Comments on: In House vs. Agency

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:35:08 +0000

Great Article. RE:Michel Le – I’m with you on the “The bottom line” I’ve been recently working for an agency that went bonkerz with App designs without any kind of experience. We all suffered and hit some breaking points with the long hours, the work and organization in general. When it comes down to it, you’re absolutely right. “Who’s going to be by your side?”. I would tell the Juniors a similar thing with timelines that were crucial and mind-numbing “If you got into an accident and you were in the hospital, would you be thinking how you never got this detail aid done?” I’m at that point of jumping ship because of that, hence my interest in this article. Great read and great comments. Now to find a job that will allow me to confidently bring my baby into a world where daddy isn’t pulling out what little hairs he has out of his head!

By: susan jennings

susan jennings — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:09:54 +0000

Lose. Lose. Not loose.

Spelling aside, great content, thanks for the article.

By: Courtney

Courtney — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:46:31 +0000

I read articles like this all the time, and being a young designer (graduated 2008 from a small school not very well known for design) I find them confusing.

The two jobs I have held (past and currently) were in-house. While I enjoy it, I want to embrace the creative side and see what agency and studio work is like. My only problem is actually getting a position. I feel as though my portfolio has turned into one big book of the same thing since both companies I work for are retail/wholesale and consist of the same types of designs.

While I have done freelance on the side, I’m finding I’m too scared to put some of those in there because I haven’t had the criticism I need to feel strongly about where they are at the moment.

Do you have any advice for breaking out or making my work stand out more? Or ways to find inspiration from my monotonous life and make my book breathe again with new designs? Any suggestions are helpful.

By: Michel Le

Michel Le — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:58:24 +0000

This is a pretty accurate description of both world. I have 22 years experience, starting with paste up in a small specialized studio to being senior art director at Marvel Comics in NYC. I worked in ad agencies (although small), printer, publishing, freelance, in-house (where I am now) and fabric design co. you name it.

Since I got a family, my priorities shifted. no more long hours, no more high stress. Actually, my present job offered some very cool creative opportunities that I would have never thought off. True about dress code, no more leopard pants with zippers and mohawk hairdo.

It’s good to experience as much as possible and not staying in only one category/field. What I tell people and younger designers is that on your death bed, who ‘s going to be by your side? your old boss from years ago? or your loving family? That’s for me the bottom line.

By: designinginside

designinginside — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:35:26 +0000

I don’t know of any off the top but have often thought about writing a book on this subject. I’ve often spoken with CD’s and agency owners on their thoughts of hiring a designer that has more in-house design exp. vs. agency. The typical response is they feel the in-house designer doesn’t understand their clients? Here is a direct response from a Design agency principal:
“Agency experience certainly plays a big part in my decision-making. I don’t have a comfort level hiring someone who’s never been responsible for the creative product of an entire business and all aspects of multiple clients’ marketing comm programs, as well as billing, the “creative product development”, and selling in a sense. It’s a big shift in my experience from someone who’s worked client-side. Not that the work isn’t as good or as hard, but the expectations I have – and our clients have – are different than someone who’s been in a managed, client-side environment.”

I feel that this individual has never really known who their clients are and cares more about the sale than the business and relationship.

By: Brook

Brook — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:28:16 +0000

Do you know of any research sites that touched on this subject.
I’m actually looking for information that supports the in-house creative team.

By: designinginside

designinginside — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:24:26 +0000

This is a very good and very close representation of both sides. I too have been on in creative positions in both cases and prefer being corporate for more than one reason.

I am not the type that seeks to be a rock star. I am much more interested in helping the business grow. Keeping costs in-house vs. sending it to an agency is a big win for the company. I’ve hired both agency designers and corp. designers and own my own design agency. I feel the best designers I’ve worked with come from inside the business. They get the big picture. They can apply cool industry ideas but it makes sense to the client. I expect to measure results and if it doesn’t gain business it is out the door. Awards don’t mean anything to me. You can win a webbyaward and have a .01% conversion rate.

It’s all about the bottom line and building the business and the only way to see it happen is while you are highly involved on the inside.

By: admin

admin — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:58:41 +0000

I just want to clarify that Chris never put the word “complete” anywhere in this post, it was me who added it to the headline. He was too gracious to point that out.
Johanna

By: Chris Costello

Chris Costello — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:29:58 +0000

This is definitely not complete and I welcome anyone to fill in the gaps.

Excellent point, Teri. I lead an In-House staff and we have had some great creative projects and produced award-winning work over the past few years. Lately however, given the recent economic challenges, the volume of template-based work has increased dramatically while our creative projects have decreased. At times we are short staffed relative to the workload and just have to get the stuff out the door. It’s a challenge for us all and we hope things will change as the economy improves.

By: teri beauchamp

teri beauchamp — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:42:40 +0000

This is a general break-down, but not a “complete” one. A critical point was left out. In-house design, whether it is a large, medium or small corporation, can be just as “creative” as ad agency work. What will make the difference is the person in charge of the design group. With an in-house design team, the person overseeing the design work/team can choose the level of design they want the designer(s) to produce. Always be aware when talking to the person in charge what their design philosophy is. It could be someone who ‘just wants to get it done and go home’, or it could be someone who sees the value in good design work.

By: destinycreature

destinycreature — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:36:50 +0000

Wow…this is great advice. I love how you encapsulated all this knowledge into a nice neat article. Having experience on both sides, for me personally working in an in house design department works for me.