Running an agency
Running an agency

Creative pitches are toxic

In a recent survey of design agencies, the BDI calculated that unpaid creative pitches cost UK agencies an average of £38,000 per year. This may sound reasonable for a large agency with plenty of resources, especially if they are going after large projects. However over half of the design agencies in the UK employ less than five people, and £38,000 is a lot of money for a small agency. I’ve long held the belief that creative pitches are toxic, and unpaid creative pitches doubly so. This view is upheld by a number of professional design associations that actively ban their members from engaging in unpaid creative. Creative pitches are bad for the client, bad for the designer and bad for the industry as a whole, and I’m going to explain why.
Running an agency

Consultant Rant

One thing that annoys me about this industry is the flagrant misuse of the term "Consultant". A consultant is generally somebody who provides professional advice to a client for a fee. So as an "accessibility and user experience consultancy":http://www.clearleft.com/, clients will come to us for our advise on improving the accessibility and user experience of their products, and we'll respond with some form of report or documentation, often backed up with a formal presentation.
Running an agency

10 Bad Project Warning Signs

One of the great things about being a freelance web designer is the ability to turn down projects. I've come across a few projects recently that sounded interesting but made me feel nervous. It wasn't any one specific thing; rather a series of small little things that set my internal alarm bells ringing. As such I've written up a list of bad project warning signs. Individually none of these signs should be deal breakers. However put a few of them together and it may be worth thinking twice about taking on that project.
Running an agency

The Ideal Project Team

Good things come in small packages and I believe the ideal size for a web team consists of around 5 people. To start with you need somebody to bring in the business. This person obviously needs to be a good salesperson, but not in a pushy, telesales kind of way. They need to be confident and charismatic, comfortable presenting to the board or mixing at networking events. As they will be dealing primarily with other business people, it helps if they come from a business background. However they still need to have a solid understanding of the web.
Running an agency

The Pricing Problem

Working out a price for a website can be a bit of a guessing game. Quite often people will get in touch with you (and a dozen other agencies) asking for a quote with very little or no information to go on.