Small, Medium or Large?
Having worked in large bureaucratic environments, small boutique studios and as a freelancer, I’ve sat and listened to arguments from all sides about which is the superior set up for optimal design quality and efficiency.
Those designers who namelessly punch their card at 9am, juggle dozens of projects at a time and have three other people above them making decisions will usually tell you that corporate is the way to go. Who else can handle such sizable clients with such sizable orders? The sheer logistics of some of the jobs that larger shops take on is boggling, with handfuls each of copy writers and art directors and web developers and motion graphic artists trying hard to dance in-step with one another, pirouetting and sashaying to the rhythm pounded out by the titan at the top (that is, the Creative Director).
No no, say the boutique shops. That is not the way. We have far more creative work, but can still handle large clients. We’ve got the acumen and organization to take care of that Big Box store account, but we’ve retained enough of our wits to still provide something creative and non-conformist. Our work is not cycled through a dozen hands, design-by-committee style, before it reaches your inbox. One designer creates, a more experienced designer critiques, and that’s that.
But let’s not forget about the humble soloist: the modern freelancer. Untarnished by costly brick-and-mortar overhead, this individual’s office is wherever they can find an outlet for their laptop, free WiFi and a decent cup of coffee. Their prices can’t be beat, their creative integrity is still intact, and they can get those changes back to you yesterday.
In truth, each point of this triangle makes valid arguments. It would be difficult (though not impossible) for an ambitious freelancer to handle a major, corporate-sized account, but it’s much easier to trust the task to a group of people who have far more to lose if they mess up. Further, large- and mid-sized companies with flair need someplace a little less homogenized to get their creative work done, and a lot of times a freelancer won’t offer a round enough scope of services to fulfill all of the client’s needs. And indeed, some clients are far too small to get paid much heed by a company that has salaries to pay, rent checks to write and a dress code.
To have all these different options available is a boon rather than a bane to the creative community: despite the fact that the different tiers might sometimes play in each other’s yard, it doesn’t mean that the industry eco-system would easily recover if one of the components were to be removed.
It’s because of this that I’ve always been a fan of hybrid studios…groups that straddle the gap between the three main categories of design shop to create something new. A collective that dynamically shrinks or grows depending on the skillsets required by a particular project. A boutique shop that is totally virtual, significantly cutting down on overhead and raising response time. A freelancer that works fast and rarely sleeps, with a collection of skillsets that add up to those of a small studio.
Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” Our environment is evolving quickly. Hopefully the design industry will be able to keep up.