Tasks and Aims

Our Aim: to make work easier for you

The AGD is a service association: the focus is on you. As an independent designer you don‘t only have to produce good work. In order to survive in the marketplace you also need business skills. And this is where the Alliance of German Designers can help you.

The AGD wants you to receive an appropriate fee for your work.

A core issue for the AGD is that of payment. What is a reasonable hourly rate for design work? How can right of use and copyright be calculated? How do I ensure my client adheres to these guidelines? In order to bring clarity to the whole issue of fees, the AGD has established itself as a tariff association. In plain language: at regular intervals the AGD and the SDST (the Association of Independent Design Studios) negotiate a new agreement on fees for design services, and this establishes the hourly rate, approximate costs and the fee for transfer of copyright. This Collective Agreement on Fees for Design Services (Vergütungstarifvertrag Design or VTV) is provided to all AGD and SDSt members free of charge. So you have at your disposal a tool which enables you to calculate fees for design work with complete transparency. And this Collective Agreement on Design Services is recognised throughout Germany – and in court – as a yardstick for reasonable payment.

The AGD represents the interests of designers

In negotiations and discussions with legislative bodies, the section of the social welfare organisation handling self-employed artists and designers (KSK), the German copyright association for artists, photographers and film-makers (VG Bild/Kunst), and on the EU level, the AGD consistently campaigns for fair and transparent copyright laws, social welfare provisions for designers and general social and political recognition of the importance of design. Design represents a significant sector of the economy which has not yet been sufficiently acknowledged, promoted and developed. The AGD intends to change this.

The AGD promotes professional designers

By means of its Designer Search and Members' Portfolio on the Internet, the AGD provides all users with a service that reaches every corner of Germany. Prospective clients can find the most appropriate designer for their needs without moving from their desks - and then receive samples of that designer‘s work online. Potential clients are also addressed by direct mail, the online service, the AGD Handbook and publications such as "Der Design-Auftrag" (a booklet for clients explaining the typical structure of a design project).