Five signs your studio is actually a production house
Many design agencies are unknowingly morphing into production houses. The work is steady, the income reliable, but the creative satisfaction and profit margins are shrinking.
It happens slowly, but the transformation is insidious … here’s five warning signs you’re becoming a production house, why that’s a problem and what to do about it.
Sign #1 Your clients dictate the solution
Production houses take orders. Creative agencies solve problems.
If your clients regularly come to you with a solution (“we need this product”) rather than a problem (“we need to explain this better to our customers”), you’re probably running a production house.
The fix:
Start every brief with “what’s the real problem we’re trying to solve?” Even if the client insists on a report, understanding the underlying problem opens opportunities for strategic thinking and better solutions
Sign #2 You quote by deliverables
When estimates are based purely on outputs (website $X, logo $Y), you’re competing solely on price and efficiency.
Strategic design studios price on value and impact. They know a logo for a startup has different strategic value than one for a national brand.
The fix:
Estimate with options and include strategy and research time in every one. Show clients the thinking behind the design is as valuable as the design itself even if they don’t ask for that service. Our research shows clients who understand the strategic process are willing to pay 30-40% more.
Sign #3 Your team is bored
Production work is repetitive: templates, guidelines, authors corrections.
When designers become task-completers rather than problem-solvers, creativity dies and good people leave.
‘We were churning out social media content daily. The money was good but our best designer quit saying she felt more like a machine than a creative.”
#dissatisfied
The fix:
Allocate time for creative exploration. Even small jobs can have strategic elements. Encourage your team to question briefs and propose alternative solutions.
Sign #4 Your margins are shrinking
The democratisation of design (Adobe targeting non-designers on mainstream marketing channels and Canva continually improving their product) means production work is increasingly automated (AI) or outsourced. When you compete on execution rather than thinking, you’re in a race to the bottom.
The fix:
Use records to track which projects bring the best margins.
Identify your deep-knowledge skillset and build case studies around these projects to attract similar work.
Use evidence-based examples to demonstrate the impact of design (even if they’re not your examples, yet).
Sign #5 You’ve stopped learning
Production houses perfect processes. Design agencies perfect thinking.
If your team isn’t regularly challenged to learn new skills or tackle new problems, you’re probably in production mode.
The fix:
Upskill by hiring or acquiring. Invest in strategic skills. Learn to facilitate workshops. Study behaviour change. Understanding business strategy is as valuable as mastering the latest design software.
Making the shift
Moving from production to strategic design isn’t easy. It requires:
- (sometimes) a change in client
- confidence to challenge briefs
- skills to facilitate strategic conversations
- patience to build case studies
- courage to turn down production work
But the rewards are worth it:
- higher fees
- better margins
- increased creative satisfaction
- stronger client relationships/partnerships
- more sustainable business model
So what?
Production work have always existed, and some design agencies choose this path deliberately but with the democratisation of design, and the rapid advance of AI, this work will be the first to disappear.
If you’re feeling trapped in production mode, use warning signs and fixes to help shift towards more strategic, satisfying and profitable work.
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Need a third-party perspective? That’s just what we do … Email Carol for a chat.
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Carol Mackay
Design Business Council – business advice for creatives
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About Carol Mackay
After 30+ years running a design studio, I accumulated a pretty special network of fellow designers. One thing most have in common: a need for more information about the ‘business’ side of design. Most are impatient with any task competing for time spent doing what they love – designing so they wanted more info about how to work more efficiently and effectively.
Not me. I love that intersection between design and business. I built a career working with Ombudsman schemes, the Emergency Services sector and the Courts. My special power has always been an ability to use design to translate the difficult to understand or the unpalatable message.
I now use exactly the same skills with creative business owners. I translate the indigestible into bite-sized chunks of information. I share insights, introduce tools and embed processes to help others build confidence business decision-making skills. More confidence makes it easier to grasp opportunities. More confidence makes it easier to recognise a good client from the bad.
Outside DBC I have mentored with Womentor, AGDA The Aunties, and most recently Regional Arts NSW.
And I’m a proud volunteer and board member of Never Not Creative.
Always happy to chat, I can be contacted here.
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