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The differences between apparel designers and freelance designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an apparel designer, becoming a freelance designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an apparel designer has an average salary of $65,467, which is higher than the $57,260 average annual salary of a freelance designer.
The top three skills for an apparel designer include adobe illustrator, tech packs and sketch. The most important skills for a freelance designer are sketch, CSS, and HTML.
| Apparel Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $65,467 | $57,260 |
| Hourly rate | $31.47 | $27.53 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 46,436 | 45,914 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 37 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
Apparel designers, also known as clothing or fashion designers, conceptualize and produce items of clothing. They frequently specialize in one type of design, like active, casual, or evening wear. Typical duties include monitoring current fashion trends and forecast future ones, sketching new designs, choosing patterns and fabrics to utilize in garments, and supervising production. They may present items to creative directors, clients, or retailers to determine if the garments are to be conventionally designed or mass-produced.
Freelance designers are creative, independent contractors who create visual and graphic designs for their clients. They develop text and illustrated versions of brands, messages, and communications with strong visible influence with their clients. Typical activities include networking, seeking projects, and negotiating prices to their customers. They manage client proposals, develop concepts, present solutions, and ensure the timely completion of projects. Freelance visual and graphic designers are creative, self-motivated as well as result and deadline oriented.
Apparel designers and freelance designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Apparel Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Average salary | $65,467 | $57,260 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $105,000 | Between $39,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | - |
| Best paying company | Fanatics | - |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | - |
There are a few differences between an apparel designer and a freelance designer in terms of educational background:
| Apparel Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Cornell University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between apparel designers' and freelance designers' demographics:
| Apparel Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Average age | 37 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.8% Female, 67.2% | Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 11.6% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 18% | 13% |