The Payoff

Following the hike in salaries recorded in last year’s survey, pay levels of most jobs have continued to rise this year, although a few areas have recorded a slight drop.

This perhaps reflects the inconsistent nature of the year’s workload. This year started amid predictions of a recession, and although this didn’t materialise, some clients initially viewed spending their design budgets with caution. And while many consultancies now claim to be very busy indeed, this has come after what some admit was a quiet summer. All this, and the different types of survey respondents, has contributed to the recorded level of salaries found in this year’s salary survey.

However, judging by our survey of recruitment agencies last week, design consultancy recruits across the board can now expect to pick up higher salaries than this time last year. It is driven by the same issue – a shortage of good people. According to Gabriele Skelton, who topped last week’s survey, creative people can expect to be paid at least 30 per cent more than last year.

Salaries in different disciplines are obviously affected by demand, and anecdotally we hear that roles in digital media are commanding ever higher rates. Pretty much every traditional design consultancy of whatever discipline is looking to build its digital media offer, and the purists are all looking to expand. Skelton estimates that a middleweight digital media creative is offered a minimum of 25 000 to 33 000. Interestingly, a similar position in a traditional consultancy which now offers digital media would command significantly less than a pure digital media consultancy, according to Major Players recruitment agency.

However, this is not reflected in the results of our survey, as every role in digital media records a lower salary than in last year’s survey. This is likely to be accounted for by the type of respondent to the survey, few of whom were drawn from pure digital media consultancies.

Nor is the recruitment agents’ optimism about salary hikes necessarily reflected in pay increases forecasted by our survey respondents. A significant minority expect to put up salaries only in line with inflation – some 3.5 per cent – in the next 12 months. Some others are more generous, planning to offer between 10 and 15 per cent pay rises. The average salary increase throughout the industry is 6.5 per cent.

Of course, these figures don’t take into account annual performance-related bonuses. Only 17 per cent of respondents do not have in place such a scheme, which has the potential to affect take-home pay considerably.

Product design is not represented well enough nationally in our survey responses to get an accurate picture. However, according to Skelton, product design salaries are on the up, though no more than the level of inflation. And there is a trend towards product designers being recruited into digital media to help develop 3D applications. In London, all except junior product designers have achieved a salary increase, with creative directors’ pay up the most.

As well as salary discrepancies between disciplines, there are again wide differences between salaries commanded in London compared with the rest of the country. To supplement the London and national tables, we have this year published separate tables for Scotland. Unsurprisingly, figures for designers and executives north of the border are considerably lower than for London. For example, a creative director of corporate identity in Scotland commands 40 000, while in London the same role could bring in 11 000 more. A Scottish new business director working in packaging and branding comes in at 39 000, compared with nearly 47 000 in London.

Meanwhile, in-house design teams, although not targeted in the survey, continue to be the poor relation to design consultancies. Although status and salaries are slowly rising in this area, in-house designers can expect to be paid around 15 per cent less than their consultancy peers, according to Skelton.

And expansion continues. Last October, UK consultancies increased the size of their design teams by some 27 per cent, with a projected increase in staff numbers for the following 12 months of just under 6 per cent. This year, consultancies forecast an average increase in staff levels of 5 per cent.

Freelance rates

After a substantial boost in freelance rates last year, the market seems to have settled down. Corporate identity and print graphics are two of the few disciplines where freelance rates have gone up – from 21.90 an hour last year to 24.27 for identity and from 22.65 to 23.23 for print.

Meanwhile, respondents recorded a slight fall in hourly rates for other disciplines: packaging branding at 24.23, exhibition design at 17.50, and interiors architecture at 17.08. Digital media freelancing commands 23.80 an hour.

What we did

Our findings are based on a questionnaire which was circulated to more than 400 consultancies across the UK, including design groups listed in our 1999 Top 100 and Creative surveys. This yielded a 25 per cent increase in responses on last year.

As with last year, the majority of respondents list graphics among the disciplines they cover – 64 per cent listed print graphics and 49 per cent packaging and branding. More than half – 58 per cent – cite corporate identity as a specialism.

Interiors and architecture were listed by 31 per cent of respondents, while 29 per cent said they work on exhibition design.

This year, digital media accounts for 29 per cent. Product design was listed by 11 per cent of respondents.

Suits – National

Designers – National

Suits – London

Designers – London

Suits – Scotland

Designers – Scotland