The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing and Ethical Guidelines

Pricing

The Handbook provides detailed pricing examples for all types of design work, from graphic design such as book, typeface, greeting card, publication and package design, to web design, illustration, cartooning, animation and surface design. Each section provides a description of the field coupled with charts featuring average prices for different types of work.

For example, the brochure design chart provides pricing based on the size of the client, colors in the printing, and dimensions and pages in the brochure. The publication design chart compares consumer and trade magazine design, circulation size, and general vs. special interest magazines. Even if a client or project doesn’t fit within these guidelines, these charts are extremely helpful to see what type of work is out there and what clients are paying for it.

Contracts

A chapter of the book is devoted to explaining the use of contracts, negotiation and lawyers in the business of graphic design. The reason for having contracts, types of contracts and what to include in a contract is all covered. The section ends with a selection of example forms and contracts, including an artist-agent agreement, invoices, purchase orders and inventory forms. These can assist you in drafting your own documentation for your design projects.

Law

The chapter entitled “Legal Rights & Issues” is a crash-course in design law. It covers copyright, work for hire, moral rights, fair practice and trademarks. If you are just starting out as a graphic designer, or you are a veteran needing a refresher, this section will help you protect your work and properly use the works of others.

Professional Relationships & Issues

The “Professional Relationships” section of the Handbook is a great resource for new designers. Working with illustrators, graphic designers, brokers, clients and others is covered. In “Professional Issues,” topics such as sales tax and employment are discussed.

These helpful business sections, combined with the rest of the detailed information packed into the Graphic Artist Guild Handbook, makes this book an ideal reference for graphic designers at all levels.