Customer Reviews

Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines (Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm a graduating senior in Illustration and I bought this book to use as a guideline for prices but when I brought it in to school all of my teachers, who are working illustrators them selves told me I wasted my money. They told me that this book is only useful as a first indication to someone like me who has literally no idea of what market value for different illustrations are but that the information in this book is obtained by surveys sent out to illustrators and designers. In some cases they got 4 back, 3 of which were from retired people, meaning that for that section the information is just 1 persons opinion, though it's presented as the final word on the situation. As a result of the book being compiled this way the prices almost never change or go up and this book is a large contributing factor to the fact that prices for illustration and design are still in the same place they were 20 years ago. This book is only good for someone who has no idea at all what to charge, but it does more harm then good and at the advice of every working illustrator and designer I've talked to it's a waste of money.

I've illustrated over 20 children's books, 10 of which without this book. Once I used the contracts from this book, I got paid what my time was worth! Great tips on pricing what your work and time. Most importantly, selling artist usage rights to multiple users. Who says your efforts can't be duplicated from one project to the next. This book is Gold! Pick up a copy and use it! Only for serious individuals wanting to do business in the real world. I recommend this book to authors, publishers, and anyone I work with.

I can tell you from first hand experience that there is absolutely NO SHORTAGE of employers who are ready to swindle out-of-work designers. I've ran into an employer that had me doing senior level work as an un-paid intern (I am happy to say that I wrangled money out of her in the end). And on another occasion there was an employer that as part of the interview had me work for 3 hours on her project under the pretense of testing my skills!

These people are parasites and although I've learned the hard way, there will always be other fresh meat to take advantage of. Which is why if you are a legitimate designer or artist for hire, I highly recommend purchasing this book from the Graphic Artists Guild. I wish I had bought the book before I even graduated as the information is invaluable. Not only is it helpful for you but it is also helps raise the standard of the field as a whole.

I first saw this series of books when working in house in the late 90's. I somewhat forgot about them until seeing the book at a local Big New bookstore, where I picked up the most recent copy and checked it out a bit. I realized that I should have bought this book years ago, when I first went out on my own in the design world, so I came home and ordered it up on Amazon (for about 40% off the price it was at the bookstore.) I probably should have bought it at the bookstore, since I spend a lot of time there but times are tough, you have to save where you can.

The book is broken down into just about every segment / classification you can think of. From designing stamps for third world countries to doing medical illustrations for advertisements (and literally everything in between). There are a few tiny holes (ie: catalog layout), but with so much other subjects / materials for cross referencing, it's pretty easy to figure out what the rate should be.

All in all, I'd HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone who does any freelance or contract work in the creative field. It would be a great gift for any recent or future college graduate in the graphic design / illustration field. There's loads of information inside it's covers.

I'm a freelance graphic/web designer who is looking for good resources on developing contracts and average pay rates. This is by far a very handy resource to have around.

Priceless and necessary material for all graphic artists, especially those like me that are just beginning to get some sort of grasp on how much things should cost.

So much information that it will take a lot of time to read it all, but it is so well written and with the right and necessary information that it is a must for everyone in this field. Very informative, clear and to the point. Covers almost every aspect of the Graphic Artist business. Will help a lot, specially with themes regarding your rights and obligation, what is to be expected from an artist and what should an artist expect from others.

The price tables are not accurate for everyone since I believe that there are different markets for different reasons, geographical, economical targets and so on... so you should not expect them to apply exactly to you, but those are really good points of reference you should consider and seriously evaluate.

I don't like the cover at all since it is very confusing and non practical, specially if you are looking for this book in a bookstore by reference and not knowing how it looks like, since it is hard to read it's title at first glance, which I think is a huge violation to the basic rules of commercial design. I think it should have some practical and useful design for that matters. Thats's a no, no, for something coming from an "Artist" Guild. Actually it is an ugly cover (sorry for the artist who created it). The size of it does not help to make it a carry on book say to read everywhere, but for the amount of information it carries, I don't see any more practical shape.

Buy it!

This is an excellent technical book, with a wealth of information between the covers. Most of that information seems "crammed" into the odd sized pages, and reads like a technical manual. For a handbook that's current and relevant, I can't think of a better one out there.

Finally, your search is over! This is the definitive must have for any graphic arts professional. Not to mention, anyone who is considering using a graphic arts professional. This guide is geared especially toward the entrepreneur in the graphic and digital arts industry. Anyone from a partner in a large agency down to the smallest 1-man show can gain invaluable information from this book.

I have a bookshelf full of generic small business guides and "how-to" books for business. This one takes ths cake. It's specific to the web professionals, graphic designers, illustrators, etc. I goes in-depth into:
* How to engage clients and how to write proposals
* How to price with current surveyed price points from GAG members
* Collection procedures
* Fair trade practices
* Detailed copyright law
* Sales tax
* Step by step procedural recommendations into each type of project (i.e. brochure, logos, etc.)

It's by far the best book I've ever seen on the industry. It's like a bible of sorts for the graphic arts professional and anyone interested in working with one. It has virtually everything I've been looking for condensed into one single source.

Good source of knowledge if you plan on starting your own Graphic Design business. I paid $23.10 with free shipping.