Apr 13, 2026

In-House Clients: Setting boundaries, building relationships and the art of pushing back

About Krys Blackwood, Crystal Carter RGD, Andy Epstein

About this video

Description

In-House Strategies for Success: A 4-Part Webinar Series for In-House Creative Teams

What does it really take to thrive as an in-house creative today? From building influence and managing internal clients to reigniting creativity and understanding where in-house design is headed, this four-part panel series brings together experienced in-house leaders for candid, practical conversations about the realities of working inside organizations.

Across four sessions throughout the year, you’ll hear honest perspectives, proven strategies, and real-world lessons from creatives who understand the unique challenges—and opportunities—of in-house work. Each panel dives into a different aspect of the in-house experience, offering actionable insights to help you strengthen relationships, advocate for your team, stay creatively energized, and navigate the evolving role of design within your organization.

In-House Clients: Setting boundaries, building good relationships and the art of pushing back
Managing in-house clients can be challenging. They may not be familiar with the design process or may even think they are designers themselves. In this session, speakers will share practical strategies for managing these relationships and working toward the best possible design outcome—together.

Moderated by Kathleen Scott RGD, Design Principal and Brand Management Lead at Bruce Power

Presentations:

Earned Trust, Lasting Change: A Stakeholder Relationship Guide, presented by Krys Blackwood, Principal User Experience Designer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Change rarely fails because of bad ideas — it fails because of broken trust. In this 15-minute talk, we'll explore three principles that turn resistant stakeholders into willing partners: making decisions grounded in data (and showing your work), practicing radical transparency even when it's uncomfortable, and investing in relationships long before you ever need to cash them in. Whether you're introducing a new process, shifting a team's direction, or navigating organizational politics, the groundwork you lay today determines how smoothly change lands tomorrow.

Inside Voice: Building Successful Client Relationships In-House, presented by Crystal Carter RGD, Brand Designer at Western University
This presentation explores how in-house designers can move beyond execution to become trusted partners within their organizations. Drawing on real-world experience, this talk shares practical, hard-won strategies for building credibility, navigating internal dynamics, and strengthening relationships with stakeholders.

So Many Clients, So Little Time: The other folks holding the keys to your kingdom, presented by Andy Epstein, Principal at Invangelist LLC
Unlike our external agency colleagues, as in-house creative professionals, in addition to our traditional clients who we work so hard to keep happy, we have a whole other group of stakeholders we’re beholden to. We’re talking about the folks in Procurement, IT, HR, Finance, etc. These groups have a big say in the budgets we’re given, the resources we’re provided and even the way we operate, so it’s imperative that we keep all those people happy too.
In this session, Andy will cover the who, where, when, how and why of addressing the very real need to keep these other stakeholders informed, engaged and respectful of you, your teams and appreciative of the contributions your in-house agency makes to your host organization.

About Krys Blackwood

Krys is a principal user experience researcher and designer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she leads the Human Centered Design Group. She is a proud member of the team designing the future of mission operations with the Deep Space Network and Perseverance Mars Rover. She has also designed ground systems for the Mars Sample Return, NISAR, Europa Clipper and Europa Lander missions. Before joining JPL in 2015, Krys spent 20 years in Silicon Valley, designing ecommerce and healthcare experiences with companies ranging from tiny startups to industry giants. Krys’s philosophy centers on an unwavering faith that when companies and products are designed around the needs of the end user, everyone wins. This is even more true when the company is a government organization, the product is a space robot, and the users are rocket scientists.

Crystal Carter RGD

Crystal is a multidisciplinary creative alchemist with two decades of experience transmuting the stories behind brands into compelling, award-winning work. Always infused with her magical blend of courage, curiosity and empathy.
Inside Voice: Building Successful Client Relationships In-House

Andy Epstein

Andy, for the first ten years of his career, worked as a freelance illustrator and designer and then moved into in-house creative agency management, starting in the toy and gift industry and later moving into the pharmaceutical, finance, consumer goods and energy industries. He has built and led multidisciplinary creative teams ranging in size from 10 to 100+ individuals at both large and small organizations.
Andy has been very active in the design community having written for Graphic Design USA, Dynamic Graphics and HOW as well as publishing The Corporate Creative, a book on all things in-house. Having cofounded InSource, he then went on to lead INitiative, the AIGA program dedicated to supporting its in-house membership. Andy has also presented at numerous AIGA and HOW conferences, Adobe Max, as well as many RGD virtual and live events.
Andy now consults with in-house agencies supporting their efforts to establish and enhance their organizational and operational infrastructure and team culture.