Questions to ask a design agency before you sign (printable checklist)

These are the 36 questions to ask a design agency before you sign, grouped by the risk each one protects you from: wrong fit, the wrong team, scope creep, surprise costs, losing your files, and a messy exit. For each one you get the reason to ask and the answer that should worry you. Download the printable checklist and take it into every call.

Most agency question lists online are written by agencies, so they ask the questions agencies like to answer. This list is written from the buyer’s side. Use the same questions with every agency you talk to, and the differences between them become obvious.

How to use this list

1. Send your brief first. These questions work best once the agency has read the same design brief as everyone else.
2. Pick 10 to 15 for the first call. The starred questions (★) are the ones to never skip.
3. Use the rest on the shortlist. Ask the remainder at presentations and reference calls.
4. Write down the answers, not your impression. You will compare three agencies a week later and impressions blur.

1. Fit and understanding

Question	Why ask	Red-flag answer
★ What do you think our goal is, in your own words?	Tests whether they read the brief	A summary of your company, not your goal
What would you need to know that is not in our brief?	Good agencies spot gaps	“Nothing, it’s all clear”
Which of your past projects is closest to ours, and why?	Relevance beats polish	A beautiful project in an unrelated field
What would make you turn this project down?	Shows honesty about fit	They have never turned anything down
Who are your typical clients by size and budget?	Will you be a priority or a footnote?	You are far smaller or larger than everyone else

2. Team and capacity

Question	Why ask	Red-flag answer
★ Who exactly will work on our project, and what share of their time?	Pitch teams and delivery teams often differ	“Our team” with no names
Will the people pitching be doing the work?	Senior people sell, juniors deliver	Vague, or “they’ll oversee it”
Do you use freelancers or subcontractors, and who?	They must be bound by the same terms	They cannot say, or will not tell you
What else will this team be working on at the same time?	Capacity drives delays	No idea, or a full slate
Who is our day-to-day contact, and how fast do they reply?	Communication is half of delivery	A shared inbox

3. Process and timeline

Question	Why ask	Red-flag answer
★ Walk us through your phases and when we see work	Sets expectations for every review	“We’ll share when it’s ready”
What do you need from us, and how quickly, to hit our dates?	Most delays are client-side	They need nothing from you
How do you run reviews and collect feedback?	One feedback channel prevents chaos	Feedback by email from anyone, anytime
Tell us about a project that went wrong. What changed afterwards?	Shows how they handle trouble	“That has never happened”
How do you test the work with real users or data?	Design should be judged on evidence	Only internal opinion

4. Scope and price

Question	Why ask	Red-flag answer
★ What is the price per phase, and what exactly does each include?	Lets you compare and stop between phases	One lump sum
★ How many revision rounds are included in each phase?	Unlimited rounds do not exist	“As many as you need”
How is out-of-scope work quoted and approved?	Changes are where budgets break	“We’ll just bill it”
What are your hourly rates for extra work, by role?	You will pay these for every change	Not willing to say
Is project management billed separately?	It often is	Unclear
What are your payment terms and milestones?	Pay as work is delivered	Most of the fee up front
What assumptions does your quote rely on?	Hidden costs live here	No assumptions listed

To check whether a quote is reasonable, compare it with what Bay Area design agencies charge and their hourly rates.

10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Agency (opens YouTube)

Jump to (the creator’s chapters):

• 4:42: asset ownership
• 6:47: measuring success
• 9:59: contract terms

5. Ownership, files and licences

Question	Why ask	Red-flag answer
★ Who owns the copyright in the final work once we have paid?	Payment alone does not transfer it	“You can use it”, without an assignment
Will you put the copyright assignment in the contract?	It must be in writing	Reluctance or a licence only
Will we receive editable source files?	You need them to change anything later	Only flattened exports
Which fonts, stock images or other licensed assets will you use, and who pays the licences?	Licences can be per-seat or per-use	They do not track this
Do you use AI image or text tools, and how do you handle rights in that output?	Ownership of AI output is not settled	They have not thought about it
Can you show the work in your portfolio, and when?	You may have launch dates or NDAs	They assume they can, immediately

Why the copyright questions matter. Under US law, a commissioned work is a “work made for hire” (owned by the client) only if it falls into one of nine specific categories and both parties sign a written agreement saying so (US Copyright Office, Circular 30). A logo, a brand identity or a website design is normally outside those categories. Without a written assignment, the agency may still own the copyright even after you have paid.

6. Contract and exit

Question	Why ask	Red-flag answer
★ What happens if either of us ends the project early?	Defines what you pay and what you get	No termination clause
What do we receive if we stop after a phase?	You should keep what you paid for	Nothing until the end
What confidentiality terms do you use?	Protects plans and unreleased products	None by default
What insurance do you carry?	Matters for larger projects	No idea
Whose contract do we use, and can we see it now?	Read it before you choose, not after	Only after you commit

The AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services is a useful reference for what fair terms look like. Have a lawyer review large contracts.

7. After launch

Question	Why ask	Red-flag answer
What support do you offer after launch, and at what cost?	Bugs and tweaks always follow	“We’re done at handover” with no options
How will you hand over to our team?	Your team has to live with the work	A file dump
How do you measure whether the project worked?	Ties the work to your goal	They do not measure results

Questions for their references

Ask each shortlisted agency for two client references from the last two years on similar projects, then call them:

1. What was the project, and did it reach its goal?
2. Did it come in on budget and on time? If not, what happened?
3. Who did the work day to day?
4. What was hard about working with them?
5. How did they handle a disagreement or a change?
6. Would you hire them again for the same kind of project?

The last question does most of the work. Listen for hesitation.

Red flags, in one list

• They cannot name the people who will do the work.
• Case studies show visuals with no client goal or outcome.
• They want most of the fee before any work is delivered.
• They will not put a copyright assignment in writing.
• Their quote is far below the others for the same brief, with no explanation.
• They agree to your deadline without asking a single question.
• Every reference is from years ago, or none are on similar projects.

5 Questions to Ask Your Web Designer (Before You Sign a Web Design Contract) (opens YouTube)

Where this fits in the hiring process

These questions are steps 7 and 9 of how to hire a design agency in the Bay Area. If you are inviting three or more agencies, ask them in writing through the RFP template, which puts team, price and terms into a fixed reply format and a weighted score.