Designer Contract Job Trends

Designer
UK

The median Designer daily rate in the UK is £485, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 2 March 2026.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
2 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 162 163 161
Rank change year-on-year +1 -2 -17
Contract jobs requiring a Designer 709 510 652
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.71% 1.69% 1.46%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.87% 1.82% 1.57%
Number of daily rates quoted 535 351 424
10th Percentile £344 £300 £325
25th Percentile £400 £370 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £485 £475 £475
Median % change year-on-year +2.11% - -9.52%
75th Percentile £561 £575 £567
90th Percentile £638 £650 £606
UK excluding London median daily rate £454 £459 £463
% change year-on-year -1.04% -0.81% -6.57%
Number of hourly rates quoted 8 9 15
10th Percentile £22.18 £30.32 £14.00
25th Percentile £26.02 £31.50 £30.25
Median hourly rate £40.83 £33.54 £45.21
Median % change year-on-year +21.72% -25.81% +8.29%
75th Percentile £53.12 £48.75 £53.00
90th Percentile £58.33 £75.00 £63.54
UK excluding London median hourly rate £39.05 £33.52 £45.21
% change year-on-year +16.48% -25.86% +6.38%

All Contract IT Job Roles
UK

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of contract jobs in our overall sample.

Contract vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title 38,005 28,021 41,486
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.82% 92.83% 92.95%
Number of daily rates quoted 23,844 17,678 27,270
10th Percentile £310 £288 £275
25th Percentile £409 £406 £408
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £613 £638 £638
90th Percentile £721 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £481 £475 £487
% change year-on-year +1.32% -2.46% -2.60%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,343 846 2,411
10th Percentile £14.82 £16.25 £13.05
25th Percentile £18.87 £21.46 £16.30
Median hourly rate £33.50 £34.06 £34.25
Median % change year-on-year -1.63% -0.57% -14.38%
75th Percentile £64.00 £64.74 £60.00
90th Percentile £75.00 £75.38 £72.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.50 £32.50 £35.00
% change year-on-year - -7.14% -7.03%

Designer
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'Designer' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

Designer job vacancy trend in the UK

Designer
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Designer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Designer job vacancies in the UK

Designer
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Designer over the 6 months to 2 March 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Designer in the UK

Designer
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Designer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Designer job vacancies in the UK

Designer
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Designer over the 6 months to 2 March 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Designer in the UK

Designer
Top 17 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Designer within the UK over the 6 months to 2 March 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
England -10 560 £475 - 269
London +6 325 £475 - 134
UK excluding London -27 254 £454 -1.04% 156
Work from Home -3 225 £475 +5.56% 164
North of England -15 98 £425 +6.25% 40
North West -6 49 £402 +0.50% 27
South East -32 44 £500 -9.09% 42
Scotland +7 35 £450 -4.00% 5
Yorkshire -47 33 £535 +33.67% 7
Midlands -56 31 £397 -2.01% 29
South West -14 29 £460 -4.17% 24
West Midlands -50 26 £375 -20.00% 21
North East -4 16 £400 -11.11% 6
East of England -28 9 £425 -10.99% 12
Wales +3 8 £506 +114.51% 4
East Midlands -32 5 £401 +0.25% 8
Northern Ireland - 2 £625 - 2

Designer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 2 March 2026, Designer contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads featuring Designer in the job title.

1 252 (35.54%) Service Design
2 239 (33.71%) User Experience
3 213 (30.04%) Agile
4 197 (27.79%) User Research
5 195 (27.50%) Accessibility
6 192 (27.08%) UX Design
7 190 (26.80%) Figma
8 173 (24.40%) Security Cleared
9 154 (21.72%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
10 150 (21.16%) Prototyping
11 143 (20.17%) SC Cleared
12 124 (17.49%) Interaction Design
13 118 (16.64%) Workshop Facilitation
14 113 (15.94%) Journey Map
15 98 (13.82%) Wireframes
16 91 (12.83%) Usability Testing
17 79 (11.14%) Adobe
18 71 (10.01%) Inclusive Design
18 71 (10.01%) Problem-Solving
19 64 (9.03%) WCAG
20 62 (8.74%) Analytics
21 59 (8.32%) Roadmaps
22 57 (8.04%) Design Thinking
23 56 (7.90%) AI
23 56 (7.90%) Stakeholder Engagement
23 56 (7.90%) Stakeholder Management
24 53 (7.48%) Storytelling
25 52 (7.33%) Continuous Improvement
26 48 (6.77%) Sketch
27 44 (6.21%) Co-Creation

