Categories > Internet/Tech
The 6 Best Design Agencies in Portland
How We Picked
Credibility
We think it’s important that you trust the design agency that you’re working with. Therefore, we added credibility to one of the reasons why we picked them. We judged their credibility based on awards, projects they’ve worked on, and years they’ve been running.
Design Quality
The design quality of their past works also should be taken into account. They are, after all, a design agency. We decided this based on their originality and overall aesthetic. Is it modern? Is their design a little too outdated? This is just an example of our thought process.
Social Media Branding
These days, social media is also part of a business portfolio. This is especially important for art-related businesses. That’s why we also considered their social media branding.
Pricing
It’s also important that you’d get your money’s worth if you work with design agencies. We picked those that charge a considerable amount based on how satisfactory the outputs are.
1. Murmur Creative
WEBSITE | https://murmurcreative.com |
ADDRESS | 1300 SE Stark St #208, Portland, OR |
CONTACT DETAILS | +1 503-208-2990 |
OPERATING HOURS | Monday – Friday 9AM – 5PM Saturday and Sunday Closed |
Google reviews | 4.3/5 |
Total reviews | 4/5 |
Score consistency | 4/5 |
Credibility | 5/5 |
Awards | 4/5 |
Experience | 4/5 |
Years in business | 4/5 |
Design Quality | 5/5 |
Originality | 5/5 |
Aesthetic | 5/5 |
Social media branding | 5/5 |
Pricing | 2/5 |
Pros
- Offers a variety of services
- Great at developing a client’s vision
- Knows how to provide solutions to complex problems
Cons
- Quite pricey
- Some report that they are not responsive
One of the reasons why we added Murmur Creative to our list of best design agencies in Portland is because of the variety of services they offer.
They can translate your company’s vision into your designed branding.
Under branding solutions, they do brand strategy, naming, logo design, print design, packaging design, photography, and brand guidelines.
Additionally, they can also work on what you might need on your website. They do web design, e-commerce, content strategy, UI/UX, accessibility, SEO, and web hosting.
We also reached out to some of their past clients to get more of an in-depth idea of what it’s like to work with them.
A lot of them said that the agency did a pretty good job at translating their vision, even at times when there wasn’t much to go on.
The agency also does a pretty good job at filling in the gaps when it comes to a client’s ideas. Most said that Murmur Creative managed to create a more concrete idea of who they are as a brand.
Some also said that this design agency is great at giving attention to the details because the people behind it tried to understand the complexities of the client’s business.
However, there were some that we talked to who didn’t necessarily have a great experience. A few mentioned that their services are quite pricey for what they’re asking for.
Some said they were not responsive which could be quite frustrating.
But overall, we see that Murmur Creative’s skill as a design agency is quite promising as they provide fantastic work to their existing clients.
2. Watson Creative
WEBSITE | https://watsoncreative.com |
ADDRESS | 1001 SE Water Ave Suite 440, Portland, OR |
CONTACT DETAILS | +1 800-280-3057 |
OPERATING HOURS | Monday – Thursday 9AM – 4PM Friday 9AM – 1PM Saturday and Sunday Closed |
Google reviews | 5/5 |
Total reviews | 4/5 |
Score consistency | 5/5 |
Credibility | 5/5 |
Awards | 4/5 |
Experience | 5/5 |
Years in business | 5/5 |
Design Quality | 5/5 |
Originality | 4/5 |
Aesthetic | 4/5 |
Social media branding | 2/5 |
Pricing | 5/5 |
Pros
- Fair pricing
- Extremely responsive
- Meets deadlines
- Has a lot of returning clients
Cons
- Confusing website UI
- Needs to improve its social media branding
Watson Creative labels itself as a research-based creative agency. This is because the choices that they make are data-driven ones.
They’ve worked with different types of people and businesses such as athletes and celebrities, health & wellness, architecture, footwear and apparel, urban development, and more.
They also have a lot of services they offer that are filed under 3 different categories.
One is strategy. Under this is the brand strategy, brand DNA, etc.
Another one is creative which is all about branding, design, content, and anything to do with digital.
They also do campaigns, gamification, digital marketing, and more under the activation category.
When we went out to have a chat with some of their clients, we asked what they loved about working with Watson Creative. We also listened to the things they think need improvement.
A lot of the clients said that the quote they gave out was affordable and fair. This is because there’s not much discrepancy compared to the others in the market.
