Agency selection guide
How to choose a design agency for an AI or developer-tool company
Start with relevant work, then ask who did it and what they delivered. Compare agencies against the same brief, agree how success will be measured, and confirm the team and scope before signing.
1. Define the work you need
Brand strategy, a marketing website, and product UX solve different problems. Name the primary problem before choosing an agency. A distinctive portfolio is useful only if the team can do the work your product needs.
- Brand and positioning
- You need a clear identity and a way to explain who the product is for, what it does, and why it matters.
- Marketing website
- You need visitors to understand the product and take a useful next step, such as reading documentation, starting a trial, or requesting a demo.
- Product UX
- You need people to complete tasks inside the product. For an AI product, this may include understanding uncertain outputs and recovering when something goes wrong.
2. Check the evidence behind the portfolio
Ask for a relevant case study and the agency’s exact role. Separate design, research, copywriting, development, and strategy. Confirm whether the people proposed for your project worked on the example you are reviewing.
For developer tools, ask how the team learned the technical product and worked with engineers or developer relations. For AI products, ask how it designed user control, feedback, errors, and limitations where those issues apply.
Client logos and polished screenshots are starting points. Use a walkthrough to understand the decisions, constraints, and delivered work. If outcomes are claimed, ask how they were measured and what else changed.
3. Compare agencies using the same questions
Our suggested comparison is a short set of evidence-based questions. Keep notes on what each agency can demonstrate, and mark unanswered questions for follow-up.
| What to assess | What to ask for |
|---|---|
| Relevant experience | A comparable project, the agency’s role, and a walkthrough of its decisions. |
| Proposed team | The people doing the work, their responsibilities, and who makes decisions. |
| Scope | Deliverables, exclusions, dependencies, revisions, and acceptance criteria. |
| Technical handoff | Design files, implementation responsibilities, accessibility checks, and documentation. |
| Commercial fit | A written proposal covering pricing, payment stages, timeline, and change requests. |
A missing public case study does not establish that an agency lacks the experience. Ask whether it can share a relevant example privately, with its client’s permission.
4. Send a brief agencies can respond to
Use the same brief for each agency so the proposals are easier to compare. State what is known and which decisions you want help making.
Include the product and audience, the problem to solve, the work you need, and how you will measure success. Share timing, budget, technical constraints, and who will approve decisions.
Use our design agency brief template to prepare the details and plan the project reviews.
5. Agree the scope before work starts
Confirm what is included, what you need to provide, and how changes will be priced. Ask which files, documentation, and implementation support you receive at handoff. Agree review milestones and who can approve each one.
For a website redesign, include URL preservation, redirects where necessary, metadata, content migration, analytics, accessibility, and performance in the scope. These responsibilities should have named owners.
Find an agency through its work
Explore agencies, inspect their project sources, and contact the teams you want to speak with.
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