Moving from an in-house design role to agency life brings a very different set of challenges. Instead of knowing one brand inside out, you might be working across several brands, sectors, audiences and projects in the same week.

For a designer, that means learning to switch gears quickly, understand different brand personalities and guidelines, take feedback from different stakeholders, and still deliver great creative work, often within tight deadlines.

We sat down with Intimation’s Emmet Doherty, to find out what it’s really like moving from designing for one brand to designing for many.

What was the biggest mental shift you had to make when you stopped designing for one brand and started designing for many?

The biggest change was learning to switch gears quickly.

When you’re in-house, you know the brand inside out, so a lot of decisions become second nature. Working across multiple brands means you have to park that mindset and get into a completely different way of thinking depending on who you’re designing for.

I actually really enjoy the variety. No two days are the same, and moving between different brands keeps things interesting and constantly challenges you creatively.

How did your approach to brand guidelines change when you realised you’d need to understand new ones every week?

The key thing for me is taking the time to read through the brand guidelines before jumping into any design work.

It’s not just about understanding the colours, fonts and logos. I want to understand the company’s values, personality and tone of voice too. Those things are just as important when you’re creating something that genuinely feels like the brand.

And keeping the guidelines close to hand throughout the project definitely helps. It’s much easier to stay on brand when you have those rules and principles in front of you.

Has working across multiple brands changed how you think about consistency versus flexibility in design?

Definitely.

It’s made me realise that consistency isn’t about making everything look the same. It’s about making sure that whatever you’re creating still feels like that particular brand.

At the same time, you need to be flexible enough to adapt designs for different audiences, formats and platforms without losing the brand identity.

That’s where I think good design comes in… understanding where you can push things creatively while still knowing what makes the brand recognisable.

What skills from in-house life turned out to be more valuable than you expected in agency work?

Probably understanding the bigger picture.

Whether you’re working in-house or at an agency, design is ultimately about solving problems. Being in-house gave me a good understanding of how design fits into the wider business, rather than looking at a piece of creative in isolation.

That understanding is really valuable in an agency environment because you’re not just designing something that looks good. You need to understand what it’s trying to achieve and who it’s trying to reach.

How long does it really take to understand a brand well enough to design confidently for it?

I think that depends on the individual and their confidence level, but I’d say at least a few weeks and ideally having two or three projects under your belt.

You can read the guidelines and understand the brand on paper quite quickly but actually getting a feel for how that brand works in practice takes a little longer.

The more you work with a brand, the more instinctive those decisions become.

Is there such a thing as ‘your style’ when you’re designing for many brands?

There is definitely scope to put your own spin on things.

Brand guidelines are there for a reason, but they are guidelines. I think bending the lines slightly is absolutely fine if you believe it’s going to enhance the final design and still works within the overall brand identity.

Your own creativity doesn’t disappear when you’re working to a brand. It’s about knowing where you can use it.

How has getting feedback earlier; and more often; changed your process?

The overall process is fairly similar, but one thing I’ve noticed is that when you’re dealing with external clients and brands, the feedback and sign-off process can sometimes take longer.

There are often more people involved, and everyone needs to be happy with the final result.

That means communication becomes really important. It’s not just about producing the design; it’s about understanding feedback, making the right changes and keeping the project moving.

What’s been the biggest learning curve in designing as part of a wider system rather than in isolation?

Probably understanding that the design is just one part of a much bigger picture.

At an agency, you’re working alongside other people, disciplines and ideas. A design might need to work alongside copy, photography, web development, social media, PR or a wider campaign.

You have to think about how everything connects, rather than just whether one individual piece of work looks good.

What’s one habit from in-house design that you had to unlearn in agency life?

This isn’t really something I had to unlearn, but one of the luxuries of working in-house is that you can sometimes spend more time on a design or campaign without worrying too much about the hours involved or the number of revisions.

In agency life, time is a much bigger consideration.

Being able to manage your time, work efficiently and still deliver a high-quality piece of creative work is really important. That’s probably been one of the biggest adjustments for me.

What’s something agency work has taught you that you couldn’t have learned staying in-house?

Working across multiple brands has broadened my skills in a way that would be difficult to replicate when working with just one.

You become much more adaptable. You’re constantly learning about different industries, audiences and ways of communicating.

It also keeps you creatively fresh. You can’t rely on the same approach every time because every brand presents a different challenge.

Has working in a team changed how you define success in a design project?

Yes. Success isn’t necessarily about whether I personally think a design looks great.

It’s about whether it solves the problem, works for the audience, fits the brand and achieves what the client needs it to achieve.

Being part of a wider team reinforces that. The strongest piece of work is often the result of several people contributing different ideas and expertise.

For other designers who’ve made the switch, or are thinking about it, what was the hardest part for you?

Keeping on top of my time.

As I mentioned, time can feel like a luxury when you’re an in-house designer. Adjusting to agency timelines and having to balance several projects at once has been a challenge at times.

But it’s also a really valuable skill to develop. You become much more aware of how you’re spending your time and how to work efficiently without compromising on quality.

Is it better to know one brand deeply, or many brands broadly?

I don’t think one is strictly better than the other. They’re two different skill sets.

I’ve really enjoyed knowing a brand inside out, but sometimes that familiarity can make you complacent. When you work with multiple brands, you’re constantly having to look at things differently.

Working across many brands has broadened my skills, challenged me creatively and given me the opportunity to express myself in lots of different ways.

And ultimately, that’s one of the things I enjoy most about agency life.

One designer. Many brands. Many different ways to think creatively.

At Intimation, that variety is part of what makes agency work so interesting … understanding what makes each client different, then finding the creative approach that works for them.