Hi guys,

Just a question about in-house design work. For the last year or so I have been doing more and more design work (posters, letterhead, book covers, annual reports, forms etc) for organisation I work for. Now, it's not in my current job description and at the moment I'm not getting paid extra for it; however, I see myself being used more and more instead of using expensive designers (we're a NFP-NGO). It also must be said that I am by no means a professional designer (self taught), I just have a knack for this type of work.

I'm going to bring this up at my next review (this week some time) and want to see if they will put me as the in-house designer on my job description and hopefully pay me a little more.

My question is, what is the usual arrangement with this kind of design work? Should I ask for a yearly bonus for each piece of artwork I complete, or a general pay increase per hour?

Now I'm not going to be holding my breath about any huge pay increase here (I'm already underpaid for the job I'm employed to do) I'm just looking for some recognition and basically want my work to understand how much design work they are getting out of the kindness of my heart. Any insight to this world or past experiences of similar situations you might of been in would be very helpful.

What you want is to be able to get work as a graphic designer without doing the hard years of study. I would suggest that you just ask to be given more design work without an increase in pay. If you play down the money, they may be happy to "promote" you. Do the job for love.
Stay there a year, build up a port folio, and when you do look for new work you can honestly say you have worked for So & So for the last year as their designer. .

What agencies look for in a new member of a design team is someone who doesn't look down their nose at the menial work but can be called on to do a competent job when the need arises. If you want to get on in your next job, don't be afraid to ask for criticism from the more experience (read here older) artists. They'll like that, and they'll have an experienced eye for stuff that will grow on you in time.

The trouble with design software is that anyone can make stuff look "good". Where the training helps is how to make a design that does the job. If you act like a sponge you'll see how the artists with years of experience do it, and for that you need to work with others. You won't get that working on your own as the "in-house designer". You'll have to move on for that, and doing the assembly for good designers is a great way to absorb those skills.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on at your next review.

Hi Krolly,

As I said, for the past year I have been doing the design work 'for love' and have been more than happy to use it as an opportunity to develop my skills and on every project I work on I learn more and more; it has just got to a point where my managers are coming to me and expecting work that they would normally pay external designers for (eg. I recently did several state wide campaigns consisting of posters, logos, bookmarks etc).

Now I have studied and done my time over the past several years to work my way up to the top in my chosen profession, and couldn't be happier. Even working well below the industry standard wage for my job (about 15-20k below) working for a not-for-profit organisation, you can bet I do a lot 'for love'. I don't particularly want to move professions into the graphic design field, I enjoy the work and am happy to do the 'little jobs' and the menial work. If I wanted to move into that field I would go and study, start at the bottom and work my way up, and be more than happy about it.

What I am concerned about, is my work getting a pretty damn good 'free ride' out of me over the 4+ years I've been employed by them. Two years ago I was given a very small pay rise and extra job title to recognise my work as an IT officer (the main IT guy only works 2 days a week, I do all the day-to-day stuff and some server work etc) and I was going to suggest the same deal about the design work at this review.

By no means do I want a 'free ride' and mean no disrespect to any one else who has put in the hard yards and worked their way up to become respected artists. All I will be asking for is some acknowledgement to go along with the expectations they have of me. You can only give so much of yourself without getting anything back, before you have nothing left.

Thanks for the advice it has helped me see another perspective, which I will keep in mind.

If you're planning on asking for a pay increase and job title change, do a little cost/benefit analysis. Count up what you've done design-wise over the last year and how much that would have cost the business to send out to a design studio.

Then do a little research on what a designer with your experience (I'd call it a junior design role) can expect to earn in your city (Aquent's Orange Book will tell you). If it's more than you're earning now, you should be fine to request an increase. Go in armed with the research, with evidence of what you're worth to the company, and what sort of value they're getting out of you.

I used to work as an in-house designer too. You're lucky you get to do work you like, the company I worked for seemed to forget they had a trained professional on staff! The bosses would instruct my boss to send creative work out, to pay an agency $150 an hour to do what I would have jumped at for a fifth of the cost in wages. Meanwhile I did a bunch of general marketing tasks and basic production that could have been sent out rather cheaply!

Mate, being a graphic designer for 13 years now, I can tell you one thing I have learned along the way. Never do any work you're not being paid to do. People who talk about 'doing it to build your folio or for the love of doing design work' will think differently once they have hit the 10 year mark, believe me. This industry is neither glamourous or particularly rewarding (even if you win an AGDA award, who really gives a toss?), so you'd better start learning how to get other people to reward your efforts with monetary remuneration or you will be hung out to dry like so many others have been in this gig.

Sorry for sounding negative, but in my experience, this is the way it unfolds at the end of the day

I second Prerecorded's advice.

Three to five years and you may get an increase in your annual salary. That is if you don't work for a scrooge.

28 years, and ...
(its real easy to sound negative)

Yes, it's amazing how much difference 'who you work for' makes with regards to your salary and your fair treatment in this game. I am lucky that my current employer treats me with respect, gives me a decent wage, and pretty much lets me run things the way I think they should be run. But boy, I have had some shocking employers - real scrooges who would constantly try to screw me out of every last dollar and not pay me anything near what I was worth. There are a lot of sharks in these waters, and one of the skills you will need to ensure a reasonably successful career is the ability to be able to spot the fin of the shark from a mile away

Ah! Just the advice I was looking for!
That's what I was planning on doing, just showing how much they have saved over the past year and asking for a little bit of that savings to come my way.

At my work it's not so much they forget that I'm here, it's more that they try to do it themselves, and if you've ever seen a MS Word designed 'poster' try to go out as promotional material with wrong logos, badly re-sized photos etc. you would cringe as much as I do.

Danno74, I hear you. We are encouraged to do a lot for 'love' here and most of the time I'm happy about it; but it's come to the point where I'm putting out work and at the end of the day the organisation is benefitting without acknowledging the hours I put in. It goes both ways this 'for love' stuff.

Thanks for all the advice guys, much appreciated

This man speaks the truth.

Just an update/conclusion to this thread: My review went very well, my boss acknowledged the work I had put in over the last year and agreed that I should get a pay rise (not just for the design work, I do a lot here). I also asked for a job title change and it got approved last week, I now have 'Graphic Design Officer' attached to my title.

As a bonus, I have been allocated a larger training budget for improving my design and IT skills

Thank you to all the replies, and I hope this thread can help others like myself in getting a little extra cash to spend on Apple products, and that well deserved recognition for all the hard work put in

hah good work!