We’re off to see a creative agency

Recently I had the ability to visit a top design agency in Austin, and it was an enlightening trip. The best part of the visit was the lengthy Q&A session with two senior designers, who answered every question we had. They went above and beyond to include constructive insight. Rather than simply answer that yes their favorite part of agency life was the variety of projects they got to work on, they elaborated on how this related to their way of designing and how it affected their everyday. One thing that really stuck in my mind about the UX profession was the genuine variety of backgrounds people had who came to UX. In a classroom setting, it made sense to me that people could be biologists, bakers, composers and stylists, but hearing that people who had been in UX for over half a decade had come from the same variety of backgrounds finally stuck to me. This realization made me even more excited to participate in UX design, to find a professional field that has evolved beyond standardized experiences to acknowledge and embrace diverse interests and journeys.

Compared to in-house design studios at larger companies that follow more familiar organization systems and timelines, this was an eye-opening visit that fleshed out what the agency experience could be like. While agencies get a bad reputation for their grueling pace, the visit demonstrated that there are people who thrive in this environment, and I would be lying if I didn’t admit that there was something fascinating about the agency world.