'll definitely be trying this out with on my next project.

It's true that sometimes it seems like all the paperwork tends to bog down the production process but it's actually quite the opposite: the paperwork slows down the front end but speeds up the process overall because everyone is clear on roles, deliverables and dates.