Contact Us

Graphic Artists Guild

2248 Broadway #1341
New York, NY 10024

Tel: (212) 791-3400

The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines

17th Edition

Coming November, 2025!

For over 50 years, the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines has been the trusted industry resource for illustrators, designers, animators, and creative entrepreneurs. Now in its 17th edition, the Handbook reflects the evolving challenges and opportunities facing visual creatives in a world shaped by digital disruption, shifting business models, and new technologies like generative AI.

This edition is our most robust yet—updated, expanded, and reimagined to meet the moment. Whether you’re setting your freelance rates, reviewing a licensing agreement, or navigating new tools like NFTs and AI, the Handbook equips you with the knowledge and tools to build a sustainable, ethical, and empowered creative practice.

504 pages
Publish date: November 4th, 2025
Publisher: The MIT Press

The 17th Edition is available for pre-order:

The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines, 17th Edition is a trusted resource in design and illustration classrooms across the country. Updated for 2025, this latest edition equips students with real-world tools, ethical frameworks, and pricing guidance to help them confidently transition from the classroom to the creative workforce.

Designed to reflect how today’s students will work, this edition includes:

  • Up-to-date pricing benchmarks and salary data across creative disciplines
  • Guidance on contracts, copyright, and licensing
  • New content on generative AI, NFTs, freelancing, and economic resilience
  • Expanded chapters on social media design, public art, and inclusive professional practices
  • A QR code linking readers to regularly updated online resources from the Guild on AI, business practices, and advocacy
  • Interviews with diverse working professionals to help students envision their own paths

Whether used in the classroom or as a graduation gift, the Handbook helps bridge the gap between creative education and professional success.

Pricing & Ethical Guidelines Handbook, 17th Edition Cover

$54.95

Available on backorder

Non-Members – As soon as you join the Guild, you’ll be shipped a FREE copy of the Handbook as a member benefit. Won’t you consider joining today?

Members – For as long as you are a member of the Guild, you’ll receive a new copy as each edition is published for FREE. Didn’t receive your copy of the Handbook? Email us at membership@graphicartistsguild.org.