Part time graphic designer advice - UK

[andy1]

Hey guys,

At some point in 2011 I'm looking to take on a part time graphic designer who can liaise with local clients and convert their ideas into a print ready design. I'm after some advice on the best way of doing this and the sort of minimum pay expected, if anyone in the UK can advise it would be appreciated. Please no emails requesting work, this is a plan for the future.

My idea is to hire someone who is either studying at present, or recently qualified college/uni. At preset I am designing artwork myself with zero training and only limited experience, so anyone with a college course would top my skills immediately. My objectives are to improve the quality of artwork and be able to offer clients a direct and knowledgeable design contact, but also release myself from graphic design to allow more time to develop customer relationships, increase sales and actually print.

Outsourcing is an option but for local clients having a designer who can actually visit them would be a huge customer service bonus, and if I can secure a low hourly rate on a 16/20hr week it would be more cost effective. Effectively 16hrs work for what would usually buy 4 flyer designs.

ANY advice whatsoever would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Andy

P.S. not sure if this is the best place to post this, can't find a more suitable section.

 

[Joe]

Hey guys,

At some point in 2011 I'm looking to take on a part time graphic designer who can liaise with local clients and convert their ideas into a print ready design. I'm after some advice on the best way of doing this and the sort of minimum pay expected, if anyone in the UK can advise it would be appreciated. Please no emails requesting work, this is a plan for the future.

My idea is to hire someone who is either studying at present, or recently qualified college/uni. At preset I am designing artwork myself with zero training and only limited experience, so anyone with a college course would top my skills immediately. My objectives are to improve the quality of artwork and be able to offer clients a direct and knowledgeable design contact, but also release myself from graphic design to allow more time to develop customer relationships, increase sales and actually print.

Outsourcing is an option but for local clients having a designer who can actually visit them would be a huge customer service bonus, and if I can secure a low hourly rate on a 16/20hr week it would be more cost effective. Effectively 16hrs work for what would usually buy 4 flyer designs.

ANY advice whatsoever would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Andy

P.S. not sure if this is the best place to post this, can't find a more suitable section.

sigh

 

[andy1]

Hi Joe,

Not sure what you're referring to? A 16-19yr old would be happy with 6 quid an hour part-time to help them with their course. That's my guesstimate of the going rate for inexperienced unqualified designers, but I'm asking for advice so anything helpful would be welcome.

Cheers,
Andy

 

[gordo]

You mentioned in your other post that you'd be paying about 6 quid an hour.
Not sure about the UK but in N.A. that translates into minimum wage - what's affectionately referred to as a McJob. You'll be taking up half their working week (thus making it difficult to work elsewhere) and paying them a wage they cannot live on.

Under that circumstance, I think that you're going to find it difficult to hire someone that you would be comfortable sending to your customer and representing you.

You could try Craigslist for your area in the UK and see what CVs you receive.

Personally, I'd build a better relationship with a few local designers and give them the contact info when a project came up and let them deal with your customer directly. And you wouldn't have to deal with an employee or pay them if work isn't coming in. Or, you could service those kinds of customers by setting up some kind of a template driven scheme like this one ( Hollands Print Solutions | Business Cards, Flyer Printing, Magazine Printing, Brochure Printing, Presentation Folder Printer and much more... ) in Australia. Or you could decide that there is a good business opportunity in providing creative services and either pay a decent wage or provide space for an in-house creative that operates independently.

My 2p, gordon p

 

[andy1]

Hi Gordon,

Thanks for your advice, the going rate for a graphic designer is what I'm trying to discover. As far as I'm aware part of a college course in graphic design (usually a part-time college course) involves working part-time in a suitable job, neither can be done full time. I may be wrong, which is why I'm seeking advice. It's quite surprising but the minimum wage for someone under 20 in the UK is just £4.92 ($7.65), making £6/hr ($9.30) quite competitive.

I've looked on a website that lists average wages and £14,500 salary is the average for a junior graphic designer, which translates into £7.45/hr, so I'm guessing £7-8 an hour is what I should expect to pay for a qualified, slightly experienced part time designer?

