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Textile designer : Salary and conditions

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  1. Job description
  2. Salary and conditions
  3. Entry requirements
  4. Training
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Case studies

  • Typical starting salaries are £13,000 - £20,000, with higher rates of pay in London.
  • A good junior designer with one to two years’ experience can expect to earn between £22,000 - £25,000. Designers with three to four years' experience can expect to earn up to £28,000.
  • Senior designers/design directors can earn between £30,000 and £40,000.
  • Salaries vary depending on geographical location and type of employer and the majority of textile designers work freelance, often to commission, so income levels vary greatly.
  • Designers may find they need to supplement their income from other sources and teaching is a popular option.
  • Working hours typically include extra hours to meet deadlines. Freelance designers do not have set hours and have to divide their time between designing and marketing their work.
  • Work settings vary and may include factories, backrooms or smart design studios. Freelance artists, craftspeople and designers may work from home or in workshops.
  • Long term, self-employment is an option, though setting up your own business in addition to maintaining design work is demanding and can take time. The Design Trust  is a good resource for young designers wanting to set up their own business.
  • Jobs are available throughout the UK. There is a concentration of design studios in London and job availability is greater in the traditional centres of the textile industry, such as Scotland, the North West and the Midlands.
  • It is possible for new graduates to obtain their first jobs, particularly in fashion design, in Italy, France or America, where valuable experience can be gained working with well-known designers before starting work in the UK. Organisations such as Global Experiences  offer fashion design internships abroad.
  • Working alone and to short deadlines can be stressful and there is constant pressure to produce new ideas and make new contacts by visiting trade fairs and other events. Using your creative abilities within a commercial environment requires the ability to cope if a particular piece of work is not well received by a client.
  • Occasional travel within a working day and overnight absence from home may be required and overseas work or travel is possible.
 
AGCAS
Written by AGCAS editors
Date: 
May 2011
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