InsightApr 02, 2025

Business Perspectives: Scaling a firm without losing creative strength

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Every creative firm dreams of growth, but with growth comes a real challenge. As teams expand and client demands increase, it’s easy to slip into a production mindset, where speed and efficiency take priority over bold ideas. The risk? Becoming just another delivery engine instead of a creative leader.

We asked RGD firm owners to share how they scaled their firm while keeping the creative work strong and not just turning it into a production house.

Paddy Harrington RGD, Founder & Principal at Frontier

Scale can happen in multiple ways. It can be the total number of team members, the total revenue, the client size or the impact of the work. Personally, I’m most interested in growing revenue and impact rather than team size. It happens by staying active in the market so that people get to know you better and think about you when new project opportunities arise. Partly, it’s about identifying project types that can give you more stability regarding duration and fees. It’s also about creating a new business process that creates a healthy pipeline of opportunities, starting with many possible leads and funnelling down to tangible, realistic project opportunities and ensuring the funnel is continually full across its entire spectrum. That means lots and lots of networking, emailing and staying on top of what’s happening with your clients and people you’d like to work for eventually.

Meggan Van Harten RGD, Co-CEO at Design de Plume

Scaling without sacrificing creativity starts with having a clear vision and values that act as your north star. At Design de Plume, our IIDEAS lenses (Indigeneity, Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Sustainability) guide every decision we make. They ensure that our work remains meaningful, impactful and aligned with our core purpose. By embracing these principles, we stay connected to the creative process and avoid slipping into production-mode thinking. Finding your niche also helps. It lets you stay inspired while building deep expertise. Growth doesn't have to mean dilution; it can mean evolution, as long as the work continues to challenge, inspire and align with the heart of your agency.

Vida Jurcic RGD, Partner and Co-Creative Director at Hangar 18 Design Continum

Hangar 18 started small in 1996 with only three people, including myself and grew to 22 people in four years in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Although we did some award-winning creative work, there was also a large quantity of “production” work, which was actually quite profitable; in fact, the most profitable part of the business at the time. This was what gave us the room to do the creative stuff. We had plenty of bodies in place to handle everything. The business climate has changed now, and the best way to scale is to hire on contract as needed. This way, you can have the appropriate resources for your current projects and keep on being creative. It keeps things constantly fresh, the creative team inspired and the company culture evolving with the times.

Elia Kanaki RGD, CEO at Rossul

We rarely change the size of our creative team on a project basis. Bringing on a new member takes time, and we avoid letting go of talent unless it's absolutely necessary. Instead, we concentrate on the current team productivity, identifying more efficient workflows by examining previous projects to find areas needing improvement, optimizing design task management, enhancing file organization and more. When the workload lightens, we either enroll our designers in appropriate courses or provide them with additional time off while ensuring they continue to receive their full salaries.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix RGD, President and Founder at Shikatani Lacroix Design

It starts with a well-positioned firm with a clearly defined purpose and place to win within its industry. Doing great work begins with being positioned as the expert, to coin David Baker and Blair Enns. As experts, clients value great creative that answers business problems and often leads to winning awards. Staying focused on the firm’s purpose and value proposition will attract new clients who share in the value the firm creates, allowing for the continuation of great work.