Who this is for: Product marketers and motion designers briefing a specific software update.
What to prepare
- The approved shortcut and supported environments.
- The required focus or selection state.
- A verified equivalent task completed through the existing route.
Copyable creative brief
An authored planning example. Replace illustrative details with your approved product facts and assets.
Create a 30-second planning sequence for a fictional editor adding a shortcut to open its command panel. Begin with the familiar menu route and its confirmed destination. Return to the same editor state through a clearly labeled editorial cut. Show the supplied key combination as readable keycaps while the editor has the required focus, then show the actual command panel opening. Keep the same document and cursor context in both routes. Use “Another way to open the command panel,” not an invented speed claim. Do not assume modifier keys are identical across operating systems; use only the approved platform variant for this asset. If the shortcut is unavailable in a text field or another context, state the relevant condition. End with the complete key combination and task label held as a reference. Do not animate keys that the product does not require.
Make it your own
- Key combination
- Supply the exact keys for the named supported environment.
- Focus condition
- State where focus must be when the shortcut is used.
- Destination
- Use the same confirmed result for both routes.
Verify the activation context
A shortcut can behave differently when focus is inside a field or dialog. Capture the supported starting state and name the exception if it affects the audience. Treat platform-specific combinations as separate approved variants rather than guessing a substitution.
Adapt the comparison for experienced users
Existing users may need only a short reminder of the old route before the new one. A new-user version should identify the command panel's purpose. Keep the final keycap layout readable on a small screen and avoid stacking several shortcuts into this one explanation.
Repair key and result mismatches
If a keycap remains on screen after the action, make clear whether it is a reference label or a held key. If the panel opens without the required focus being established, recapture or add that step. Fewer clicks in the storyboard do not establish measured task speed.
Review checklist
- The exact supported key combination is shown.
- Focus prerequisites are explicit.
- Both routes reach the same verified end state.
- The copy makes no unmeasured time-saving claim.