With more and more brands competing to create the most engaging and compelling digital experiences, this is a really exciting time to consider joining an in-house design team.
Whilst User Experience and Project Management professionals are often pushing for more in-house work, it’s often something that designers overlook. Of course, there are some great design and digital agencies producing outstanding work, and there always will be.
However, as a designer, if you’ve not thought about working as part of an in-house team before, or thought it’s not for you, here are some of the reasons our contacts tell us they like working in-house as well as for agencies:
1. End to end involvement in projects
You will often get to work on big, meaty projects right from the very early ideas and concept stage and see your work through to final execution.
2. Brands are doing innovative, exciting work too
There are so many brands doing really innovative digital projects which are on a par with any agency work you might get.
We’ve placed designers working on a large interactive wall for a leading retailer, a complex trading application (great project for anyone who loves data visualisation and solving complex design problems), and a responsive design project for a well-known travel brand – to name a few.
3. The engagements are longer-term brand side
As a contractor, if you want to work on longer term engagements, then taking on client side contracts could be for you.
Typically, the in-house briefs we get are anywhere between 3 and 6 months, often rolling on even longer.
4. Working within talented, multi-disciplinary teams
You get to work as part of a close team with some really talented individuals.
With so many more exciting projects being done in-house and the rise in interest from UX Designers and Project Managers to work on these projects, you really do get to work with some of the best talent in the industry.
5. Opportunity to develop a wider range of skills
For any designers who want to influence the whole user experience of a project and work closely with UX professionals, working as part of an in-house team often gives you the opportunity to do this.
You may also have the opportunity to develop skills in user experience, as well as stakeholder management and presentation skills.
Don’t judge a project by its cover (or brand)
Of course, working in-house is not for everyone, and there are always going to be brilliant projects done by design agencies if it’s not for you.
However, don’t be too quick to rule it out, and base your decision on the brand itself and the project they’re offering.
Brands that don’t seem exciting on the surface are sometimes doing the most exciting, cutting-edge work – scratch the surface before you rule out going client-side!