TORONTO—What's it like to be a designer when your client is essentially yourself?

That's the challenge faced by in-house designers; in other words, designers who work within a company as opposed to a separate agency.

Five panelists with in-house experience (along with moderator Tina Mackenzie, manager of creative services at City Of Mississauga) took to the stage at The Gladstone Hotel in Toronto on Thursday morning for the In-House Design Forum presented by RGD Ontario and sponsored by Cascades and Creative Niche.



While dealing with clients is one thing, selling your ideas up the chain of management within your company can be quite another, said the panelists.

Sabine Harmouche, creative manager of print media for Sears Canada, said some managers don't recognize the value of creative — "It has been an interesting struggle" — but is optimistic  because Sears has a new chief executive officer who is "behind a creative push to compete."

That being said, it's important to involve company executives in the creative process (or at least at the concept stage) before the final presentation, as a late veto can kill your budget, offered the panel. When presenting ideas to bosses who aren't creative types, Ruben Goulart, partner specializing in employment law at Keyser Mason Bell, suggested to "learn business writing. It's critical. Understand numbers, companies are driven by numbers."


Gary Laughlin, director of creative services at Manulife Financial, added his thoughts about how pitch an "out of the box" idea to a manager. "Talk about why the project will work, and how it will increase the bottom line," he said.

Just because management doesn't warm up to an idea right away doesn't mean it won't be picked up later on, said Justin Rieder, director of creative services at Indigo Books and Music.

There's also the challenge, especially in a larger organization, to get a brand message across all facets of the company. Jennifer Schelfhault, manager of creative solutions for TD Asset Management, understands this well. "The key is communication," she said, noting she has meetings lined up with the marketing department.

Added Rieder, "You need a brand document to communicate across all levels. Be clear about why you're doing (the branding)."

And don't forget "brand blindness" — which is essentially losing sight of the bigger brand message by being too close to the product. "You need beautiful influences coming in to have beautiful things come out," offered Rieder. He said his department has a "show and tell" every Friday afternoon to get creative juices flowing. Field trips are also part of the formula to gain new insights, he added.

For designers looking to land an in-house position, they should take note that employers are looking for someone with "soft skills" who can present ideas effectively, said Schelfhaut. Youth is not necessarily a bonus in the hiring process, added Laughlin. "You're not hiring based on age, you're hiring based on presence," he said.

The panel consensus was that there isn't a big turnover in the in-house design world; but sometimes vacancies are created other ways.

Goulart offered some legal advice on how in-house departments should prepare for designers that don't meet expectations and need to be let go. "It can be expensive to unwind a relationship. It's not a bad idea to have an agreement, like a prenup, a formula for what happens if it doesn't work out," he said.