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The differences between apparel designers and graphic artists 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 graphic artist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an apparel designer has an average salary of $65,467, which is higher than the $54,900 average annual salary of a graphic artist.
The top three skills for an apparel designer include adobe illustrator, tech packs and sketch. The most important skills for a graphic artist are graphic design, adobe photoshop, and adobe illustrator.
| Apparel Designer | Graphic Artist | |
| Yearly salary | $65,467 | $54,900 |
| Hourly rate | $31.47 | $26.39 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 46,436 | 8,752 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| 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.
A graphic artist is either an illustrator or an animator who creates art work that will be used in graphic projects such as advertisements, posters, or even book covers. Although a graphic artist has his/her own style of artwork, he/she may be often commissioned to create art specifically for a particular project. A graphic artist may work with a graphic designer in order to convey the overall message of a project. The portfolio of a graphic artist includes cartoons, illustrations, and graphic novels.
Apparel designers and graphic artists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Apparel Designer | Graphic Artist | |
| Average salary | $65,467 | $54,900 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $105,000 | Between $35,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | Bellevue, WA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Washington |
| Best paying company | Fanatics | Parsons |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between an apparel designer and a graphic artist in terms of educational background:
| Apparel Designer | Graphic Artist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Cornell University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between apparel designers' and graphic artists' demographics:
| Apparel Designer | Graphic Artist | |
| Average age | 37 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.8% Female, 67.2% | Male, 54.6% Female, 45.4% |
| 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% |