They were also extremely responsive, which helped in making this more of a collaborative experience. We think it’s important for a design agency to be responsive so that they understand the brand more.
Moreover, we’ve noticed that a lot of those we talked to are returning clients.
Some of them have been working with Watson Creative for years and witnessed how this design agency grew to become one of the best in Portland.
However, some clients also mentioned some details that they think should be improved.
First, their website has a bit of a confusing user interface. Some parts are hard to read because of the design.
Additionally, they need to improve their social media branding, particularly their Instagram account. We think that it doesn’t say a lot about the work they can do.
All in all, we still recommend Watson Creative to anyone who is looking for an agency that is established and trusted by a lot of successful businesses.
3. Tributary Design Studio
WEBSITE | https://www.tributarydesign.com |
CONTACT DETAILS | +1 503-908-3048 |
OPERATING HOURS | Monday Closed Tuesday – Friday 9AM – 5PM Saturday & Sunday Closed |
Google reviews | 5/5 |
Total reviews | 3/5 |
Score consistency | 5/5 |
Credibility | 5/5 |
Awards | 4/5 |
Experience | 4/5 |
Years in business | 4/5 |
Design Quality | 4/5 |
Originality | 2/5 |
Aesthetic | 4/5 |
Social media branding | 4/5 |
Pricing | 5/5 |
Pros
- Works fast
- A lot of businesses reported success after working with them
- Responsive and gives constant updates
Cons
- Designs are modern but lack diversity
When we sat down with some of Tributary Design Studio’s past clients, most of them mentioned the same thing – this agency works pretty fast.
We think that this is one of the selling points of Tributary Design Studio because clients would be ensured that deadlines will be met.
There are three kinds of services being offered here which are branding, design days, and web design.
We’re sure you already have a concrete idea about branding and web design, so we’re just going to tell you about their design days.
For this, Tributary Design Studio creates simple solutions for your branding in one workday.
All you have to do is share your ideas. They will then review it and let you know what to expect. They also do half design days.
For a single large project, they can do 30-50 slide deck designs, 10-20 pages of pdf document design, a Squarespace landing page, and more.
They can also do 3-5 smaller projects with infographics, 2-3 page documents, digital ads, business cards, and so on.
You can also inquire about your needs and they’ll let you know what they can do about it.
According to the clients they’ve worked with, they are pretty responsive and give constant updates.
We love this because you can be assured that they’re giving your requests a lot of time and focus.
However, if you’re looking for fresh and unique ideas, they might not be what you’re looking for.
We think that their designs are modern and what you usually see in the market. There’s nothing bad about that, but we do think that they lack diversity and originality that could be an issue for some..
If you want to stray away from what’s popular and give your brand a kind of identity that most people haven’t seen before, we think that there are better options for you.
But if you’re looking for a sure way to garner interest from potential customers with the aid of proven and tested design, you might’ve just found the agency for you.
4. Fresh Consulting
WEBSITE | https://www.freshconsulting.com/ |
ADDRESS | 811 SE Stark St #300, Portland, OR |
CONTACT DETAILS | +1 503-300-7404 |
OPERATING HOURS | Monday – Friday 9AM – 5PM Saturday and Sunday Closed |
Google reviews | 4.9/5 |
Total reviews | 3.5/5 |
Score consistency | 4.5/5 |
Credibility | 5/5 |
Awards | 4/5 |
Experience | 4/5 |
Years in business | 4/5 |
Design Quality | 4/5 |
Originality | 5/5 |
Aesthetic | 4/5 |
Social media branding | 5/5 |
Pricing | 4/5 |
Pros
- Has unique services that most don’t offer
- Also has a unique approach to branding
- Has a great working space that clients also appreciate
Cons
- Complicated and overwhelming website
We added Fresh Consulting to our list of best design agencies in Portland because we think their uniqueness is a great strength.
This is perfect for those businesses who are looking for something modern where technology is also incorporated.
They say their approach is part creative, part technical, and part business.
If this is something that strikes your interest, we suggest you read on.
Their work is a combination of human-centered design and progressive engineering, which helps companies with strategizing.
In terms of creating designs, they tackle it by backing it up with research, analysis, and testing.
They put thought into both the strategy and visual components when coming up with ideas.
When it comes to software such as mobile app development, web app development, website, and more, they go for something timeless.
They do their best to understand their client’s challenges and create software roadmaps around them, which help develop a secure solution that delivers a return on investment.
