We call our library
‘The Design Business Review’

It’s a library of articles about the business of design.

The articles are based on real questions from real design businesses — pricing, positioning, client management, mental wellbeing, and the research we've done into what actually works. Many originated from knowledge earned from 30 years running a studio, and updated with research and insights from mentoring sessions with Australian designers.

New articles land every Wednesday morning AEST, straight to your inbox.
Got a topic you’re interested in but can’t find? Let us know… we might be able to help.

Design business, creative business, design studio, design career, Managing a design studio, managing an agency, business of design Carol Mackay Design business, creative business, design studio, design career, Managing a design studio, managing an agency, business of design Carol Mackay

A back-of-envelope benchmark worth doing even if your agency is thriving

Life can get very complicated for founders. Grab a calculator and give me 20 minutes and you’ll reveal if your studio has a profit leak and what to do about it.

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burn out, designers burn out, profitability, productivity for designers, productivity for creatives, using timesheets, profitability for designers, profitability for creatives, benchmarks for creatives Greg Branson burn out, designers burn out, profitability, productivity for designers, productivity for creatives, using timesheets, profitability for designers, profitability for creatives, benchmarks for creatives Greg Branson

Busy? Profitable? Burnt out?

When we ask creative agency owners how things are going we often hear the same answer. “We’re busy, not profitable enough and feeling burnt out”

Busy and profitable don’t mean your business is healthy.

In our work we see agencies looking at financial performance and team wellbeing as two completely separate issues.

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