Steady Climb

Salaries have increased across all design roles for London consultancies, irrespective of discipline. The most substantial increases reported in London salaries from our sample were from middleweight, senior designers and creative directors, for whom rises of about 10 per cent have been the norm. Artworkers have also done well, with an increase of 12 per cent. The reported increase of the highest paid London category, managing director salaries, was a non-dramatic 3 per cent. Perhaps share options, which do not figure in the survey, have supplemented the salaries of senior management. This would account for a lower increase in earnings.

Junior designers and studio managers have enjoyed the biggest upward change in salary levels outside London since last year (13 per cent) according to respondents, despite negligible wage growth for these roles inside the metropolis. Outside the capital, designers have significantly higher salaries all round, with artworkers again seeing some of the highest pay shifts, 13 per cent higher than the salaries reported by last year’s sample.

On the management side, managing directors outside of the capital have clawed back lost ground on their London counterparts, with the average salary of £66 000 being 10 per cent higher than that of last year’s sample, (compared with £81 344 in London this year).

Other research

Outside of the design industry, pay increases across the private sector as a whole are falling, according to last month’s report by Industrial Relations Services. Average basic pay settlements fell from 3.1 per cent to 3 per cent in the three months to September. The Office of National Statistics put the rise for average earnings over the three months to August at 3.9 per cent, year-on-year. In February the average salary rise was 6 per cent.

Within the design sector, WKS reported that directors’ remuneration represented 18 per cent of employment costs of the top 30 design groups, ranked by gross income.

What we did

In keeping with previous years, the results are based on a salary questionnaire sent to UK design consultancies from the Design Week database, including those listed in our Top 100 and Creative Surveys. For the change in average salaries table (right) salaries have been compared to last year’s results to calculate general trends. But although the list of survey recipients is virtually the same as previous years, the consultancies choosing to respond are not necessarily the same.

This year Scotland, which has had its own table in previous years, has been included in the “Outside London” category due to the low response rate from Scottish consultancies. Furniture design groups again failed to respond in significant numbers. It should also be noted that in order to offset price rises, the rate of inflation must be subtracted from all percentage change figures.

‘It’s been good again this year. Graduate salaries have gone up from about £13.5k to £15k, and middleweight designers who are about 25-32 years old generally earn what their age is. It’s only been the last three or four years that salaries have gone up and, bearing in mind the long hours designers put in, it is only right’

Paula Carrahar, Director, Major Players

‘To help us assess individual achievement and review salaries we have recently introduced a method for appraisals and goal-setting that forms part of our brand achievement process. These are focused around five themes that reflect our company values, and we use this process to appraise both partners and staff It forms the basis of their next salary review’

Roger Rundle, Design partner, The Team

‘Some salary reports might not reflect the whole picture. For a few design groups you may see profit-related pay going down, but share options to employees going up. But I don’t think salaries are over-inflated’

Ian Cochrane, Chairman, Ticegroup

‘Salaries have increased dramatically over the past year because it is a supply-driven market. But the quality of some college graduates has, if anything, gone down a bit. I am finding it more encouraging that employers are looking for more traditional design skills rather than just computer-conceived skills’

Stuart Newman, Director, Network Design Recruitment

‘I think the design industry has a lot of catching up to do with other industries such as advertising. At the senior level, there is a broader band of salaries. The demands are greater – companies are expecting an amount of management experience. But people are almost asking their own price’

Jo Peters, Director, Jo Peters & Associates recruitment agency

London – management

London – designers

Outside London – management

Outside London – designers

Per cent difference in average salaries from 1999-2000

Per cent difference in average salaries from 1999-2000