(This is an excerpt from a new article I wrote: 5 design techniques every content strategist should know.)

This week, the debate about return-to-office (RTO) policies raged, and it got me thinking about my last full-time, in-office job back in 2019.

I landed a role as a Senior Content Strategist at T3, one of Austin’s hottest advertising agencies. Thanks to lucky timing and a skilled manager, it turned out to be an incredible growth experience for me.

The brand has since been retired, but at the time, T3 had a great reputation in the community. I admired their values and loved the creative studio environment they'd built.

Truly, they put their heart and soul into the place. It made a lasting impression.

Not that I'm endorsing a full-time return to office. Even back then, I worked best in a hybrid model, and I've had the option (or necessity) to work remotely for most of my career.

Yes, I am one of the lucky few!

But looking back on that first year of pre-pandemic in-office time, I can honestly reflect on the massive benefits I experienced working in a studio environment.

It was a combination of factors that created what I'll describe as a charged atmosphere of creativity. I loved simply being around other creatives. T3 valued their people—all the brilliant, sharp, hard-working, inventive practitioners who made the machine move—and it showed.

I loved seeing what the engineers built, what the data analysts discovered, how the executives pitched clients, and how the account managers built relationships.

But of all the amazing people, I probably got the most out of being around designers.

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