Designer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 17 (2.40%) CMS
1 17 (2.40%) Confluence
2 8 (1.13%) Appian
2 8 (1.13%) CICS
3 6 (0.85%) Camunda
4 3 (0.42%) Tomcat
5 2 (0.28%) SharePoint
5 2 (0.28%) Umbraco
6 1 (0.14%) OpenStack
Applications
1 48 (6.77%) Sketch
2 36 (5.08%) Adobe XD
3 25 (3.53%) Adobe Creative Suite
4 21 (2.96%) Photoshop
5 20 (2.82%) InVision
6 19 (2.68%) Adobe Illustrator
7 13 (1.83%) Adobe After Effects
8 11 (1.55%) InDesign
9 8 (1.13%) Microsoft PowerPoint
10 7 (0.99%) Chatbot
11 6 (0.85%) Microsoft Excel
11 6 (0.85%) Zeplin
12 5 (0.71%) CINEMA 4D
13 4 (0.56%) Adobe Captivate
13 4 (0.56%) Adobe Premiere
13 4 (0.56%) Microsoft Office
13 4 (0.56%) MS Visio
14 3 (0.42%) Spreadsheet
14 3 (0.42%) Trello
15 2 (0.28%) Blender
Business Applications
1 7 (0.99%) SAP ERP
2 5 (0.71%) Dynamics GP
2 5 (0.71%) SAP S/4HANA
3 3 (0.42%) Oracle BRM
4 1 (0.14%) Oracle CRM
4 1 (0.14%) Oracle ERP
4 1 (0.14%) Remedy ITSM
4 1 (0.14%) Shopify
4 1 (0.14%) SmartPlant
4 1 (0.14%) Workfront
Cloud Services
1 190 (26.80%) Figma
2 18 (2.54%) AWS
3 15 (2.12%) Miro
4 14 (1.97%) SaaS
5 11 (1.55%) Power Platform
6 10 (1.41%) Adobe Creative Cloud
7 9 (1.27%) Azure
8 5 (0.71%) PowerApps
9 4 (0.56%) ChatGPT
9 4 (0.56%) Copilot Studio
9 4 (0.56%) Microsoft Copilot
10 3 (0.42%) Google Analytics
10 3 (0.42%) Google Workspace
11 2 (0.28%) Asana
11 2 (0.28%) Canva
11 2 (0.28%) Contentful
11 2 (0.28%) Dynamics 365
11 2 (0.28%) Google Gemini
11 2 (0.28%) Microsoft 365
11 2 (0.28%) Power Automate
Communications & Networking
1 11 (1.55%) Firewall
2 7 (0.99%) Network Security
3 6 (0.85%) SMS
4 3 (0.42%) Broadband
4 3 (0.42%) GPRS
4 3 (0.42%) GSM
4 3 (0.42%) IPv4
4 3 (0.42%) IPv6
4 3 (0.42%) TCP/IP
4 3 (0.42%) VLAN
4 3 (0.42%) VPN
5 2 (0.28%) Internet
5 2 (0.28%) LAN
6 1 (0.14%) 2G
6 1 (0.14%) BGP
6 1 (0.14%) DWDM
6 1 (0.14%) MPLS
6 1 (0.14%) OSPF
6 1 (0.14%) TACACS
6 1 (0.14%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 8 (1.13%) DataStage
2 4 (0.56%) Power BI
3 3 (0.42%) Metadata
4 2 (0.28%) Electronic Patient Records
5 1 (0.14%) BigQuery
5 1 (0.14%) Oracle ODI
5 1 (0.14%) Pinecone
5 1 (0.14%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 32 (4.51%) JIRA
2 28 (3.95%) Axure RP
3 3 (0.42%) Git
4 2 (0.28%) Balsamiq
4 2 (0.28%) GitLab
5 1 (0.14%) Cypress.io
5 1 (0.14%) Dreamweaver
5 1 (0.14%) Postman
5 1 (0.14%) SoapUI
General
1 184 (25.95%) Public Sector
2 180 (25.39%) Social Skills
3 109 (15.37%) Finance
4 57 (8.04%) Banking
5 28 (3.95%) Marketing
6 22 (3.10%) Analytical Skills
7 18 (2.54%) Influencing Skills
8 14 (1.97%) Publishing
8 14 (1.97%) Retail
9 13 (1.83%) Presentation Skills
10 12 (1.69%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 12 (1.69%) Telecoms
11 11 (1.55%) Pharmaceutical
12 10 (1.41%) Billing
13 9 (1.27%) Legal
14 7 (0.99%) Advertising
14 7 (0.99%) Local Government
15 5 (0.71%) Wearables
16 4 (0.56%) Documentation Skills
16 4 (0.56%) Military
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 44 (6.21%) HTML
2 38 (5.36%) CSS
3 11 (1.55%) Middleware
4 6 (0.85%) Framer.js
5 5 (0.71%) .NET
5 5 (0.71%) AngularJS
5 5 (0.71%) React
6 4 (0.56%) Lightning Web Components
7 3 (0.42%) HTML5
7 3 (0.42%) RESTful
7 3 (0.42%) Visualforce
8 2 (0.28%) CSS3
8 2 (0.28%) Sass
