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.
Changing the way clients look at your pricing
You quote the same fee and deliverables and one client signs without blinking. Another baulks and asks you to “revisit the numbers.” What changed is the framing, not the price.
Your design has impact. But…
Every design project creates impact, whether the designer or client chooses to recognise it or not. The challenge is to understand what that impact might be.
Marketing has a measurement problem. Designers are paying for it.
New research confirms what many designers know: the old ways of working aren’t cutting it anymore. Let’s look at what’s changing and what successful studios are doing about it.
Profiting from change in the design industry
While others dwell on the changes disrupting the design industry, you focus on the things you can change. Introduce a toolkit that helps manage costing, pricing and profit.
Busy may not = profitable
Busy and profitable are very different things. A busy diary can be one of the most dangerous indicators in a design business. Activity feels like progress but keeping an eye on some key metrics tells you whether progress is real. Here’s 2 key business metrics worth measuring – and what they look like for high-performing Australian design studios.