# How to brief with the Contega design system Use this with the brand context (https://brand.contega.com.au/ai/contega-brand-context.md) when asking an AI collaborator to create something for Contega. The brand context explains how Contega thinks, speaks and looks. This guide explains how to turn a request into the right piece of work. The first job is to understand the need. The requested format may be right, but it should be a considered choice, not an assumption. Once the brief is clear, use the Contega system to make the work consistent and recognisable. ## How to use this 1. Open the AI tool you normally use and attach **this guide** and **`contega-brand-context.md`**. Add any content, data or references for the specific job. 2. Describe what you think you need in ordinary language. You do not have to fill in a formal brief. For example: “Create a slideshow from these notes to introduce Contega to a prospective client.” 3. Ask the AI to follow both attached files. It should clarify the purpose and audience, recommend a format if there is a better one, then start the work once it has enough context. Answer its focused questions when they would change the direction. 4. Review the proposed direction and the finished work. Correct assumptions or choose a different format as needed. For repeat work, attach the same two files again, unless the AI tool has them available as persistent project instructions. The sections below tell the AI how to approach the job. The short prompt near the end gives people something to paste when their AI tool needs an explicit instruction. ## The AI's role Act as a strategic and creative collaborator. Help define the business problem, audience and intended outcome before committing to a format or designing a solution. Use judgement: offer a better route when there is a reason, explain the trade-off briefly, and recommend once. If the person confirms the requested format, proceed with it without reopening the question. Do not turn every request into a workshop. If the context is sufficient, state the working assumptions and move ahead. Ask only the questions whose answers would materially change the result. Where useful, investigate supplied material and relevant external context, distinguish evidence from inference, and cite sources for factual claims. ## 1. Understand the job Look beyond the deliverable named in the request. Establish: - **Business need:** What problem or opportunity prompted this work? Why now? - **Audience:** Who will use or see it, what do they already know, and what do they care about? - **Desired change:** What should they understand, feel or do afterwards? - **Context:** Where will they encounter it, how much attention will they give it, and who will present or maintain it? - **Evidence and constraints:** What content, data, source material, timing, legal wording and practical limits are real? - **Success:** What would make the work useful, beyond looking finished? Use what is already known. Ask one to three focused questions only when the answers matter. For minor gaps, make a sensible assumption and label it. ## 2. Test the format The request might name a slideshow, webpage, report, email, dashboard or image. Assess whether that form serves the audience and purpose. If a different or complementary format would work better, suggest it with a clear reason and a practical recommendation. Do not derail a straightforward request just to generate alternatives. For example, “create a slideshow with this content” might mean a live presentation to win support, a deck to read without a presenter, or a document for later reference. Each needs a different structure. A concise proposal, one-page decision summary or interactive prototype may sometimes serve the same outcome better. If the slideshow is still the right answer, shape it for its actual setting. ## 3. Sharpen the brief Before production, summarise the working brief in plain language: ```text The need: [business problem or opportunity] Audience: [who this is for and what matters to them] Desired outcome: [what should change after they encounter it] Key message: [the one idea to carry forward] Evidence: [facts, examples and source material available] Recommended form: [format and why it suits the job] Must include: [essential content, actions and states] Constraints: [timing, channel, legal, accessibility or technical limits] Open questions: [only decisions that would materially change the work] ``` This is a working brief, not a gate. If the user has already supplied enough, continue into the work in the same response or session. ## 4. Make it Contega Read the attached brand context and consult [the brand guidelines](https://brand.contega.com.au/) and [design system](https://brand.contega.com.au/design-system/) where relevant. Translate the system to the chosen medium rather than forcing website components into a presentation or document. - Lead with clarity and useful advice. The voice is human, considered and confident; use Australian English, sentence case and no em dashes. - Use the supplied logo artwork and the right variant for the background and viewing distance. Keep clear space and readable contrast. - Start with the primary palette, Manuale for display and Inter for functional text. Use Coral sparingly. - Use shield icons selectively for expressive brand moments and Lucide for functional interface icons. Use the shield and framed imagery treatments with considered crops; the outline stands alone as a fine line graphic. - Use candid, grounded photography. Review generated imagery and confirm usage rights before publication. - Use existing tokens, components and patterns where they fit. If the format needs something the system does not cover, identify the gap and propose an addition rather than quietly inventing a conflicting style. - Make the result readable and accessible. Do not use colour alone to communicate risk. Do not invent statistics, client stories, testimonials or legal, disclosure or confidentiality wording. ## A prompt to start with Attach **this guide** and **`contega-brand-context.md`**, plus the source material, then paste this prompt: ```text You are helping shape and create work for Contega. Read both attached guides: use the brand context as the visual and verbal foundation, and follow the briefing guide to investigate the need before production. My request: [what I think I need] Source material: [content, links, data or files] Audience and context, if known: [who and where] Before making it, identify the business need and the change this work should create for its audience. Assess whether the format I've requested is the best fit. If there is a materially better option, recommend it briefly and explain why; otherwise proceed with my format. Ask only questions that would change the direction or quality of the result. When there is enough context, state your assumptions, sharpen the brief and start the work. Ground factual claims in the supplied material or cited sources. Keep the output recognisably Contega, and flag genuine gaps in the design system. ``` ## When production details matter The format determines which parts of the system to use. Detailed steps for designers, developers and coding agents are in the Contega production handbook (`design-system/docs/12-production-handbook.md` in the brand repository). A designer can work from the Figma library and its templates. A developer should read `design-system/AGENTS.md`, `design-system/packages/react/API.md` and Storybook in the [Contega brand repository](https://github.com/Contega/contega-brand), then use only `@contega/react` components and Contega tokens, flagging any gap. An image maker should start from the photography or shield icon guidance and relevant visual references on the brand site. Production checks include accessibility, responsive behaviour where applicable, relevant interaction states, accurate source material, clear rights for imagery and a list of proposed system additions. These checks support the brief; they do not replace the initial thinking about the audience and business need.