Writing

Running an agency

The Death of the Agency Has Been Greatly Exaggerated

If I lived and worked in San Fransisco, the current "death of the agency" debate may have slightly more poignancy than it does in the UK. San Francisco and the wider Bay Area is undoubtedly living through a huge tech bubble, and has been for some time. The slew of new tech businesses quickly hoovered up the local talent, before starting to ship them in from around the country and the rest of the world. This includes dozens of Brits I know who have left these shores for a better life in California.

Tech Culture

My Concerns about Value Pricing

While I think the argument for value pricing has a logical constancy, and sounds great in theory, I worry how it will end up being applied in practice. My main concern is the effect this approach will have on the practice of design and our relationship with clients, although I have a number of practical concerns as well.

Running an agency

Introduction to Value Pricing

I think most designers would agree that design has a huge amount to offer businesses in terms of differentiating products, solving complex problems and delivering increased value to consumers. I think most designers would also agree that this ability is often ignored or seriously undervalued by those same businesses.

Personal

Could the movies of your youth be made today?

Looking back, my adolescence seems like a halcyon time, devoid of mobile phones and status updates. Heading into the big city was an adventure into the unknown, and even something as mundane as meeting up with friends was fraught with uncertainty and excitement.

Design Practice

My Advice to Young Designers and Developers

I meet them on a regular basis, tech-savvy teens who've been coding websites from an early age. They'll often seek my advice about breaking into the industry. Should they continue their studies or jump straight into the labour market? I usually tell them that ability trumps education and I don't put much faith on the current raft of tech degrees. So I'd prefer to see three years of experience than three years of study.

Design Practice

Specialism, Ego and The Dunning-Kruger Effect

Every few weeks I see a discussion emerge that tries to dismiss the need for specialists in our industry, or refute their existence entirely. It usually goes along the lines of "I'm a [insert discipline] and I do my own [insert activity] so [insert specialism] is unnecessary or doesn't exist".