Define the job before you search
Most bad agency matches start with a vague brief. "We need a redesign" can mean ten different things. Before you talk to anyone, write down the job in a few lines.
- What is the problem? "Sign-ups stop at step three." "We have no designer and a developer waiting." "Our AI feature confuses people."
- What should exist at the end? A set of screens, a prototype, a live website, a fix list.
- By when, and with how much money? A rough range is enough. Agencies waste less of your time when they know the range.
- Who will use the result? Your developers, your investors, your customers.
This also tells you what kind of partner you need. A team that is good at marketing sites may not be the right one for dense product UI. A studio that does one-off projects may not suit a product that changes every week.
Who actually does the work
This is the question that matters most, and the one agencies like to skip. Ask it plainly: who will draw my screens?
In some agencies, the people you meet in the sales call are not the people who do the work. That is not always bad, but you should know. Ask for:
- The name and the role of the person doing the design every day.
- A chance to talk to them before you sign.
- What happens if that person leaves or is moved to another client.
- Whether anything is passed to a freelancer or another company.
Small studios often answer these well, because the people are the same. Larger ones can too, but the answer needs to be specific. If you get "our team of experts", ask again.
Scope, price and what is fixed
You want to know what you will pay and what you will get before the work starts. Check these points:
- Is the scope written down? Number of flows, number of screens, deliverables, number of review rounds.
- Is the price fixed, or hourly? Both can work. Fixed price protects you from surprises. Hourly can be fair for open-ended work, but you need a cap or regular reports.
- What happens when the scope changes? A good partner tells you what the change affects, then lets you choose: swap something out, or add time and cost.
- When do you pay? In steps, with something delivered at each step, is safer than everything upfront.
- Are prices public? It is not a must, but an agency that shows its prices is usually comfortable being compared. Ours are on the pricing page.
Be careful with very low prices and very vague quotes. Both usually mean extra costs later, or less attention than you expected.
What you own at the end
This is easy to forget until the project is over. Ask directly:
- Do you own the design files? You should get the source files, not just exported images or a PDF. Ask for the Figma file in your own account.
- Who owns the work? The contract should say the rights pass to you once you have paid.
- What about fonts, icons and stock images? If they use paid fonts or assets, you need licenses for your own use.
- Is the handoff usable? Can your developers build from the files without calling the agency every day? Ask what the handoff includes, and ask to see an example.
- Can you leave? If you want to work with someone else next quarter, can you? A good agency does not trap you.
How they communicate
Most agency problems are communication problems. A strong designer who disappears for two weeks and returns with a surprise is a bad fit, however good the screens are.
- Cadence. How often will you see work? Weekly is a good minimum. We send a short Loom video every week, so clients can see progress without a meeting.
- Channel. Shared Slack, email, a project tool. Pick what your team already uses.
- Time zones. Where is the team, and when can you reach them? You need at least a few hours of overlap each week for calls.
- Feedback. How do you give it, and how do they respond? Do they push back with reasons, or just agree with everything?
- Bad news. Ask how they handle a delay or a mistake. A direct answer is a good sign.
Reading their work for real proof
A portfolio of nice screenshots is not proof. Anyone can make a nice screenshot. Look deeper.
- Does each case say what the agency did? "Designed the onboarding and the dashboard" is clearer than "we partnered with the client".
- Is there a real result? A number, a launch or a change in how the client works. Be wary of results with no source and no context.
- Is it similar to your problem? A marketing site is not the same as a data-heavy product. Ask for work that is close to yours.
- Can you talk to a past client? Ask for one or two names. A good agency will find them, or tell you honestly why it cannot.
- Is the work live? Open the product. Does it look like the case study?
Reviews on sites like Clutch can help, but read them for detail. A review that says exactly what happened is worth more than a row of stars.
Red flags
Any one of these is a reason to slow down.
- They quote without asking a single question about your users or your goals.
- They promise a result they cannot control, such as a guaranteed rise in conversion.
- The price is very low, or you cannot get a clear price at all.
- They will not say who does the work.
- You would not get source files.
- They say yes to everything, including a scope that cannot fit in the time.
- They pressure you to sign this week.
- Their case studies have big numbers and no names, no dates and no context.
A good agency is also happy to tell you when it is not the right fit. If it only ever says yes, be careful.
Use this on us
We would rather you ask these questions of us than not ask them. If you want a place to start, our SaaS design agency page explains who we work with and how. If you would like to try us on something small first, send one page or flow to the free design review on the contact page. You will see how we think and how we write, before you spend anything.
