Costing, Pricing, Profit. Measure what matters

If your design agency feels busy but not profitable, you’re not alone. Many Australian studios are running flat-out yet wondering why the numbers don’t stack up. The problem isn’t effort — it’s focus. You might be measuring the wrong things..

Most designers track what’s easy: hours worked, billable time, number of projects, likes on social posts. Those metrics tell you how hard you’re working, not how well your business is performing. The truth is, what you measure shapes what you value and if you measure
the wrong things, you make the wrong decisions.

Measures what matter

Measure profit per client, not just total revenue. You’ll quickly see which clients are worth keeping and which are draining your energy.

Measure project margin, not just project value. Aim for a 30% project margin measured in a job P+L.

Measure utilisation, not activity. If your team is running below 70%, you’re paying for idle time. Running above that and you may be placing them under stress.

And most importantly, measure outcomes, not outputs. Ask: what business impact did our design create? Did it improve sales, awareness, engagement or efficiency? That’s the real measure of value.

If you need help in doing all this take a look at our costing, pricing profit toolkit.

Money and impact

The best studios we work with review these numbers monthly. They talk about money and impact, not just creativity. They know which clients and services drive profit and which need to change.

To make your business perform better next year, stop counting what’s easy. Start measuring what matters.

If you want to learn more about how the DBC is helping Australian design businesses contact Greg Branson.

Greg Branson

Contact Greg Branson if you would like to learn more about the many programs the DBC offers.

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About Greg Branson

Greg’s passion is the research and development of methods that improve design management and the role of design in business.

His longevity is in his ability to change and adapt. Greg’s career as a traditionally-trained photographer; became an academic, teaching photography to design students. He co-founded and ran Mackay Branson design (for over 25 years) until, recognising an area that he loved – design management – was not an area traditionally covered in design education. This lead to him founding Design Business Council. Since then he has worked alongside hundreds of Australian creatives helping them manage their business better.

Greg has sat on the AGDA Victoria and National councils, on a number of University and TAFE Advisory Boards and helped rewrite the VCE Visual Communication curriculum.

Outside of DBC, he is a passionate analogue photographer who spends an inordinate amount of time in his darkroom. You can follow his work on instagram @gregurbanfilm

Always happy to chat, he can be contacted here.