I prefer doing both. I have yet to find the sweet spot of how to split it up, but I think that being on both sides of the fence gives you the upper hand. It allows for empathy on each side, rather than being one-dimensional.

I really enjoy doing agency work, partly because it makes personal projects that much more valuable. I’m sure working on both ends has helped you in developing Flow, and the ability to work on both has definitely helped me to understand the practical limitations and benefits of both.

I agree with Dan, I think to be well rounded you really need to get some experience on both sides, although I really love doing regular client / agency work because of the ability to change projects so frequently. Working client side also can mean duldrums from working on the same project for weeks, months, even years!

(Looking forward to your client management solution Mark!)

I think it depends on the client you’re working for. I always thought I wanted to do agency work because I grew quickly tired of working on the same project over and over again and the slow-moving mentality of the companies (actually, Universities) I was working for. Then, I came to my current job (working for an innovative newspaper and news media company) and found that if you have the right client, there are a great deal of advantages to working on internal projects. I think I actually like it better now. But, a lot of that has to do with the fact that my company has a lot of varied projects and a sincere desire to innovate and take risks—which makes it a lot less boring than some previous jobs I’ve had.

I work client-side, but with the diversity of products I don’t often get the “never-ending project” feeling. It happens, just not that often. I also work freelance on evenings and weekends to exercise some creative freedom. Helps keep the morale high. :-)

Having spent half of my career working client-side, I’ve found two main things that differentiate it from working for an agency:

1. The client is in the same building as you
Not necessarily true if you’re working for a big company, but the point is that most companies with an in-house design team still tend to emulate an agency/client relationship, with the various other departments you service being the clients. So you’re still serving clients in the same way you would working for an agency, except that this client can come peer over your shoulder whenever he/she wishes.

2. You work with one brand
Agencies with multiple clients have the potential to afford you a variety of brands within which to be creative; when working client-side, you usually have one. And chances are, it’ll get old.

I guess my experiences working client-side have been a bit more negative, but I still much prefer agency or freelance work. There’s something to be said for separation and variety.

I work client-side now, and I previously worked for an agency and I’ve got to say I hate working client-side, but its probably my personal situation. I could see it be more pleasant if the situation was different. Reasons why I hate it:

1) I feel like a small gear in a big machine</stong> - I feel like what I do doesn’t make a difference. I don’t feel I’m appreciated either. This could certainly happen on the agency side too, but when you work client-side its typically for medium to large corporation and the more people, the more likely you will be underapppreciated.

<strong>2) It gets boring easily - Working on the same website all the time can get rather boring. Things get stale very fast and that could hinder your creativity if you don’t watch out. Working agency side, the projects change on a regular basis and you get to start fresh on something new.

3) There’s a bureaucracy for every decision - I don’t even tell anybody my ideas anymore because they get shot down or they get lost somewhere in the shuffle. I’m too cutting edge for them I suppose, for the lack of a better phrase, this company is so “web 1.0.”

I will jump at the first chance I get to go back to agency-side. I love working on different projects and there’s a lot more room to exercise innovation.

I’ve worked both, and it’s definitely a ‘grass is greener on the other side’ situation. On the client-side, I longed for some variety in what I was doing, which became a grind.

It was only after moving to agency side (and currently running my own agency), that I realised how rewarding being on the client side could be. I have a couple of clients that I would love to do more for, and have loads of ideas for how we could improve their site, but they don’t have the budget for it. Barring doing free work, we have to temper everything to fit, and I really wish sometimes I could just spend all day every day making their site better, instead of watching the clock and stopping short.

I’m sure a good six months of it and I’d be looking for variety again though!

I get to work client side for my largest client - I have a desk on site - whilst doing other work too. I think it is great. Working client side gives a greater immediacy to the design work - if the client doesn’t like it, he’s only a desk or two away. There’s also the instant benefits that are possbile with small but significant changes to a working web site. There’s also more feedback about how the site is being used, whereas with one off design jobs you never really know how much it is used, or which bits work best.

So I would say that client side work makes for better commercial designers.

I’m currently doing a bit of both in my full-time employment: working internally most of the time, and servicing external clients some of the time.

Maybe it’s the company I work for, but I actually find that it’s easier to work for external clients: they know exactly what they want before they ask for it, they have deadlines in their own mind, and a rough idea on just how much they want to spend. Whereas, internally, we get ideas thrown at us that are “urgent” when they’re far from it, and most of the time, they’re badly thought out. I think having a team in-house has led the bosses to become much more compacent as to their attitude to web development and design…

But I agree with you Mark, it’s a good experience to have under yer belt, especially if you go freelance on a full-time basis, which is something I’m within spitting distance of now. Thank God! Or should I be frightened!? ;o)

To word this another way, I definitely think there’s something to be said for working on _products_.

I spent 3 years doing the rounds of agencies in London and while the work was interesting and exciting it was stressful and money was tight. Most small to medium sized agencies seem to work on very tight margins so they need quick turnarounds with the minimum of manpower.

On the flip side, working on product apps has been a whole different experience. The working ethos is very different, with the emphasis on employees instead of output. The work can be as rewarding but treading the same ground can be frustrating.

It’s a toss-up! A mix of the both is probably ideal…

Clients side :D.. love it..

My biggest problem is always the expanding application requirements.. Day 1 its x and y by the end of the week its x, y, z.. and so on..

This effects both design and dev..

Thats my 2cents..

Speaking with my professional hat on, I have worked on both sides of the fence.

The most dangerous situation is when you’re working client side, under the client’s manager, and they don’t have any motivational or management skills.

I work both sides to be honest ... on the one hand, I do plenty of work for clients (which is what our company is there for!) but on the other, we’re working on in-house stuff - stuff that is useful to us from the perspective of being able to perform actions for clients without spending a lot of time - i.e. mass emails, etc etc.

So really, I think it’s good to concentrate on your clients a lot of the time, but also to invest some time in your own organisation.

Honestly, haven’t had the opportunity to work in a brand. but i think that working in a small team is really nice. i worked with a designer as a group and it was good, better than working alone.