Design of the Times
Design companies are an interesting lot. They are as varied as the field they are employed in. Sometimes inspiring, sometimes rebellious, sometimes beautiful and at other times downright ugly on purpose. No, I’m not talking about their deliverables, I’m talking about the agencies themselves. Navigating your way through a design agency is like navigating through a shifting maze where the mood changes suddenly and friend turns foe just as suddenly. Let’s take a peek at this bizarre world of creativity.
The Mavericks:
These are the ones that want to tread the unbeaten path. They want to be trail blazers. If by some twist of fate, a mundane project comes there way and if it gets accepted, it is bound to go to the junior most rookie who has yet to prove his or her mettle. They excel in looking down upon bean counters and their spreadsheets while lighting incense at the altar of the Gods of inspiration. They are the best ones to go to with an impossible task or a never been done before project. What would be a nail bitter for most is a project right up their alley.
The Rebels Without a Cause:
These are the activists of the design world. They will balk under the yoke of discipline and timelines. They believe in striking while the inspiration is hot (not the iron). Give them a socially inspiring cause to design for and watch their creativity bloom. Give them a stodgy, corporate account and watch the fight that ensues for every visual, every comma and every line that doesn’t belong where it has been added. Try to tame them and you’ll wake the beast. Instead, let their imaginations run wild and you’ll find yourself fighting for their cause. The result is always worth it.
The Yes Minister Abbey:
Do you fancy yourself as the king or queen of your own kingdom at work? Do you see yourself as more of a titan than a business leader? Then this is the agency for you. Rest assured that all your ideas will be accepted at face value with a smile and then executed to your command. The disappointment that follows is entirely your fault because you never them the reins and took charge from conception to completion. However, if you say that it’s their fault, they’ll willingly take the blame, as long as you pay for it. You can make all the costly mistakes here that you’d like. No one will ever stop. Burning money is a luxury that can be quite freeing, isn’t it?
First Come First Crapped:
If the “Road Runner” had an agency, this would be it. They win every race, come first on every account, not in terms of quality but in terms of speed. If you give them a deadline, they’ll beat it by a large margin and leave other agencies in their dust. If you want something done in a rush, this is where you head. As long as it will pass by in a blur of activity and not be a commission work meant to stand the test of time. To be truthful a few alone will be able to stand what they create and those too will either have vested interests or be too polite to say otherwise. But if you worship deadlines, you’re at the right place.
The Penny Pinchers:
This agency is every bean counter’s dream. They know how to pinch pennies, cut corners, stretch a buck a mile etc. Stretching their imaginations however is an unfair ask as far as they’re concerned. They use templates, reference images, basically anything that can shorten the time they take and lessen the effort they put. Time is money and man hours cost money. It’s just good sense to them to save on both. That’s how they get you the sweet deals they promise. Yesterday’s trash is fished out of the bin, straightened out, dusted off, painted and perfumed and resold to the nearest bargain hunter. Resourceful little rascals, aren’t they?
The Hidden Treasure Hunters:
Do you like to have a fair estimate of a particular work before you commission it? Then it is best to stay away from this type of agency. They lure price-fishers with their attractive rates and they fall hook, line and sinker without reading the fine print. They have hidden clauses here and there that serve as their personal goldmine once the contract is signed. If we dig a little deeper here, we’ll have something better in our hands, but it will cost more. If we target those markets as well, we can change the design to include them, but it will cost more. Do you get my drift? If not, I could explain further but it’ll cost you more!
The Touch Me Nots:
These are agencies that employ the artists of the design world. You leave them to work in their Ivory tower and keep your questions at a minimum. You let them walk around barefoot in their offices or homes wherever they function best and have their coffee just so or splashed all across the intern’s face. Whatever. You don’t interrupt the process. The end result is priceless but the emotional cost of the wait is even more. God forbid you being the lowly human you are and make a mistake, your project gets thrown in the reject bin, never to see the light of day again.
Mother Knows Best:
You give a brief. That has your requirements. You have certain expectations. You are the client after all. Set your expectations for this: It will all be contorted beyond recognition. But it is all for your own good. The agency knows best. It doesn’t matter what your market research says. It doesn’t matter what your boss, who has dealt in this market for his entire professional career, says. This agency with its two years of budding success knows best. Expect every need to be catered to and expect to be mothered like you have never been before. However, like any good parent, watch them wash their hands off any failure saying your decisions are your own. We’re not responsible.
