The 2009 AIGA|Aquent Salary Survey draws from the largest pool to date of designers and others allied with the profession nationwide, and includes responses from more than 9,000 design professionals. Salary survey The AIGA|Aquent survey is widely recognized as the most comprehensive annual survey of compensation data for the communication design profession in the United States. In addition to the compensation data, this year’s survey includes essays written by design professionals offering advice on staying competitive in a turbulent economy. You can download the 2009 salary survey in PDF format here. I take no responsibility for any depression the results of the survey may cause you.