A lot of clients who worked with them also mentioned how much they love this agency’s working space.
It has an obvious professional feel to it and a cool and modern vibe.
While we were impressed with what Fresh Consulting has to offer, we think that its website is complicated because it’s filled with a lot of information.
Thinking from the point of view of a client, they could feel too buried with new details that could be hard to sift through.
But overall, we think that Fresh Consulting is perfect for any business looking for something unique and modern.
5. Fish Marketing
WEBSITE | https://www.fish-marketing.com |
ADDRESS | 107 SE Washington St #620, Portland, OR |
CONTACT DETAILS | +1 503-635-0007 |
OPERATING HOURS | Monday – Friday 8:30AM – 5:30PM Saturday and Sunday Closed |
Google reviews | 4/5 |
Total reviews | 4/5 |
Score consistency | 4/5 |
Credibility | 5/5 |
Awards | 4/5 |
Experience | 5/5 |
Years in business | 5/5 |
Design Quality | 4/5 |
Originality | 4/5 |
Aesthetic | 4/5 |
Social media branding | 2/5 |
Pricing | 5/5 |
Pros
- Has several returning clients
- Can provide more cost-effective options
- A lot of clients mentioned that everyone on the team is great
Cons
- Their social media presence and branding could be improved
When we had the chance to interview some of Fish Marketing’s clients, we asked what they loved about working with this design agency.
To our surprise, most of them were returning clients for 5 years and more!
We think this means that not only was Fish Marketing able to provide quality work, but they also helped with the growth of these companies.
Most of the clients liked how this agency also offers cost-effective options, which we think is perfect for non-profits.
We appreciate how they could cater to a lot of businesses, especially those who are just starting.
This could also be convenient for new businesses that don’t have enough capital to hire expensive design agencies.
A lot of the clients also mentioned that the team is great. This is because everyone on the team is highly skilled, knowledgeable, and dedicated to providing a good output.
The works they do are strategy & branding, advertising, digital development, and audience delivery.
Under strategy & branding, they will help your business with research, brand positioning, brand identity, logos, and more.
Additionally, their website is easy to navigate. The information they provide is upfront, so clients don’t have a hard time figuring out what Fish Marketing can deliver.
While clients love the work that Fish Marketing does, we noticed something that could use some improvement.
Their Instagram account doesn’t say a lot about the work they can do. We think they could post more of the work that they’re proud of.
But overall, we still recommend Fish Marketing who is looking for someone with a lot of satisfied clients to back up their credibility.
6. Perspektiiv Design Co.
WEBSITE | https://perspektiiv.com/ |
ADDRESS | Contact for more information |
CONTACT DETAILS | https://perspektiiv.com/contact |
OPERATING HOURS | Contact for more information |
Google reviews | 5/5 |
Total reviews | 5/5 |
Score consistency | 5/5 |
Credibility | 5/5 |
Awards | 4/5 |
Experience | 5/5 |
Years in business | 5/5 |
Design Quality | 4/5 |
Originality | 4/5 |
Aesthetic | 5/5 |
Social media branding | 5/5 |
Pricing | 5/5 |
Pros
- Professionalism and Approachability
- Blend of Business Strategy and Design Psychology
- Award-Winning Design Studio
Cons
- Operating hours unavailable
Perspektiiv Design Co. is a brand design studio catering to inspired entrepreneurs and small businesses. With over 10 years of experience and a diverse clientele, they specialize in using a blend of business strategy, design psychology, and artistry to help businesses achieve their goals through successful design.
We praise Perspektiiv Design Co. for their professionalism and approachability. They create a welcoming atmosphere for clients, making them feel comfortable and confident in their business relationship.
Their structured yet wildly creative approach resonates well with entrepreneurs and small businesses.
The studio’s unique approach combines business strategy and design psychology, ensuring that their design solutions are not only visually appealing but also strategic and impactful.
This blend allows them to create designs that effectively communicate the client’s brand message and resonate with their target audience.
Being an award-winning design studio based in Portland, Oregon, Perspektiiv Design Co. brings a level of credibility and expertise to their services. We think clients can trust that they are working with a team of passionate and professional creatives dedicated to their success.
Perspektiiv Design Co. offers a range of holistic design services, including brand identity design, brand collateral, packaging, and website design.
We love that this comprehensive approach ensures that clients have all their design needs met under one roof, streamlining the process and ensuring consistency across all brand touchpoints.