Choosing the Right Creative Partner

Studio, Agency or Freelancer?

Here’s what actually matters

A conversation I have a lot

This usually comes up early on in a project or meeting.

We’re sitting down, talking about a brand, and at some point the question lands:

“So… are you a studio or an agency?”

And I get why people ask it.

They’re trying to work out:

• who’s actually doing the work

• how big the team is

• and whether they’re going to be looked after

Fair question.

But I usually answer it differently.

My honest answer

I say something like:

“Neither really… I’m the person you’re actually going to work with.”

Because that’s the truth.

I’m not sitting in a layered agency structure where everything gets passed through account managers, strategists, and layers of approval.

I’ve worked in those places.

Small studios in London. Agencies in Dublin and Berlin. Big agencies in Sydney and Brisbane.

I know how they operate.

The hierarchy. The departments. The handovers. The process that sometimes helps… and sometimes slows everything down.

What I learned from that world

Don’t get me wrong, agencies are good at what they do.

They’ve got structure. Scale. Teams. Systems.

But I also saw something else:

Too many layers. Too many interpretations.

And somewhere along the way, the person who actually cares most about the outcome can get disconnected from the client.

That never really sat right with me.

So I did the opposite

Over time I realised something simple:

Client to designer. Founder to creative. Idea to execution, without the noise.

That’s how I like to work now.

I prefer sitting with owners, founders, brewers, barbers, operators, the people actually building something.

Because they don’t need things translated three times.

They need someone who can:

• ask the right questions

• understand the business quickly

• and turn that into something real

A project that stuck with me

I had a client a few years ago (when I still ran a production and merchandise company as well as design work).

They were spending serious money on print and packaging.

And every time something went to print, it was just… “standard”.

No one was really questioning it.

Same substrates. Same setups. Same approach. Same printer.

But once I got involved properly, I started looking at it differently.

Not just design — but production.

How it would print .How it would hold up on shelf. How much they were actually wasting on overcomplicated setups and old print technics that didn’t add value.

We made small changes.

Nothing flashy.

Just smarter decisions.

And they saved over a thosaund dollars ont the first print run, not by cutting corners, but by improving how things were made, by changing suppliers. That’s the part most people don’t see.

This is what I actually do

Yes, I design brands.

But I also:

• challenge assumptions early

• simplify production decisions

• make sure what gets designed actually works in the real world

• and help clients avoid expensive setups

• sometimes introduce them to new suppliers

• stick with a project until the end, until its delivered

• I'm your quality control

  
  

Because I’ve sat on both sides.

Design studio side. Production side. Agency side.

I know where money gets lost.

And I know where it can be saved.

Why I keep it small

I’ve run bigger.

I've had staff. Systems. Overheads. Many moving parts.

And I realised something pretty quickly:

So I pulled it back.

Not because I couldn’t grow it.

But because I didn’t want to build an empire.

I prefer keeping things:

• small

• flexible

• direct

• personal

It means I stay close to the work. And close to the people I’m working with. We've got a shared, vested interest.

What this means for clients

Working with someone like me isn’t about “outsourcing design”.

It’s more like adding someone into your team for a period of time who actually understands:

• branding

• production

• packaging

• and real-world application

Without:

• agency overheads

• long chains of communication

• or junior handoffs

You’re not paying for a big machine.

You’re paying for experience, direct attention, and execution that doesn’t get lost in translation.

Final thought

At the end of the day, I think good branding comes down to this:

For me, I’ve always preferred the second option.

That’s where the best work happens.