I would go down the route of local graphic design but the only graphic designers in my local area (within 20 miles) work for other printers. Although some may do work on the side, being a digital printer means designs need to be completed ASAP and often same day, which also adds to the advantage of an in-house designer.

I'm asking for advice because I've never hired staff before and am all too aware of how unreliable outsourcing can lose very large customers in one hit.

Thanks again,
Andy

 

[Joe]

Hi Joe,

Not sure what you're referring to? A 16-19yr old would be happy with 6 quid an hour part-time to help them with their course. That's my guesstimate of the going rate for inexperienced unqualified designers, but I'm asking for advice so anything helpful would be welcome.

Cheers,
Andy

Hey Andy, I'm sorry but all your original post said was "low hourly rate on a 16/20hr week" and it seems that is all anyone is looking for. Part time cheap labor. You usually get what you pay for. As soon as every worker in the world is working at slave labor rates these same companies will be crying the blues because they can't sell any of their products. And they won't realize it's because no one makes enough money to buy their products. It's a catch 22.

You are willing to pay more than minimum wage but still $9.30 in the USA is below the poverty level asa full time employee. And it's even worse as a part time job. A good graphic designer should easily be making $20 per hour if not more. I know a lot don't because that is how far the industry has plummeted.

[/rant]

 

[oxburger]

As a freelance designer, I charge $50 an hour U.S.

 

[andy1]

Hi Joe,

I completely understand and I'm happy to pay what is appropriate. My view on hiring graphic designers has been tainted by other printers I know who have used under-21's who are still learning the trade. A sort of apprenticeship where they can receive funding and benefits from the government or their college, then work up to 16hrs on the side with no hit to their state support. It's the reason I was requesting advice from the UK as things seem to work much differently over here, a 16hr week is a standard part-time job that someone under-21 would have as their only source of income. I wouldn’t dream of hiring an experienced well qualified graphic designer either part time or for less than £10 an hour, but it’s exactly these issues of salary that I need to ascertain from experienced people.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[oxburger]

and apparently, I'm quite the bargain as no one has any problem paying it. Also, a degree is all in the eyes of the beholder. I know of people with a 4 year degree in design and couldn't design a simple logo or letterhead.

 

[andy1]

As a freelance designer, I charge $50 an hour U.S.

That's a fair rate and typical of the UK (£25-30), what seems to be a big issue is how quickly designers get the work done. I know of a few designers who spend a full 8hr working day and only produce one restaurant menu, that's why I'm hesitant to pay £10 an hour to someone who isn't qualified or experienced.

Out of interest what sort of timescales do you provide for business cards and flyers?

RE Degree: I'm with you on that too, a qualification on using Photoshop/Illustrator is all I would ask for, not a PhD in Arts or anything more advanced, just a way of ensuring they know what they're doing and aren't missing out on key features of the software. In the UK college/university is (or at least was) the next step for over 80% of students, so seeking someone who is currently learning is a common practice.

 

[Joe]

As a freelance designer, I charge $50 an hour U.S.

Yes, you can charge that as a freelancer. Getting paid that as an employee of a company is a stretch.. The CEO of the company making $500 million per year would choke on his caviar.

 

[gordo]

That's a fair rate and typical of the UK (£25-30), what seems to be a big issue is how quickly designers get the work done. I know of a few designers who spend a full 8hr working day and only produce one restaurant menu, that's why I'm hesitant to pay £10 an hour.
Out of interest what sort of timescales do you provide for business cards and flyers?

If you can, it's always best to pay by the project - not the hour. It's a win-win situation.
Paying by the project means that the creative is in control of their hourly earnings. It also incents them to work as quickly as possible.
Paying by the project means that the customer knows up front what the cost will be and there is no incentive for the creative to go slow to increase earnings. Besides, saying "I'll pay you 40 quid for a menu design" sounds better than "I'll pay you the same hourly rate as the guy flipping burgers at Wimpy's to design me a menu."