9 1 (0.14%) HTML5 Canvas
9 1 (0.14%) Model Context Protocol
9 1 (0.14%) REST
9 1 (0.14%) Semantic HTML
9 1 (0.14%) Unity (Game Engine)
9 1 (0.14%) Unity DI Container
9 1 (0.14%) WebGL
Miscellaneous
1 38 (5.36%) Mobile App
2 37 (5.22%) Product Ownership
3 16 (2.26%) Onboarding
4 14 (1.97%) NHS
5 13 (1.83%) Mainframe
6 12 (1.69%) Data Centre
7 11 (1.55%) AI Agents
8 10 (1.41%) Data Protection Act
9 9 (1.27%) Taxonomies
10 8 (1.13%) Animation
10 8 (1.13%) BYOD
10 8 (1.13%) Graphic Design
10 8 (1.13%) VSAM
11 7 (0.99%) e-Learning
11 7 (0.99%) Management Information System
11 7 (0.99%) Social Media
12 6 (0.85%) Digital Media
12 6 (0.85%) Team-Oriented Environment
13 5 (0.71%) Data Structures
13 5 (0.71%) Motion Graphics
Operating Systems
1 11 (1.55%) Unix
2 8 (1.13%) AIX
2 8 (1.13%) Linux
2 8 (1.13%) Solaris
3 5 (0.71%) Android
4 4 (0.56%) Apple iOS
5 1 (0.14%) Mac OS
5 1 (0.14%) MVS
5 1 (0.14%) VMS
5 1 (0.14%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 252 (35.54%) Service Design
2 239 (33.71%) User Experience
3 213 (30.04%) Agile
4 197 (27.79%) User Research
5 192 (27.08%) UX Design
6 154 (21.72%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
7 150 (21.16%) Prototyping
8 124 (17.49%) Interaction Design
9 118 (16.64%) Workshop Facilitation
10 113 (15.94%) Journey Map
11 98 (13.82%) Wireframes
12 91 (12.83%) Usability Testing
13 71 (10.01%) Inclusive Design
13 71 (10.01%) Problem-Solving
14 62 (8.74%) Analytics
15 59 (8.32%) Roadmaps
16 57 (8.04%) Design Thinking
17 56 (7.90%) AI
17 56 (7.90%) Stakeholder Engagement
17 56 (7.90%) Stakeholder Management
Programming Languages
1 9 (1.27%) Python
2 8 (1.13%) COBOL
2 8 (1.13%) JavaScript
3 7 (0.99%) SQL
4 3 (0.42%) Apex Code
4 3 (0.42%) Java
4 3 (0.42%) Korn
4 3 (0.42%) PL/SQL
4 3 (0.42%) SOQL
5 1 (0.14%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 173 (24.40%) Security Cleared
2 143 (20.17%) SC Cleared
3 44 (6.21%) Degree
4 25 (3.53%) BPSS Clearance
5 16 (2.26%) DV Cleared
6 9 (1.27%) Cisco Certification
7 8 (1.13%) CCNP
8 5 (0.71%) Master's Degree
8 5 (0.71%) SAP Certification
9 4 (0.56%) CISM
9 4 (0.56%) CISSP
9 4 (0.56%) TOGAF Certification
10 3 (0.42%) CCNA
10 3 (0.42%) Computer Science Degree
10 3 (0.42%) JNCIS
11 1 (0.14%) AWS Certification
11 1 (0.14%) DBS Check
11 1 (0.14%) JNCIE
11 1 (0.14%) PMI Certification
11 1 (0.14%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 195 (27.50%) Accessibility
2 64 (9.03%) WCAG
3 8 (1.13%) GDPR
4 5 (0.71%) QA
5 4 (0.56%) Actionable Recommendations
5 4 (0.56%) NIST
6 3 (0.42%) GMP
6 3 (0.42%) GxP
7 1 (0.14%) Data Quality
7 1 (0.14%) HL7
7 1 (0.14%) SLA
System Software
1 3 (0.42%) VMware Infrastructure
2 1 (0.14%) Virtual Machines
2 1 (0.14%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 3 (0.42%) Nagios
2 1 (0.14%) Ansible
2 1 (0.14%) Network Intrusion Detection System
2 1 (0.14%) Terraform
Vendors
1 79 (11.14%) Adobe
2 30 (4.23%) Microsoft
3 10 (1.41%) Oracle
4 9 (1.27%) Google
4 9 (1.27%) Salesforce
4 9 (1.27%) ServiceNow
4 9 (1.27%) VMware
5 8 (1.13%) IBM
5 8 (1.13%) SAP
6 7 (0.99%) Cisco
6 7 (0.99%) Juniper
6 7 (0.99%) Pega
7 6 (0.85%) Sage
8 5 (0.71%) BiZZdesign
9 4 (0.56%) F5
10 3 (0.42%) Amdocs
10 3 (0.42%) SolarWinds
11 2 (0.28%) Atlassian
11 2 (0.28%) Foundry
11 2 (0.28%) MuleSoft