This is not a healthy place to work - Internal Team Designity Employee Review

1.0
30 Mar 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people at Designity are fantastic. There are some really smart individuals who put-in a lot of time to make that machine run. Remote work, very tech-y and always something interesting going on.

Cons

The biggest Con at Designity is the leadership. Poor leadership from the top hinders this business from growing. CEO is extremely controlling, manipulative and difficult to work with. Expected to get your tasks done yesterday and get ready for your scope of work to increase (without any additional compensation). Things happen behind your back, people will be hired above you and there will always be this sense of needing to prove yourself, even when you exceed expectations. It's a very stressful environment, people get fired what seems like every week and if you want to take off a day, go ahead .... just make sure you're prepared for the fire storm of tasks coming your way as punishment. If you're applying for the internal team, I don't recommend it. If you're applying as a Creative Director or Creative, this might be for you but watch out, keep your head down and don't say anything negative. There have been so many fantastic individuals to go in and out of that business, and to see all of those incredible people get wrecked financially and emotionally is what drove me to write this review.

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Designity Response
3y
We appreciate your feedback, and while we believe most of the points are inaccurate, we take constructive criticism seriously and will implement changes accordingly. It's true that our CEO can be demanding with those who do not take their responsibilities seriously. He has little patience for dishonesty and subpar work. However, he is extremely kind and appreciative towards reliable individuals. We must accept that there are always some individuals who do not perform well. If the consequences of their poor performance are significant, we need to put them on performance notice more promptly and let them go sooner if they don't improve to avoid conflicts like this. The same leadership you claim "hinders growth" has actually grown the company significantly, doubling its size and revenue yearly for the past four years with very limited resources. This growth will continue, thanks to the amazing team the leadership has built. Transparency is a cornerstone of our culture, and our commitment to open communication extends to all decisions, even if they may not benefit every individual. The leadership, specifically the CEO, is highly transparent with everything in the company, and that's the reason many people have been working with us for years. This can be easily understood by looking at other reviews. Regarding your employment duration, you mentioned you worked with us for 3-4 years. However, we didn't let anyone go who worked with us for that long. Perhaps you only worked with us for a couple of months before we both realize this is not a fit. If the environment was truly toxic, why did you stay that long? Lastly, Glassdoor strictly verifies every review, and there is no way to fake a review, really. We do stick to our transparency as our main value. Designity is a fast-growing environment that could be challenging and rewarding at the same time. This may not be a right fit for many individuals who do not see the potential and quit so easily.

Explore other reviews about Designity

5.0
26 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I’ve really enjoyed my collaboration here with Designity over the past few years. They has a strong vision, supportive and really hardworking leadership, and a culture that genuinely values creativity and growth. One thing I appreciate most is the flexibility and the opportunity to work with talented people across different industries and projects. I’ve personally never had any issues with payments or professionalism. Everything has always been handled properly and on time, which is something I truly value when working with a company long-term. The leadership team is ambitious and focused on building something sustainable for the future, which gives me confidence in where the company is heading. I also appreciate that they continue investing in improving the organization and creating more stability for the core team. Overall, I love my job and feel grateful to be part of Designate with such an exciting future ahead.

Cons

Recently, the company made the difficult decision to reduce some freelancer and part-time positions in order to invest more heavily in full-time team members and long-term growth. Naturally, that made some people unhappy, which is understandable. Change is never easy, especially in creative industries. However, from my perspective, the decisions were made with the future of the company in mind, and I believe the leadership is trying to build a stronger and more sustainable organization.

1.0
17 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The environment is so challenging due to "people" that it serves as a powerful motivator to find a better job and advance your career elsewhere:)

Cons

- Inconsistent Promotion Policies: There is a significant gap between stated policies and reality. The internal system indicated "promotion-ready" status multiple times, yet these indicators were consistently ignored by the management team, seemingly to avoid salary adjustments. I would prefer them to hide these metrics entirely rather than to set false expectations for employees. - Lack of True Transparency: While the CEO keeps emphasizing transparency, decision-making remains highly centralized. Bi-weekly policy training sessions often feel like one-way directives; it is never clear how employee feedback is actually considered. - Payroll & Contractor Issues: Compensation processes are unreliable. There were frequent errors in contractor payments that required constant follow-up. Most alarmingly, I witnessed a contractor being terminated simply for asking for a salary followup in a public Slack channel. - High Costs & Low Benefits: The benefits package is unsustainable for lower-earning employees. For instance, the cheapest health insurance plan cost me $580/month, which is nearly 30% of a $2,000 pre-tax monthly salary. And this company does not support any software for full-time W2. - Extreme Leaving Rate: Prospective employees should look closely at team stability. When I joined, roughly 80% of the CD had already left or was in the process of leaving.

6
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