Paula, I will email this to you and post to the list as well.

There are a couple of resources you can use. One is the AAMD Salary Survey,
published annually. The last copy I have is from 1999, and it indicates that
the median salary for a Graphic Designer in an art museum (don't know what
museum type you are considering) overall was $38,292. The mean was $41,228,
the 75th percentile (which many museums shoot for having their salaries
match) was $46,429.

It varies widely, though, based on both the annual budget of the institution
and the geographic location. For example, the median for museums with budgets
between 1 and 2.5 million was only $16,000, vs. for museums with budgets over
20 million, where the median was $56,381. Regional differences are smaller:
Mid Atlantic median was $40,000, Southeast was $35,900. You should bump all
these figures up by 5-8% for 1999-2001 cost of living increases.

The second source you can use is the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic
Arts) Salary Survey, the most recent copy of which was published in 2000.
This only lists national averages, and includes everybody- in-house
corporate, design firms, advertising firms, freelancers, not-for-profit, etc.
so it is a pretty wide net. For a Designer, median compensation (including
benefits) listed is $38,000 and 75th percentile is $45,000. Senior designer
is $52,300 and $64,000, and Art director is $55,000 and $70,000 respectively.

Hope that is of some help. Overall, I'd say if the institution is large and
well-known, in a major city (as you said), and the duties of the job include
designing as well as some art direction of outside designers/contractors, you
should use the upper end of your guesstimate ($30-40,000) as a starting point
(or even a little higher). Maybe ask for $45-50 and see what happens... but
95% of the time you'll get a good feel for the range they are willing to pay
during the interview process, anyways.

Best of luck!

Dennis
__________________________
Dennis Kois
Assistant Manager of Design
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York

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