The future of the traditional design agency?

scotty

scotty

Ultimate Member
Working from home with very few overheads often makes me scratch my head at the logic of running a traditional design agency model.
I have what I need. A laptop and design packages, paper, sketchpads, pencils and stuff, an internet connection, a printer/scanner, phone, two dogs and a tortoise.
I've never even felt the need for a business card or stationary which sounds like being a vegetarian butcher because most of my stuff is done online.

When I worked in house I used to wonder why I was sat at a desk and spending the time, money and stress to get there and back. It just seemed like madness.

Recently I've seen a couple of my clients downsizing.
Not due to financial difficulties but out of preference. Outsourcing work to freelancers with the skill set they need when they need it.

I was reading an interesting article on CreativeBoom yesterday about a successful agency that has done the same.

Is this the future?
 
This has got to be the way forward in this day and age, specially in this cramped country of ours. I've been freelance for over twenty years now
and would hate to commute every day nowadays, and I don't even live near a big city. Only the big agencies with the blue chip clients really
need a team of staff on call every day, surely?

I very rarely need to see clients (and try and get out of it if I can!) and so can keep costs right down when there's emails and skype etc.
 
My nearest client is only just a short trip to Derby (24 miles).
I've worked with them for years and I've never actually met them.

Only time I see a client is when I'm working on site doing murals and this is actually a novelty to be around people.
I like it that way.

I used to spend up to 2 hours a day getting to and from work and this isn't extreme by other peoples commute.
That time cost me money in petrol and associated costs as well as the wasted time sat in a car.

It's a no brainer to me.
 
I do share your views but as a designer, it has always been a dream for me to one day open my own little studio and hire a couple of grad interns etc. I think it is nice to have your own place away from home to work and really separate home life from work life, as I know how easily they can intertwine with each other when freelancing. Regarding meeting clients, yes it's cheaper not to if it can be avoided, but I actually enjoy getting away from my desk for a few hours, going out into the real world and meeting clients on occasion. There are ways to cover costs such as commute and time. I find it also helps improve and build designer - client relationship once you've met out of the matrix.
 
Yes, I agree with your points, there are advantages and disadvantages to both, of course. The worst thing about
working from home is missing the social side of being around others.
 
I think the social side is overrated from my experience, as when you work in house/agency/design studio, there is only so much socialising you can do as you are always too busy working and under pressure to deliver the highest quality work at ridiculously high speed. Realistically, at lunch breaks, after work drinks and what have you is the only time you are really able to socialise, but you can still arrange to do those things when you work from home. The only real aspect of socialising that we miss from working from home is being able to bounce ideas off other creatives, or lend / get a help in hand from time to time.
 
Whenever I do a stint at a studio, I'm alway relieved when it's over and I get go back to not getting up at a stupid time to commute in traffic or wait for public transport in the pissing rain. I've started paying for a shared space down the road from my home at a local hackspace. It's only £20 a month and I have access to 3D printing technology and other stuff, should I need it. This gives me a nice walk before work and a chance to chat to some other people, but it's purely optional. The weather's shit at the moment, so I'm just working from home, though it is nice to know I can get away when next door's dog starts howling.

I like the thought of running a successful studio, but I also remember I opted for self employment so I'd be less tied to traditional working hours and the such-like. I also don't know if I'd fancy the hassle of dealing with salaries and ensuring I'm earning enough to pay someone else as well as myself. Someone suggested looking into an apprentice as a second pair of hands, since apparently the government will pay their wages (or at least in some circumstances they will). I might still do that.
 
@GCarlD said:
I do share your views but as a designer, it has always been a dream for me to one day open my own little studio and hire a couple of grad interns etc. I think it is nice to have your own place away from home to work and really separate home life from work life, as I know how easily they can intertwine with each other when freelancing. Regarding meeting clients, yes it's cheaper not to if it can be avoided, but I actually enjoy getting away from my desk for a few hours, going out into the real world and meeting clients on occasion. There are ways to cover costs such as commute and time. I find it also helps improve and build designer - client relationship once you've met out of the matrix.
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Nothing wrong with that Carl as that's closer to the stripped down, racing model I was talking about and after all, grad's need to learn as well.
I'm not 'against' the bigger agency set up. It's just not for me.
I have trouble being responsible for myself never mind other people and I hate managing and delegating.
I guess I'd end up just running things rather than designing and illustrating which defeats what I enjoy doing.

