Purpose

This survey was conducted on behalf of AIGA, the professional association for design, and its partners, Aquent and Communication Arts magazine, as part of a comprehensive program of activities to serve the professional designer by providing sources of inspiration and strategies for success.

The AIGA|Aquent Survey of Design Salaries 2009 draws from by far the largest pool to date of designers and others allied to the profession, and includes responses from over 9,000 design professionals.

The survey was conducted on AIGA’s behalf by Readex Research, an independent research company in Stillwater, Minnesota.

Methodology

For the first time, this survey was administered exclusively via the Internet. The sampling frame included emailable individuals from a variety of list sources: AIGA’s current and past membership, recent AIGA contacts (from conference registrations, inquiries, etc.), lists of clients and talent supplied by Aquent, and domestic subscribers of Communication Arts magazine. These combined lists represented a total of 42,086 unduplicated individuals at the time of sample selection. All of these individuals were invited to participate in the survey.

The survey instrument was designed jointly by AIGA and Readex Research, similar in content to prior surveys dating back to 2000. All materials production, respondent contact, data capture/validation, and tabulation were handled by Readex.

The sample members were invited to participate via email in three contacts beginning December 18, 2008. The email directed participants to an access-controlled form on Readex’s secure website; a copy of the results was offered as an incentive to participate.

Responses were cut off for final editing, cleaning and tabulation on January 12, 2009, with a total of 9,409 usable returns (a 22% response rate). Most of the data presented in this report are based on the 9,094 individuals who confirmed on the survey that, in their jobs, they are involved in design.

Because the sample was developed from selected sources, and because of the moderate response rate achieved, these data should not be viewed as a nationally representative probability sample of all design professionals. They do, however, provide a current and specific reflection of what a significant share of those in the design profession are currently earning.

Compensation is reported in terms of three statistics: the 25th percentile, the median (or 50th percentile), and the 75th percentile. The 25th percentile represents that value which is greater than 25% of all values, the median that value greater than 50% of all values, and so on. Two quantities are reported out: 2008 wages/salary, and 2008 total cash compensation (which includes not only wages and salary but other forms of cash compensation such as bonuses, profit sharing, incentives, and partners’ profits). Non-wage compensation is especially significant in understanding compensation for owners/partners/principals. Where sufficient data are available, the median hourly rate for freelancers in each position (if employed) is also reported.

Compensation data are reported split out by several variables: geographic region (based on the nine standard U.S. Census divisions), metropolitan area (65 select Core Based Statistical Areas, up from 35 in the 2008 report), type of organization, size of organization, and organization’s client base. Results have been suppressed where fewer than 10 data points and/or 5 cases were returned in a given tabulation.