British design industry survey
A newly released survey carried out by the British Design Initiative doesn't make for pretty reading. According to the survey, this years results indicate that the British design industry is in trouble, as graphic designers struggle to charge appropriate fees for their services commensurate with value and overhead investment. This is the second year in a row that the industry has reported a drop in turnover. According to the survey, design agency fees are at 1993 levels, despite annual salary increases and operation costs. This means that agencies are charging fees that are not far off freelancer rates - but with much larger overheads.
The survey, carried out in association with UK Trade and Investment, used a base of 4000 commercial design agencies; 1600 of which responded in full. The full survey is available for download from The British Design Initiative.
Interestingly, the results of this UK design survey contrast sharply with a recent report on the American graphic design industry. Read more about that report here.
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