I initially took on the muralist work to "get out more" and I'm lucky in that the people I work with are incredibly passionate about their work.
SO MUCH that it can be exhausting sometimes and it's nice to get back but I always feel the need to go back out for the buzz. ;)

It also makes me appreciate your my space as well.
I don't really have a problem with my own company although I do find myself talking to the dogs a lot.
I guess it's when they start to answer back I've got to worry. :D
 
I like the "collaborative" style of agency which is much more like what Raw seem to do from reading the article I linked to.

I've been working on a new thing with a more of an agency look feel but I want it to be just me.
When jobs come along that I don't have the skill set or time for then I can work with others that do or even pass the work over.
 
With large agencies, there's a lot more dead-wood, and you'll find people with huge salaries who don't actually seem to contribute much on a daily basis. I know of a studio that pays someone over £70k as 'Head of Brand and Social Media', which means they're responsible for the social media accounts. Oh, and they don't work Fridays, like, ever. Not bad if you can get it.

Agencies can stagnate, and it's often due to people becoming complacent. One of my mates is an art director in a studio, and he's constantly pushing for new ideas and approaches on projects, but is often hit by a wall of "just do what we did for X client." Another guy I know works in the creative department for an agency. He says pitches for new clients have now gotten to the stage where he is literally just taking slides from older pitch presentations and reworking the ideas to fit their brand and brief because the creative directors aren't interested in new ideas, they just want an easy life.

Sadly many people in agencies just see it as a job like any other. So long as they get paid at the end of the month they're happy. And execs don't give a toss about innovation and creative output, so long as the job is billed appropriately and they make a profit. Many of the larger clients too are creatively bankrupt, and the people in charge often like a 'safe' option, so is there really any point in trying?

With a smaller agency, or even just a partnership, the creative work and final output absolutely has to be on point, and with two people working together who know what they're doing, you can produce focused, creative, refreshing new work, not only because you're streamlined as a team but because you can seek out clients that actually want that stuff.
 
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Art directors from a well known large corporation that I've worked for on behalf of a design studio, did not have a CLUE about design or anything relatable, they know what they want as an end product / piece, but they haven't got the slightest notion of how to produce it. It is totally baffling to me as to how people can get a position of art director in such a large company, when they essentially can't 'direct the art' so to speak, as they don't know where to begin. The industry is definitely about 'who you know' as I hear of so many people getting paid massive salaries, but they don't actually do much, they just have a fancy sounding position in a company to make their role appear more 'important' than it actually is.

I'm going to upgrade my credentials from 'Graphic Designer' to 'Top Director of the Design of Graphics Art Director, Director of the High Tire - GDASIUHDGOHG' (random letters representing qualifications)...
I might Squeeze another 'Director' in there for luck.

(Great thread btw)
 
I was always under the impression (not having worked directly with AD's) that they'd progressed through the ranks of Designer and ended up there.
BTW Carl. You gonna need a bigger business card. ;)
 
scotty said:
I was always under the impression (not having worked directly with AD's) that they'd progressed through the ranks of Designer and ended up there.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. I'm sure there are some really great AD's out there, but I was just blown away by their lack of skill & knowledge due to the established, worldwide size of the company they work for and represent. I thought I could learn a thing or two from them, how wrong was I.

scotty said:
BTW Carl. You gonna need a bigger business card. ;)
Click to expand...

Don't worry, I'm going to use a long roll of toilet paper (Cushelle of course), it will be classed as art, and show my thinking out of the box mentality. I also like the 'subtle' metaphor.
 
@GCarlD said:
My thoughts exactly. I'm sure there are some really great AD's out there, but I was just blown away by their lack of skill & knowledge due to the established, worldwide size of the company they work for and represent. I thought I could learn a thing or two from them, how wrong was I.



Don't worry, I'm going to use a long roll of toilet paper (Cushelle of course), it will be classed as art, and show my thinking out of the box mentality. I also like the 'subtle' metaphor.
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You and Paul are on FIRE today. :D
 
Well, I completely agree with your view, Being a work from home is others part of life, there are advantages and disadvantages to both, of course. At the end, satisfaction matters a lot.

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