Agency vs In-house vs Consultancy - which is best?
It depends if you’re a Farmer or not.
Do you ever wonder which type of design career would be best for you? For most, it’s a choice between Agency or Client side. And for those who are exposed to it - there’s the choice to join the mysterious world of Consulting.
I’ve worked in each of them - and sure, I can’t speak for everyone - but I can share my perspective based around the idea shared in Invision’s Design Leadership Handbook.
Hunters and Farmers
“There are 2 very different types of designers: Hunters and Farmers. Each is essential to a design team, but when matched with the wrong project, chaos ensues.”
Hunters love the thrill of the chase. New projects, braving the unknown and leading the charge on hefty redesigns are what they live for.
Farmers are great at tending to the fields. Constraints, brand consistency, and product iteration make them feel like they belong.
So if you want to know which is best for you, first start by thinking about what kind of designer you are.
Are you a Hunter, or are you a Farmer?
If you’re a Hunter, the rule of thumb is that you’ll prefer Agency or Consultancy life.
If you’re a Farmer, you’ll probably prefer Client side companies where there is a certain level of predictability and routine.
Once you’ve figured out what type of designer you are, move on to the next question:
How mature Design is within the organisation?
This is pretty important. You want to know what you’re walking into...
Companies where the Design team is able to question existing practices, get the tools they need, and collaborate with developers in an open and self-organising way, is mature.
On the flipside, if people around the business think Design is something that happens at the end, or if they spend more time ‘designing’ than they do researching - they’re not Design mature.
My perspective on each
I’m definitely a Hunter - but having worked in each type of org, I loved and learnt something about each:
Agency
You’re constantly on a steep learning curve while switching between brands and industries - so you get a lot of experience in a short timeframe.
There’s great energy and a lot of movement - with people heading out to client site projects and then coming back in again.
There’s a great sense of camaraderie as you and the team work at pace to get pitch work ready - and when new work is won everyone’s pumped!
In agency there’s a lot of presenting your work to external clients - so public speaking is important.
Consultancy
There’s a lot of crossover between Consultancies and Agencies - they’re both high-octane leadership factories.
Why ‘leadership factories’ you ask?
Because, when you work in Consultancies and Agencies, you host a lot of meetings with external clients - and these require more balls than internal meetings with colleagues who you have lunch with every day.
It’s simple, pressure makes diamonds 💎
Being client-facing also requires you to dress smarter than when you’re in-house with your everyday colleagues. Unlike being in-house, your next project is not guaranteed - so you have to uphold your reputation all the time.
So Agencies and Consultancies are quite similar.... but Consultancies have a different working process.
Agencies pitch for work, and deliver beautiful products, whereas Consultancies write responses to RFP’s (Request For Proposal’s) and use a broad set of skills to apply creativity to not only products, but also strategy, people, and processes.
In a Consultancy, you get to learn different skills from Client-side and Agency designers. You’ll get the opportunity to affect an organisation in a way that could take years when you’re In-house - or never happen at all in Agencies.
You’ll also learn about estimating on projects, budgeting and scoping, putting a team together for a project - and you just don’t get these opportunities when you’re Client-side. And for some types of designers - that’s totally cool.
In house
Reflecting back on all my in-house roles, the thing that I loved (but don’t miss today) is the way work lands in your lap.
There’s no pitching, no RFP’s, no hustle, or uncertainty - and in most cases, not much else besides design!
You really are paid to turn up and think about creating the best product, interface, or user experience possible for that single product.
Horses for courses
What type of setup will work best for you really depends on the kind of designer you are. Look at your past roles for clues about where you performed best.
If you don’t have any experience, you could even look outside your work life to see what activities energise you - this could help you decide what type of designer you are and what organisation will suit you best.
