CHOOSING A DESIGN AGENCY CAN BE TRICKY ......

 

 

Are large agencies a good choice…or do smaller agencies offer benefits?

From your corporate identity, to your brochures, direct mail, e-communications and point-of-sale materials… design affects the impact of virtually everything your customers see when they come into contact with your business.

Good design can help you to stand apart from competitors and engage more effectively with new clients. So, how should you select the design team that’s right for you?

Businesses of all sizes often find themselves drawn to the larger design agencies. Big somehow seems beautiful… but this can be a myth. Large agencies may have more resources – but they’ll generally have more clients and larger accounts to spread those resources across. So, just how many of those resources will be dedicated to you?

Cut through the hype

Furthermore, if a designer is sick or on holiday, is it realistic to expect others to step into their place? If a different designer picks up a design – mid-way through the creative process – it could result in a disjointed and ineffective result. Given these concerns, if members of the design team are absent, is there any practical difference between small and large agencies… regardless of their total resources?

When assessing agencies, it’s important to evaluate the team that’s actually going to be working with you. It’s no use having ‘A-team’ designers pitch to win your custom, if the work will then be given to junior designers. That way, you could be basing your selection on the skills of personnel that may have little or no involvement in executing your project.

Regardless of the size of agency you choose, you’ll need to ensure that you avoid the ‘emperor’s new clothes’ syndrome. Of course, you should be open to new ideas – after all, it’s your design team’s job to
come up with innovative ways of conveying your business messages. However, you also need to rely on your own, common sense evaluation of your designer’s ideas. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Does the design communicate effectively with them?

On your wavelength?

Clever concepts and arty design may be entertaining for the designer… but will they bring the results you require? There are obvious benefits in choosing designers that combine creative flair and a down-to-earth attitude to meeting your business objectives. It’s important to find a design team that’s ‘on your wavelength’ and invests time gaining an understanding of:

• your business
• your market
• what makes your customers ‘tick’.
  

In assessing the pros and cons of different sizes of design agencies, perhaps the ideal is a supplier that has a local presence… yet can draw on extended resources, to cover a wider range of services. With its nationwide network, Kall Kwik offers the benefits of small, local design teams… that are supported by resources throughout the UK.