Here's a conversation we have with almost every new client.

They ask: "How long will this take?"

We give them a timeline. Let's say four weeks for a rebrand.

They nod. Then someone inevitably asks: "But can we do it faster?"

The honest answer? Yes. Not because we're rushing. But because whilst you're sleeping, we're not.

This is the follow-the-sun advantage. And it's fundamentally changed how fast we can move without sacrificing quality.

The Traditional Agency Model is Broken

Let's talk about how most agencies work.

You brief them on Monday morning. They start working. By 5pm, they go home. The project sits idle for 16 hours. They come back Tuesday morning and pick up where they left off.

If they hit a blocker, a question for the client, a decision that needs approval, the project stops. They send an email. Wait for a response. Maybe they get it the next day. Maybe they don't.

This is why agency projects drag.

Not because the work is hard. But because the workflow is linear. One task follows another. One person hands off to the next. And every handoff is a potential delay.

Now imagine a different model.

London finishes their workday at 5pm. Dubai is just hitting their stride at 9pm London time (midnight Dubai time). The project doesn't stop. It moves to the next time zone. By the time London wakes up, Dubai has already pushed it forward four hours.

That's 12 hours of progress in a single calendar day.

How Follow-the-Sun Actually Works

Here's what this looks like in practice.

Our London team starts the day reviewing what Dubai completed overnight. They have fresh eyes on the work. They can spot issues, refine ideas, and make strategic decisions whilst the work is still warm.

They spend their day pushing the project forward. Strategy, design, copywriting, whatever the phase requires. By the time they're wrapping up, they've documented what's been done, what's next, and what needs input.

Dubai picks it up. They see exactly where things were left. No ambiguity. No guessing. They continue the work, add their layer, and document their decisions.

By the time London is back online, the project has moved significantly. Not in parallel, in sequence, but compressed.

This isn't just about speed. It's about momentum.

Projects don't stall whilst we wait for feedback or approvals. If London has a question for the client, Dubai can follow up during the client's business hours if they're Gulf-based. If Dubai hits a creative decision, London weighs in fresh the next morning.

The work keeps moving. And that velocity is something a single-location agency simply can't match.

The Client Benefit: Faster Timelines Without Corners Cut

Here's what this means for you.

A rebrand that takes another agency eight weeks? We can do it in five. Not because we're working faster, but because we're working smarter.

A website that takes six weeks to build? We can deliver it in four. Not because we're cutting scope, but because the project is progressing 16 hours a day instead of eight.

And critically, we're not burning people out to do it.

Our teams work normal hours. They're not pulling all-nighters or working weekends to hit deadlines. The speed comes from the structure, not from overwork.

This is especially valuable for clients who are launching, pivoting, or operating in fast-moving markets. When timing matters, when a delayed launch means lost revenue or missed opportunity, this follow-the-sun model becomes a genuine competitive edge.

The Quality Paradox: Why Working Across Time Zones Makes Work Better

Here's something counterintuitive.

You'd think splitting a project across two teams in different locations would hurt quality. More handoffs. More miscommunication. More room for things to get lost.

The opposite is true.

Because we're never working on something for 12 hours straight without a break.

London works on a concept for a full day, then hands it off. Dubai comes in fresh, sees it with new eyes, and can spot what London missed. They refine it, push it further, and pass it back.

This built-in review cycle catches mistakes early. It prevents tunnel vision. It stops us from getting too attached to ideas that aren't working.

And because both teams are documenting everything in Notion, nothing gets lost. Every decision is visible. Every iteration is tracked. The client gets full transparency into how the work is evolving.

The Communication Challenge (and How We've Solved It)

Let's be honest. Working across time zones isn't effortless. It requires discipline.

The biggest risk is miscommunication. If London makes an assumption and Dubai runs with it in the wrong direction, you've just wasted eight hours.

Here's how we avoid that:

We over-document. Every handoff includes context. Not just "here's what I did," but "here's why I did it, here's what I'm unsure about, here's what needs to happen next."

We use async communication tools religiously. Notion for documentation. Recorded Loom videos for design walkthroughs. Fathom transcripts from client calls. If you weren't in the meeting, you can still get the full context.

We have overlap hours. There's a window each day, usually late afternoon London time, early evening Dubai time, where both teams are online. That's when we sync. Ask questions. Make decisions that need real-time input.

We don't rely on assumptions. If something's unclear, we flag it immediately. Better to pause for clarity than charge ahead in the wrong direction.

And we trust each other. London trusts Dubai to make smart decisions. Dubai trusts London to course-correct if needed. That trust is what makes the system work.

When Follow-the-Sun Becomes a Superpower

Here are the moments when this model really proves its value.

Tight deadlines. Client needs a pitch deck by Friday. It's Tuesday. Traditional agency says "we'll do our best." We say "done." Because we can compress a week's work into three days without anyone working overtime.

Rapid iteration. Client sees a concept, wants changes. Traditional agency makes the changes tomorrow. We make them tonight. Client wakes up to the revised version.

Launch coordination. Website going live. Campaign launching. Event happening. We have team members awake and available across both time zones. If something breaks at 3am London time, Dubai is online. If something breaks at 3am Dubai time, London is online.

Global clients. If you're operating in both the UK and UAE, or across even more markets, you need an agency that can respond in real time regardless of where you are. We can take a call in London at 9am. Take another in Dubai at 4pm. And have work ready for review before either market closes.

How This Plays Out in Practice

Look at Automattic, the company behind WordPress. They've run a fully distributed, follow-the-sun model for years. Work passes from the US to Europe to Asia and back. Projects move 24/7. And they've built one of the most successful software companies in the world without a central office.

Or take GitLab. Fully remote. Teams across dozens of time zones. They've documented their entire workflow publicly, and one of their core principles is "working async." The follow-the-sun model isn't just possible, it's their competitive advantage.

Closer to the agency world, look at the rise of distributed creative studios. Pentagram has offices globally. Work can start in London, continue in New York, and finish in Berlin. The best ideas come from the overlap, but the execution happens around the clock.

These aren't exceptions. They're the future of how high-performing teams operate.

What This Doesn't Mean

Let's be clear about what we're not saying.

We're not available 24/7 for calls. We're not responding to emails at 2am. We're not "always on" in the burnout sense.

We're strategically distributed.

Our teams work healthy hours in their respective time zones. But because those time zones are offset, the project benefits from near-continuous progress.

This isn't about being everywhere at once. It's about designing a workflow where progress doesn't stop just because one team has clocked out.

The DARB Edge

We've built our entire studio around the follow-the-sun model because we've seen how much faster, how much better, how much more responsive it makes us.

When you work with DARB, you're not just getting one team. You're getting two, working in sequence, keeping your project moving whilst you sleep.

Four-week timelines become three weeks. Six-week builds become four. And the quality doesn't drop, it improves, because fresh eyes are constantly reviewing the work.

The 9-to-5 is dead. And the clients who benefit are the ones working with agencies who've figured that out.

Need a project done faster without cutting corners? Let's talk about how our follow-the-sun model gets you there. Get in touch with DARB.