Customer Reviews

Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook Pricing & Ethical Guidelines

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pros: Covers a lot of ground; defined creative terms and boundaries for the profession, fees, moral issues, client relationships, salaries, photographer relationships, illustrator relationships, etc. Rare is the book that has the guts to put actual numbers on project fees, rarer still to see it in this field. The only guide of its kind available.

Cons: Shape/bindery of the piece. It's a pain to even open it wide. (This was designed by the guild?) Some of the fee quotes/ideas are too vague, to the point of offering little guidance. The flow of the chapters is odd. Example: It starts with illustrator relationships(?!), when you'd think the first chapter would be an overall state of industry, issues facing communication arts employees and employers, trends, etc. The section on digital/non traditional media is still a little shaky, but better than it was.

Last thoughts: To the review that said they need a new version, they've done two in the last 3 or 4 years. The most recent being 2003. To everyone else: it's a guide, not a law book. The prices are at once too high and too low. Fees/salaries will vary no matter how accurate it is.

The 11th edition is out,(although Amazon may not be displaying the most recent cover) and they did it again. The Graphic Artists Guild has produced the definitive industry resource for designers, illustrators and anyone even remotely interested in making a living in the graphics field. The book provides a terrific introduction to professional practices for anyone expanding their existing business to include web projects. This is a publication that keeps improving with age. Trying to encapsulate all situations is impossible, but the care taken in putting this survey together shows. Ta da! Even the web design section catches up to the situation on the ground.

At first glance it seems slimmer than previous editions, but a deeper look reveals that more information makes it onto each page, with a more efficient typographic treatment, and some judicious editing deleting duplicate information in some chapters

Please note: The prices reported in the book are the results of a survey of real working professionals. A spot check reveals that some reported price ranges have increased over the intervening years since the 10th edition. Some are the same, or similar. In the end, the producer (that's you!) has to insist on higher prices, you can't expect a book to negotiate for you, can you?

Some of the charts are improved. For instance, the Chart and Map Design section is more useful, including ranges for 4 different possible uses for a piece: advertising, in-house, editorial and textbook. this replaces the not-always-useful "client annual revenues" breakdowns in the 10th edition.

In the age of easy image stealing a new cease and desist form letter is included on p. 250 for you to use. May you never need it!

Hats off to the Guild for putting facts and figures at every working graphic artists disposal. It's a lumbering, exploding field where standards are in short supply on the fringes, but solid guidance is only a bookshelf away. I'll say it again... If you're unsure about what to charge, or how to structure an agreement (you're using an agreement aren't you?), it'll pay for itself with your next job.

I have read most of the reviews for this book and most everyone seems unanimous that the fees suggested are "high" and don't work with an unsophisticated client.

Most of the pricing has come from designers and agencies alike that are in the large populated cities and will quote a higher price. One review stated that: "In a small city like mine, (pop. 100k) a lot of businesses are run by people that have little to no education or running a business, much less knowledge of the importance of graphic design. I find that I have to go way under what is usually recommended for certain projects." That's INEXCUSABLE!!! Part of your job as a designer is to sell your ideas and creativity. To inform the client of why they need to have the appropriate design and creativity to build and maintain their brand. The lower you quote your prices, the faster this industry will become overcompetitive and turn into a photoshop nation.

I sacrificed lot's of business in the pursute of a higher price and eventually it paid off. Some of the fees for certain design work-ie: Graphic Design- seem to be on the high side, but mostly it is just demographics more than anything. This book will help you with that process. It is definately a MUST HAVE!

I've read some unfavorable reviews of this book before I bought it but I did buy it anyway. Regardless of what some people say about the design and binding I like it quite well. As a freelance designer, it would have saved me several headaches had I bought this earlier in my career. I gave it 5 stars because the information in it is invaluable! Whether you freelance or are a designer employed by a company, you need this book. It is very important.

Everyone should read this book before they work freelance.
It contains all the necessary information one needs to know to build successful relationships with clients. Creating art for a living is
great but without knwoing how to put limits on the amount of changes
a client is entitled to and how many comps are included in the base price
causes problems. This book spells out everything.

This book contains more useful stuff than you could get out of ten other books put together. Besides pricing and ethical guidlines, it includes definitions of important terms, legal information, industry best practices, invaluable marketing information, and samples of contracts, invoices, and other basic business forms. Make sure you buy the most current edition.

This guide is really a useful resource for a freelance artist like myself. It's most useful feature, in my opinion, is the legal advice it offers including templates for standard contracts for different types of work, as well as explaining in detail the pros and cons of the different ways that you can sell the rights to your work, many of which were not known to me. I find the pricing aspect less useful since all my work is on the internet, but they emphasize traditional media and have only a very brief treatment of "new media" (i.e. online) practices and pricing. Still, the legal advice is germane regardless of medium.

As a starting freelancer, this book is very informative. Sometimes the paragraphs get a bit thick with legal terms or explanations but there are gems and a great table of prices which was the main reason I bought it.

As a freelance photographer, artist, and designer, I found this an excellent resource for helping me establish fees and price my work fairly. It should be on the shelf of every graphic artist.

I love this book, it has helped me with my new graphic design business... everything from pricing and contracts to understanding of copyrights and laws!