How to build a stronger client-agency partnership

Relationships—including professional ones, like those between a designer and a client—fall somewhere between art and science. While much depends on the specific situation, organization, and people involved, some general patterns and principles can help strengthen these connections.

For this article, several founders and directors of small businesses and initiatives who regularly commission design and collaborate with studios shared what matters most to them when choosing a long-term creative partner. They talked about what builds (or breaks) trust, and what often gets overlooked (but shouldn’t).

Here are the voices behind those insights:

Sabine Russek, founder of the travel platform Hedwig.

Maria Carvajal, co-founder of the creative lifestyle project WTC-Studio.

Darryl Tirtha, festival director of the Nongkrong Festival.

Alfi Mariyam, art director of EXSPORT Bags.

Long-term foundation

Alignment

“For me, the most important factor is alignment,” says Sabine Russek. “Shared aesthetics, values, and communication style. I want to feel supported and respected in how I choose to build my business. When a partner understands and honors that, the collaboration feels natural and productive.”

Maria Carvajal notes that what often draws her to someone initially is a shared visual language. “It doesn’t mean we need to have the exact same style,” she says, “but having a similar visual narrative helps set expectations and makes conversations easier during the process.”

She describes her choice to collaborate as often intuitive. “Something about their work catches my attention and makes me feel we’ll understand each other.” After that first impression, she says, “I look for deeper alignment in values, the brand vision, and business goals. Usually, I already admire their work in some way, so the collaboration tends to flow naturally from there.”

Darryl Tirtha says that for Nongkrong, “the key has always been mission alignment, finding people who share a similar drive to uplift Indonesian art. That doesn’t have to be explicit on their website or anything, but it’s often clear through conversation.” He describes early interactions: “When we first approached both Ratta [from Tiny Studio] and Januar [from Each Other Company], it wasn’t about ‘hiring’ them. Most of the initial interactions were casual chats—about design, or Indonesian art. That gave us a sense of whether we shared values and could work well together.”

“Nongkrong is a small team, and I’m usually the one based in Indonesia,” Darryl adds. “So I’m the one making first contact. You can learn a lot from someone’s demeanor.” He describes this feeling of closeness and mission alignment as important for both working relationships and creative outcomes.

Human connection

Sabine Russek also talks about the role of personal connection. “Equally important is a genuine human connection,” she says. “I believe strong partnerships are rooted in mutual trust and empathy. We’re people first, and that foundation makes everything we create together more meaningful.”

Understanding business

Maria Carvajal speaks to the importance of a design partner understanding the business side of a project. “What I really value is knowing that the design partner has truly understood and internalized my brand.” She adds that it’s also important that the designer understands her business goals, because ultimately, design supports those goals. 

She outlines how she sees the connection: “Design is a layer of the brand, and the brand is a layer of the business. To me, they’re deeply connected.” That’s why she looks for alignment in these areas when choosing a long-term partner.

Presentation skills

Alfi Mariyam focuses on how ideas are communicated. “For me, one of the most important factors is how a partner expresses their ideas through their creative output,” she says. “It’s not just about skill, but about how thoughtful and intentional their ideas are—how they bring their perspective to life in a way that feels fresh, relevant, and meaningful.”

She breaks this down further: “It feels fresh when it brings something unexpected, maybe a surprising visual language or an unusual reference point. It becomes relevant when it connects to the current context, whether cultural, emotional, or trend-related. And it’s meaningful when there’s a clear story behind it, like how a brand campaign gains depth through its narrative.”

As an example, “Our last Exsport Bags campaign was about sustainability. The campaign was called Recharm. We created a fresh visual approach using 3D motion in collaboration with a 3D visual artist.” The results were clear: “The audience responded really well, the engagement was strong because it was something new for Exsport. The campaign told a story about reusing plastic waste to create new, personalized bag charms,” she adds, “and that message resonated.”

Sharing beyond the work

“I believe vulnerability and sharing personal experiences beyond work are key to building trust in design projects,” says Sabine Russek. She recalls working on Hedwig Travel with Catalina Risso from Portafolio Project: “I remember feeling truly safe in our collaboration when she opened up about her own business journey.” That openness had a specific impact. “She shared personal reflections and fears she had faced, which helped me feel less alone in mine,” Sabine says. “It built trust because I wasn’t working with someone who had never struggled—I was working with a real, self-employed woman who had moved through the same uncertainties I was navigating.”

