Everything In House Design Agencies Need For Success

A recent study by the Association of National Advertisers found that the percentage of member organizations with in-house design agencies jumped from 42% to 78% between 2008 and 2018 — and there’s good reason for this trend. Of those surveyed, 79% said they were satisfied with their in-house team.

This doesn’t mean, however, that you have to say goodbye to your external team to reap the benefits of an in-house agency. Both have their advantages, and both have their place in your organization. While an in-house team is best for scalable work, out-of-house agencies are great for major campaigns or projects that require a skillset your in-house team doesn’t specialize in. The key is finding the right balance.

If you’re thinking about building an in-house creative agency of your own, there are a few things to consider. Who do you hire? What resources do you need? Is it worth it? Below, we’ll discuss everything you need to know to get your team up and running.

Benefits of In-House Design Agencies

An in-house agency can be a huge asset; they understand how your business runs, how communication works, and there’s no conflict of interest when the only interest that matters is your own. And that’s not all — there’s a good chance you’ll see massive cost savings when you no longer have to pay as much in overhead for an external team. In fact, that was the most common benefit ANA respondents reported.

Efficiency

One of the greatest benefits of in-house design agencies is that they can operate much more efficiently than a large external agency. To start, you don’t have to go through 2 or 3 (or more realistically, 7 or 8) middlemen to speak to them. Your in-house agency will share your workspace, whether it be in person or remote, so communicating with them is as simple as sending a Slack message or knocking on their door. You can bounce ideas back and forth, schedule meetings at the drop of a hat, and you don’t have to wait around for them to finish dealing with another client.

They’re Part of the Company

With an in-house team, you are that team’s one and only client. This means that your projects are always the sole focus of the creatives you work with. If a project is your top priority, it’s theirs as well.

An in-house team will also know your company better than an external team can, as they’re a part of it. They’ll understand your mission and values, your company culture, and the image you want to present to the world.

Control

Another important advantage of in-house design agencies is that they offer the company far more control than an out-of-house agency will. First, you have full say in who’s on your team, as you’re the one choosing them.

Out-of-house agencies attract great talent, but they also see a great deal of turnover. You might love the creatives you’re working with only to have them replaced by less qualified creatives, less personable creatives, or creatives that don’t really “get” what you want for your brand. With an in-house agency, this issue isn’t present; you can hire the exact people you want on your team.

You also have more say in where your advertising dollars go with an in-house agency; you decide exactly what you’re spending your money on. The cost of labor is included in your employee salaries, there’s no refactoring a contract if you decide to decrease your content creation for the period, and you won’t have to pay extra for an additional blog.

The Resources You Need for Success

The Right People

The first step in building a creative team is finding your creatives, which can take some work. You aren’t just competing with other businesses looking for in-house talent — you’re also competing with out-of-house agencies.

While working at an internal agency certainly has its benefits (regular hours, lower stress, etc.), external agencies can look very appealing to candidates as they offer prestige, big-name clients, and often have a reputation amongst designers. To counter this, focus on your brand, your values, and the creative freedom you’ll offer when advertising open positions.

You might be wondering, where do I find candidates? The answer isn’t usually on job boards or Indeed. To attract highly talented individuals, you’ll have to work your connections and cultivate a positive image.

Good places to find talent:

• Build relationships with design schools and universities
• Attend job fairs and career exhibitions
• Maintain a polished online presence
• Gather positive reviews on job sites
• Showcase your creative work online

A Brand Guide

Brand guidelines are the rules and standards that a company uses to communicate its brand. Essentially, they’re an instruction manual on how to represent yourself to the world, including:

• Information about the business’s history, mission, values, and vision
• The company logo (in all of its different formats and colors)
• Acceptable colors (including RGB and CMYK codes)
• Typefaces
• Brand tone
• Grammar rules (e.g., do you use the Oxford comma?)
• Graphic elements and symbols other than the logo
• Wordmarks

Benefits of brand guidelines:

• Ensure consistent communication across all channels
• Improve brand recognition
• Save time by eliminating the need to reinvent design elements for each project

Software

Design Software

For creative agencies, design software is an absolute must. At a minimum, your team will need:

• Image editing software
• Page layout software
• Multimedia development software

Examples:

• Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop (photo editing), InDesign (page layouts), Illustrator (graphics/vector imagery)
• Sketch
• Free options: Canva

Project Management Software

Project management software helps in-house design agencies stay on top of deadlines, document progress, and better plan future projects. By automating tedious, time-consuming tasks such as tracking deadlines and auditing time spent, creatives can focus on creating.

Proofing Software

Proofing is one of the most important stages of the design process. The right proofing tools:

• Automate administrative tasks
• Keep files organized
• Put feedback into context
• Facilitate collaboration
• Reduce revision cycles
• Shorten project turnaround time

Collaborate Better With Ashore

In-house agencies can be incredibly valuable, but only if they have the resources they need for success.

Ashore:

• Streamlines communication
• Automates reminders and notifications
• Facilitates collaboration with contextual commenting
• Organizes proofs with proof timelines and dynamic organization
• Helps users get proofs approved 50% faster

Ready for a better proofing process?
Get started with Ashore today — it’s free!