Design leaders and design business owners with shady principles and no discipline would be my first. In that past 18 months I’ve been fortunate enough to have witnessed dozens of design agency new business presentations for my clients. Frankly, I have been left underwhelmed and disgusted by some of the behaviors of some of the agencies. Agencies still providing “free work” and worse still claiming work that they had little or no right to claim is sadly all too common. Fake touchpoints in some vain attempt to demonstrate the project was larger than it was, or the agencies’ responsibility was beyond designing a package. No tangible data points or perspective for the business and the brand’s growth, no idea how to present what design should mean in terms of value to the C-Suite. A yawn fest of animated logos for the sake of animation, culture videos and pet-friendly presentations (lord give me strength!), extended flavors to ranges that ultimately turned out to be fake, and in one instance two different agencies presented the same case study slide for slide. While I was honored to have been asked to participate in the exercises, I found myself apologizing on behalf of the industry to my clients. Agencies that I was genuinely excited to see present (from both sides of the pond) left me feeling disappointed and let down. We wonder why clients say it is difficult to select an agency, I now have a very good idea why this is the case. We all need to do better.

With practices like these I believe that the design industry needs a radical overhaul and honest look at itself.

There are far too many design business owners or individuals in new business roles who should be nowhere near a boardroom let alone a presentation that could determine the outcome of a business and other people’s livelihoods. The metaphor of the ostrich with its head in the sand would be perfect for the current state of design industry's attitude, with a blind faith that the good old days and big budgets will return and make everything better.

I pour some whiskey on the ground in homage to some of the great agencies and individuals we have lost in the past decade.

Agencies that helped define and set standards for us all are now long gone. Agencies that were acquired and melted into the soulless mega holding companies to take advantage of the person-to-person relationships that helped create and build the business in the first place. When the numbers rule everything while the industry continues to navel gazes at the industry awards and shiny objects, we all lose, and the bean counters and clients know it. The design industry can only blame itself for the mess we are in. It’s time to clean house.

I am not suggesting that everyone is guilty of such shady behaviors, or that there is a lack of creativity. I realize that I have been blessed with several unique opportunities to see the things that I have seen… to – in effect – look into the mirror of our agency community and how we show up to clients. Very few other people, whether clients or agencies, get this kind of view of the place in which we compete. So, some of these frustrating practices are a function of ignorance, lack of broader views, or appropriate category and industry assessments of our own industry. 

What I am advocating for is an honest understanding of where we are as an industry, what needs to change for our clients and for all of us to align on some of the basics. Something that should be simple to comprehend and easy to apply. Wishful thinking? Possibly. However, we must start somewhere, or the ultimate decline of this industry will be on our watch and for that alone and for the next generation

I am prepared to stand up and be counted. 

— Dyfed “Fred” Richards