Reflections on the First Half of the Year

The first half of the year has been an interesting one.

The market has had its challenges, but for us it's been our strongest first half on record. More importantly, the conversations we're having feel different. There's more confidence, more intent, and a noticeable shift in the way studios are thinking about growth.

For much of the last 12 to 18 months, hiring has centred on technical designers, project managers and delivery focused roles. Businesses understandably prioritised certainty and execution, with creative hires taking more of a back seat.

Over the past few months, we've seen that balance start to change.

Creative roles are back. Senior creative appointments are becoming more common, Design Director opportunities have reappeared, and studios are investing in the creative capability they'll need for the next stage of growth, rather than simply maintaining output.

One of the biggest shifts we've seen is at leadership level.

We've already completed a number of partner level appointments this year, and we expect that momentum to continue. More businesses are recognising that growth isn't just about adding people. It's about adding capability.

Increasingly, we're talking about building teams rather than filling vacancies.

Clients are looking for people who strengthen an existing leadership team, bring new ways of thinking, open doors to new client relationships and help shape entirely new service lines. It's a much more considered approach than we've seen for some time, and one that's focused on where the business wants to be in two or three years, not just solving today's problem.

Looking ahead, we expect that trend to continue throughout the second half of the year, with more leadership appointments and more intentional team building as businesses position themselves for growth into next year.

One of the highlights of the year for us has been embedding our first Talent by Design partnerships.

The results have been even better than we expected.

Rather than simply supporting individual hires, we've been working alongside leadership teams to understand where they're trying to get to, what capabilities they'll need along the way, and how their team structure needs to evolve to support that ambition.

The conversations have become deeper, the work more meaningful, and the outcomes stronger. Helping businesses define their direction, challenge existing structures, raise the creative bar and build teams with real purpose has been one of the most rewarding parts of the year.

If you're starting to think about what your business needs to look like over the next 12 to 24 months, we'd love to have that conversation.

That isn't to say the market has been without its challenges.

Studios with significant exposure to the Middle East have, in some cases, seen projects move more slowly than expected. Large, multi year programmes naturally work to longer timelines, and we've seen a few businesses become too reliant on those opportunities while smaller, day to day projects have slowed. Maintaining a healthy balance between long term programmes and consistent core work remains as important as ever.

We've also seen the conversation around AI mature.

The initial excitement has settled, and the strongest studios are taking a much more balanced view. AI is proving to be a valuable tool for improving efficiency, accelerating ideas and helping teams get to stronger outcomes more quickly.

What it hasn't done is replace the things that make great creative businesses successful.

Original thinking, human insight, creative judgement and the ability to build meaningful experiences remain the real differentiators. The studios getting the most from AI are using it to enhance creativity, not replace it.

Overall, we're optimistic.

Technical and project management hiring remains important, but creative recruitment has gathered real momentum again. Combined with an increase in senior leadership appointments and a more strategic approach to building teams, it feels like the market is moving into a healthier and more ambitious phase.

Whether you're planning your next hire, thinking about the structure of your team or simply want an honest view of what's happening across the design industry, we're always happy to chat.

Here's to an exciting second half of the year.