Cash Money: 2011 AIGA Design Salary Guide

Last month, AIGA released their comprehensive design salary survey. The salary figures aren’t ugly, but the salary trends describe a frustrating design job market.

Design salaries have remained flat for the past several years, yet design firms are reporting they are as busy as ever. The thought here is they haven't replaced designers who were let go during the recession. Also, where in-house design departments would once hire internal designers, they now outsource a significant amount of their work to minimize employee costs. Combined, the abundance of freelance and contract employees have kept salary levels in check.

But, there are signs of improvement. AIGA reports that as businesses anticipate a recovery, they must invest in new product and message differentiation to succeed in the new market. This is where designers come in! While the current recovery is anything but secure, it is important for designers to continue expanding their skillsets and look for ways to differentiate themselves in this competitive job market.

This year’s report features an expanded set of job descriptions in response to the changing design employment environment. It is also presented in an interactive, web-based format for the first time. The entire report and salary calculator can be accessed here.

A few months ago, Pratt GradComD graduate Nim Ben-Reuven compiled salary and employment data from ninety GradComD students who graduated within the past two years. He also designed a great info-graphic in the PDF attached below.

Please note that Nim's results are not indicative of a larger employment experience for Pratt GradComD students and are specific to his design exercise.