# NEI — creative brief

Draft 01 · October 2, 2026

## Purpose
Introduce NEI, a Chinese medicine–based powder packet product being developed for people experiencing recurring UTIs. Build qualified interest in the US and send visitors to the existing hosted waitlist. Future commerce should fit the same identity.

## Positioning
Accessible botanical care rooted in Chinese herbal formulation. Lead with an understandable product and an empathetic customer experience. Explain heritage through formulation, ingredient provenance, and people rather than generic cultural decoration.

Working introduction: “Meet NEI. A Chinese herbal approach to urinary wellbeing, in powder packets.” This is draft positioning, subject to confirmed formula and claims review.

## Audience
People familiar with recurring UTIs and the disruption they bring. The audience is currently broad; future customer interviews should establish the strongest segment, common objections, and vocabulary. Avoid implying urinary issues are exclusive to women.

## Identity and voice
Fixed: NEI and 內. Supporting meaning: within. Warm, grounded, quietly confident. Speak directly about urinary health; be gentle about frustration. Use plain explanations and concrete details. Do not blame customers for their symptoms.

Examples: “You deserve to feel heard.” “Get updates on the formula, ingredients, and launch.” “Rooted in Chinese herbal tradition.” Avoid fear, guaranteed outcomes, invented urgency, or dismissing existing treatment options.

## Visual recommendation
Direction 01, Within: oxblood, warm ivory, restrained blush; expressive Newsreader headings, IBM Plex Sans body text, Archivo Black wordmark. Fine borders, spacious editorial composition, tactile product imagery. Use IBM Plex Mono sparingly for annotations. Test a simplified three-family system before retaining all four.

Imagery: balance product/routine, real people, botanical provenance, and explanatory graphics. Existing HTML imagery is temporary reference material; confirm rights before public use. Botanical photography must not imply pictured plants are confirmed ingredients. Packet designs are concept studies rather than final packaging.

## Initial website
Home; Meet NEI; Our approach; Ingredients & quality; Our story; FAQ & contact. Primary action: join the hosted waitlist. Do not add a nonfunctional cart or purchase controls before sales launch. Later: product options, checkout, shipping/returns, order emails. Shopify is a candidate, not a selected platform.

Home sequence: introduction → customer recognition → formulation approach → powder packet format → ingredient/quality transparency → founder story → FAQ → waitlist.

## Measurement
Track waitlist outbound clicks and traffic source. Measure completed signups only once the hosted waitlist supports attribution or confirmation tracking. Do not collect symptom histories in marketing analytics. An optional post-signup interest question can inform segmentation.

## Content dependencies
Unknown: final formula, dosage/routine, flavor, evidence, testing, credentials, price, product count, launch date, hosting URL. Product prevention/soothing outcomes are intended benefits, not established claims. Tradition does not establish efficacy of this formula. No invented testimonials, COAs, counters, endorsements, or medical claims in public content. Draft layouts may reserve clearly labeled areas for future verified evidence.

## Delivery sequence
1. Creative brief and reference synthesis — this phase.
2. Compare three visual directions — concept-board.html.
3. Select a direction; create logo rules, accessible palette, type/spacing scales, photography guide, voice guide, and components.
4. Wireframe mobile and desktop journeys; develop copy and asset inventory.
5. Design homepage and product page; extend approved components to supporting pages.
6. Choose platform and build responsive staging site; connect waitlist and content editing.
7. Verify accessibility, mobile layouts, performance, forms, attribution, and final content before launch.

## Selected direction
Within selected by the founder on October 2, 2026. The working brand kit is in ../within/brand-kit.html with specifications in ../within/brand-guidelines.md and reusable styles in ../within/tokens.css. Next: homepage and Meet NEI designs. Waitlist URL is required for integration, not concept work.