Singapore – Independent creative agency T8 Creations (formerly AnalogFolk Asia) has introduced T8 Co-Create, a new in-housing service aimed at enhancing the capabilities of internal design teams through structured mentorship, flexible creative resources, and exposure to cross-industry insights.
In-house creative departments have become increasingly common across financial institutions and fintech firms. Major banks such as DBS, Standard Chartered, HSBC, and Citibank now employ large teams of UX and UI designers, alongside fintech players like Grab, Gojek, and Shopee, and leading insurers. According to LinkedIn data from January 2025, an estimated 4,910 UX professionals work within financial services, fintech, and insurance organisations across Asia.
While in-house teams offer advantages such as institutional knowledge, long-term consistency, and agility, many companies have identified challenges in maintaining inspiration and accessing senior creative mentorship without diluting focus on core operations.
“T8’s goal is to work with internal teams, not around them,” said Chris Ryan, co-founder and managing director of T8 Creations. “We know the incredible expertise already exists inside client organisations. What we provide is the external spark – the mentorship, cross-industry exposure, and strategic direction that helps already strong teams go further.”
Positioned between management consulting and traditional creative production, T8 Co-Create focuses on creativity, design strategy, and customer experience, offering a model that combines external creative leadership with embedded collaboration.
The service differs from typical staffing or outsourcing models by providing tailored designer-to-project matching, continuous mentorship from senior creatives, and integration into early-stage customer discovery. It also offers cross-sector inspiration, customer-centred design processes, and flexible resourcing to help clients navigate headcount limitations while maintaining quality.
“In-housing should never mean teams left to fend for themselves, or external staff dropped in without context,” said Harry Llufrio, executive creative director of T8 Creations. “It should mean empowered designers with the right mix of internal knowledge and external inspiration. That balance is what T8 Co-Create delivers. We have decades of industry-acquired experience to offer the best possible mentorship. For us, it is an investment to ensure our clients get the very best.”
T8 Co-Create has already been implemented with two long-term clients, where embedded designers from T8 are working alongside internal teams to boost creative capability and delivery speed. The company said these initial projects have validated the model, paving the way for broader deployment.
The service will initially focus on the financial services sector, where demand for adaptable customer experiences and design innovation continues to grow.
