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Back to Great Things Come From Great Diverse Teams (with Katie Dill), with Katie Dill.

What Are the Differences Between In-house Design Teams and Agencies

Agencies get to work on a lot of different things, surrounded by lots of other creative people. Companies often hire agencies to take off the edge work, something to gain an outer perspective, and to explore ideas. If you like that kind of work, it could be very fresh and exciting, but it also means you might not be fully let into their plans, and not able to contribute all of your good ideas. Often, these exploratory ideas also don't get shipped, and you need to be okay with that.

Working in-house on the other hand allows you to see projects through, and develop a deep expertise in a particular area. If you have both of these experiences, you’ll get the best of both worlds and be more impactful in each situation.

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Great Things Come From Great Diverse Teams (with Katie Dill) ·

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More from this episode

  1. Who Is Katie DillBased in San Francisco, Katie Dill is the VP of the design team at Lyft.
  2. What Sparked Katie's Interest in DesignShe was a history major and wanted to know why things are they way they are.
  3. What Are Katie’s Weekly PrioritiesKatie’s weekly priority is to make sure her design team — which is around 100 people — is happy and active to produce the best work of their lives.
  4. What Makes Katie Excited About When Working for LyftShe is excited about the scooter and bike services that are available in some big cities around the country.
  5. What Is the One Thing That Lyft Designers and Employees Have in CommonEveryone at Lyft has the same passion for their mission. They all want to have a positive impact in the cities and environments around them.
  6. What Is One of Lyft’s Strong BeliefsGreat things come from great diverse teams. There should be diversity in every way, including skill set, thought, background, gender, and demographic.
  7. How Does Lyft Onboard New EmployeesOnboarding new employees successfully requires clear communication on what it means to work for Lyft.
  8. How Does Lyft Design Contribute to Their Environmental GoalsIt is important for people to realize that pixels are merely a small part of the company equation and their real product and experience is 99% offline.
  9. How Does Lyft Design Different CitiesThe company always tries to learn as much as they can about a city before implementing their products.
  10. What Diversity Did Anthony Armendariz Describe at Funsize?Anthony Armendariz, co-founder of the design studio Funsize, tells Katie Dill, then VP of design at Lyft, that colleagues asked him to raise diversity with her.
  11. What Is Katie’s Advice to Female Leaders and DesignersWomen have to take a part in holding a door for each other. If you are now in the position of power, you should reflect on your experience, and pay it forward.
  12. How Do You Truly Have an Inclusive Team in a CompanyThe company should understand what it’s looking for.
  13. What Is the Legacy You Hope to Leave Behind as a Design LeaderUltimately, Katie hopes to leave a positive impact for people during her time at Lyft.

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