Darryl Tirtha also highlights the importance of getting to know collaborators outside of the work itself. “Ratta plays in a couple of bands, and Nadine [co-founders of the Tiny Studio] has other creative practices. It was important to see those sides of them—not just as designers, but as people,” he says. He connects this to the idea of psychological safety: “That kind of trust often comes from knowing people as friends, understanding their wider creative work. With Jan, we’ve had a lot of meals together, just hanging out, talking, getting a feel for each other. That kind of unstructured time really helps build long-term trust.”

He shares an experience from Art Jakarta. “Some of our team from Australia came to visit when Jan happened to be in Jakarta. We went to the fair together. Seeing him in his element, guiding us through the fair, helping us meet other artists—that was a big moment. We already trusted him, but this showed us a deeper side of him. And I think it helped him see a fuller picture of who we are, too.”

Staying calm under stress

“One of the most trust-building moments I’ve experienced was during a project with a very tight deadline,” says Alfi Mariyam. “Instead of panicking or rushing, my design partner stayed calm, focused, and communicated clearly every step of the way.”

She recalls how they handled problems: “Even when unexpected issues came up, they took full responsibility and made sure everything was delivered on time. They didn’t overpromise, just made a strong, steady effort, and kept communication clear and consistent throughout.”

Listening to the client’s needs

Maria Carvajal recalls a moment from earlier in her career. “It was maybe eight years ago,” she says. “Back then, I worked closely with designers to develop brand identities for clients I was mentoring.” In one project, the client wasn’t happy with the designer’s initial proposal. “We did a few versions, but none of them worked, and the project hit a wall,” she says. Maria tried to understand the client’s frustration: “Even if the client isn’t always ‘right,’ it’s important to create space for dialogue.”

But she found that the designer approached it differently. “They seemed more focused on being right than on understanding what was missing in the brief or in the alignment.” That led to a clear decision. “As professionals, we have a responsibility to dig deeper, to understand what’s happening in the process,” she says. “But in that case, I felt frustrated and eventually stopped collaborating with that designer.”

What’s often overlooked

Transparency

Sabine Russek believes that open conversations about capacity and timing are a small but essential detail. “Design projects often take longer than expected, and that’s okay,” she says. “What makes the difference is honest communication on both sides about what we can realistically take on.” For her, it’s not about perfect planning. “It just has to be honest. That shows respect for each other’s time, energy, and creative process.”

Maria Carvajal agrees, and emphasizes how rare transparency still is in some collaborations. “This may sound simple,” she says, “but it’s something I don’t always find in every collaborator.” What she values most is clarity, especially around budgets and process. “I love when there’s a shared system, like a Notion page or a portal where I can access everything: timelines, deliverables, feedback. It makes the whole thing more agile and transparent from the start.”

Darryl Tirtha brings it into practice at Nongkrong, where transparency is built into the team’s structure. “Everyone can see what everyone else is being paid. The entire event budget is visible to everyone involved.” That openness, he says, flows into how they work. They loop collaborators into WhatsApp groups—not necessarily to contribute constantly, but to be part of the process. “It might feel a bit unusual, especially to some Australian designers. But Indonesian collaborators tend to be more open to it. It’s about inviting people in to co-create, not just handing them a task.”

Even with scope creep in mind, Darryl’s team believes that transparency leads to better creative outcomes. “We’d rather overshare than leave someone guessing,” he says. Detailed briefs are essential, but they go beyond that: “At Nongkrong, we believe the process is often more important than the outcome. And that means being respectful, honest, and transparent the whole way through.”

Communication

Strong communication skills, Maria Carvajal says, are what make asynchronous work not just manageable, but enjoyable. “You save time, gain clarity, and avoid unnecessary meetings,” she explains. When someone is organized, clear, and self-managed, it lifts the entire collaboration. “When I find someone like that, I feel like ‘Wow, same species!’” she says with a smile. “It makes everything easier. Fewer mistakes, better focus, and more time spent on solving real problems.”

This kind of clear communication doesn’t just benefit the client. “As a designer or service provider, you also get to stay in your zone of genius,” she adds. “You’re not stuck in endless back-and-forths—you’re actually designing.”

The Readymag editorial team thanks Tiny Studio and Catalina Risso for their help in finding the speakers for this article.