Source hierarchy
- Agency-owned portfolio or case study: supports the agency’s published description of its services, project, and role. It is self-reported unless corroborated.
- Client-owned publication: can independently support a relationship, launch, or outcome when it names the agency and project.
- Client-review platform: supports attributed feedback and the platform’s profile details. Clutch reports a review verification process; this does not make a review an audited performance metric.
- Award organization or recognized publication: supports the specific award or reported fact stated by that source.
- Business directory or Google Business Profile: can support a public business identity, address, and platform-specific reviews. A local review about an office visit or research-study visit does not establish the quality of commissioned UX work.
- Dribbble or other social portfolio: can show work publicly posted by an account. It is self-published visual material and does not by itself confirm the client relationship, agency role, or shipped product.
Directory limits
DesignRush profiles can contain a mix of directory fields, portfolio entries, DesignRush reviews, and reviews sourced from Google Maps. We retain the listing only for the facts it presents, keep review streams separate, and do not use directory rankings as proof of agency quality. Dribbble is useful for visual discovery; we prefer a direct agency case study or client confirmation for project evidence.
How claims are labeled
We distinguish agency-reported, client-reported, platform-reported, and independently corroborated information. A source may support only one part of a sentence, so we keep its connection specific. A general portfolio index is a lead, not proof of a particular project.
What we leave out
We do not infer work from a client logo, fill missing prices with estimates, combine conflicting review figures silently, or present an agency claim as independently verified. If evidence is missing, we label the research gap.
Source record fields and current status
Records can include title, direct URL, publisher, source type, date checked, supported claim, notes, and conflicts. A check date appears only when it was recorded for that individual source. Some profile links remain first-pass leads and have not all been revalidated for this release; follow the source directly before relying on a claim.