Majority of designers expect no increase in fee-income in 2011, according to latest DW poll

Less than half of respondents to a Design Week poll think their fee-income will increase in 2011.

The survey, on www.designweek. co.uk, shows that just 44 per cent of respondents think their fee-income will increase over the next year, while 56 per cent believe it will stay the same or decrease.

Last year’s Design Week Top 100 survey showed that the total fee-income from the 100 leading consultancies was down by 13 per cent in 2010, standing at £359m (DW 27 May 2010).

The chart was topped by Imagination, which had a total fee-income of £34m, down by 11 per cent from 2009.

However, the Top 100 survey also showed that consultancies were bullish about the future, with 31 of the leading 100 groups predicting a fee-income increase of 20 per cent or more over the next year.

The Design Business Association’s Charge Out Rates and Salary Levels survey for 2010 showed that average salaries in the design industry fell by 6 per cent in 2010 (News, DW 23 September 2010).

The DBA’s survey also showed that 65 per cent of those polled expected fees to increase in 2011, compared to 46 per cent in the previous year.
For more Design Week polls visit www.designweek.co.uk.