Design Agency

3 Design Agency Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: October 10th, 2024

Have an eye for design and a knack for creativity? Consider starting a design agency.

At its core, a design agency helps businesses and individuals create compelling visuals, ranging from logos and websites to marketing materials and branding strategies.

The beauty of this business lies in its flexibility—you can start from a home office with just a laptop and creativity. You’ll need to master design software like Adobe Creative Suite or Sketch and possibly hire other designers as you grow.

While the demand for design services is high, building a client base requires diligent networking and showcasing a strong portfolio. This isn’t just about prettifying things; it’s about solving problems and telling stories through design. If you’re driven by creating meaningful, functional aesthetics, a design agency could be your next venture.

In this list, you'll find real-world design agency success stories and very profitable examples of starting a design agency that makes money.

1. Design Joy ($1.74M/year)

Brett had started with sharing his design works on social media (even the scrappiest ones). With time, he was able to refine his skills more and more, and fast forward to today he runs this agency with 50 clients as a solo designer and has 10x'd his prices from when he started.

How much money it makes: $1.74M/year
How many people on the team: 0

How Brett Williams Built Design Joy to $1.7M ARR

Learn how Brett Williams scaled Design Joy from a weekend project to a $1.74 million/year design agency, handling 50 clients solo, by mastering productized services and leveraging platforms like Product Hunt and Indie Hackers for growth.

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2. Percept ($1.32M/year)

Lewis Jenkins, the founder of Percept Brand Design, started his business 24 years ago with a vision of creating a design agency that prioritized work-life balance and did not rely on unpaid overtime. Despite starting as a one-man show, Percept has grown to a team of 10 and now generates approximately $1.5 million in revenue each year. By implementing a pricing structure that tripled the quality of work delivered and the billing rate, Jenkins was able to achieve financial success while also maintaining a high quality of life.

How much money it makes: $1.32M/year
How much did it cost to start: $20K
How many people on the team: 8

I Bootstrapped My One-Man-Show Branding Agency To $1.2M/Year

This case study is about how Lewis Jenkins bootstrapped his branding and creative agency in Sydney, which now turns over approximately $1.5M/year, employs 10 staff, and has worked with high-profile clients such as Unilever, Dulux, Toyota, Sennheiser, and The Australian Government, while maintaining a focus on company culture and work/life balance.

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Read by 4,087 founders

3. Draft ($216K/year)

Passionate about UX design since the very start, Nick wasn't able to get a job in this industry. He began with writing a book about to how to get started in UI UX and became one of the earliest hit projects of Kickstarter back in 2008, raising over $10k. 5 years later, taking a month off from his UX job, Nick decided to continue with working independently like he did with his book, and formulated Draft, a company that he runs entirely on his own terms even after a decade.

How much money it makes: $216K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 1

How I Run A $18K/Month Interaction Design Consultancy

Learn how Draft, an interaction design consultancy known for their influential books on design & technology, has thrived through word-of-mouth and niche outlets, bringing in an average of $18,000 a month split between consulting and educational work.

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Read by 3,369 founders