@ Oxburger - Please send me your customer project info. I'll do the design work for you and charge you $35 an hour. You can turn around and sell that back to your customers for $50 and make a clear $15 an hour profit as well as freeing up your time to do more projects which in turn means that you'll effectively increase your production capacity and hourly profit. If you're in a different time zone than me you would also increase your effective daily capacity. And bonus, I'm in Canaduh - which usually has a favorable exchange rate with the US of Eh providing you with even more profit potential. The more work you send me the greater your profit potential.

best, gordon p

 

[gordo]

Yes, you can charge that as a freelancer. Getting paid that as an employee of a company is a stretch.. The CEO of the company making $500 million per year would choke on his caviar.

You can get an idea of graphic designer employee salaries in the UK here: Graphic designer: Salary and conditions | Prospects.ac.uk

For a full time employee the range for typical starting salaries is: £14,000 - £22,000 ($21,594.04 USD $33,930.83 USD) At a full-time job at 40 hours per week that's about £7/hr ($11/hr) £11/hr ($17/hr).

Of course location will have an impact (wages will be higher in big cities than in small towns) and general cost of living.

As an employer you'd have to kit out your designer with what they need in terms of equipment, space, etc.

best, gordon p

 

[oxburger]

I also do design work for the company I do prepress work for and Joe, you are completely right. I know what I make on an hourly basis and I know what the company charges for my design time and let's just say that they're paying me about a third of what they charge the client.

 

[gordo]

I know what I make on an hourly basis and I know what the company charges for my design time and let's just say that they're paying me about a third of what they charge the client.

Those rascals! You are being exploited by the capitalist overlords. Join your brothers and sisters in the revolution.....oooops! Got a bit carried away there.

When I worked as a creative inside a printshop I was also required to work overtime - without being paid for it because I was considered "Management" (- even though I was just managing myself LOL). Prepress and press operators made good money if they had to work overtime though. They drove the fancy cars while I took the bus.

Interestingly they, if are still working, are still doing the same thing they were doing thirty years ago.

best, gordo

 

[Joe]

Those rascals! You are being exploited by the capitalist overlords. Join your brothers and sisters in the revolution.....oooops! Got a bit carried away there.

When I worked as a creative inside a printshop I was also required to work overtime - without being paid for it because I was considered "Management" (- even though I was just managing myself LOL). Prepress and press operators made good money if they had to work overtime though. They drove the fancy cars while I took the bus.

Interestingly they, if are still working, are still doing the same thing they were doing thirty years ago.

best, gordo

What? Are they stuck in a time capsule? I was doing prepress 30 years ago and it was nothing like it is now.

 

[gordo]

What? Are they stuck in a time capsule? I was doing prepress 30 years ago and it was nothing like it is now.

You are right of course. I was thinking about the press operators rather than prepress.

best, gordo

 

[Ginteal]

If you can, it's always best to pay by the project - not the hour. It's a win-win situation.
Paying by the project means that the creative is in control of their hourly earnings. It also incents them to work as quickly as possible.
Paying by the project means that the customer knows up front what the cost will be and there is no incentive for the creative to go slow to increase <a href="http://www.bcduplication.com" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) ! important; text-decoration: none ! important; cursor: default ! important;">cd duplication</a>. Besides, saying "I'll pay you 40 quid for a menu design" sounds better than "I'll pay you the same hourly rate as the guy flipping burgers at Wimpy's to design me a menu."

@ Oxburger - Please send me your customer project info. I'll do the design work for you and charge you $35 an hour. You can turn around and sell that back to your customers for $50 and make a clear $15 an hour profit as well as freeing up your time to do more projects which in turn means that you'll effectively increase your production capacity and hourly profit. If you're in a different time zone than me you would also increase your effective daily capacity. And bonus, I'm in Canaduh - which usually has a favorable exchange rate with the US of Eh providing you with even more profit potential. The more work you send me the greater your profit potential.

best, gordon p

I agree - always pay by the project!