In Good Company: How Agencies Are Transforming Client Collaboration | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

The article argues that agencies and freelancers are replacing opaque, hierarchical design processes with flexible, collaborative partnerships. Remote work, boutique studios, and tools such as Figma enable clients to participate throughout the project rather than simply review finished deliverables. The result is a more fluid model that combines specialist craft with generalist, cross-functional collaboration.

A More Collaborative Agency Model

• Remote work has dispersed teams across locations and time zones, making frequent communication and shared tools essential.
• Boutique agencies increasingly compete with large firms by offering agility and closer client relationships.
• Agencies are tailoring their structures to each project, with teams expanding or contracting according to client needs.
• Roles are becoming less rigid; Design Business Company co-founder Judson Collier describes this shift as “generalism” returning to the industry.
• Clients are more design-literate and comfortable working directly in tools such as Figma.
• Shared files and comments replace formal presentations and printed deliverables, allowing teams to iterate continuously.

Human’s Flexible Studio Structure

• Human, founded by Rachael Yaeger and Michael Ray in 2013, typically operates with six to ten employees.
• Its variable team size lets the studio provide:
  • Freelancer-like agility
  • Large-agency cohesion and experience
  • Close collaboration between designers, developers, and clients
• Human avoids the separation that can arise when internal and agency teams work in isolated groups.
• Clients increasingly embed external agencies directly into their teams, reducing management layers and encouraging informal communication.

Building Jimini Health’s Brand

• Human worked with Jimini Health, an AI mental-health company, on a visual identity and website.
• During the project’s sprint phase, the two teams held foundational discussions about the qualities and values the brand should express.
• Human used Figma Slides to support high-fidelity presentations and cross-functional collaboration.
• The resulting identity included:
  • A visual system reflecting the spectrum of human emotion
  • A robust, ADA-compliant color palette
  • Photography by Molly Matalon
  • Consistent applications across the app, website, and social media
• Frequent feedback through shared Figma files allowed both teams to refine the direction together rather than treating design as a one-way agency handoff.

Agencies can work more effectively by combining flexible team structures, broad creative skills, and transparent collaboration tools. Treating clients as active partners—and giving them access to the work throughout the process—creates faster, friendlier, and more adaptable design workflows.