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Artist assistant vs graphic designer

The differences between artist assistants and graphic designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an artist assistant, becoming a graphic designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an artist assistant has an average salary of $71,274, which is higher than the $49,450 average annual salary of a graphic designer.

The top three skills for an artist assistant include adobe photoshop, video shoots and photography. The most important skills for a graphic designer are adobe creative suite, adobe photoshop, and adobe illustrator.

Artist assistant vs graphic designer overview

Artist AssistantGraphic Designer
Yearly salary$71,274$49,450
Hourly rate$34.27$23.77
Growth rate5%3%
Number of jobs4,20545,625
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4038
Years of experience212

Artist assistant vs graphic designer salary

Artist assistants and graphic designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Artist AssistantGraphic Designer
Average salary$71,274$49,450
Salary rangeBetween $43,000 And $115,000Between $34,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Massachusetts
Best paying company-Meta
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between artist assistant and graphic designer education

There are a few differences between an artist assistant and a graphic designer in terms of educational background:

Artist AssistantGraphic Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorFine ArtsGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Artist assistant vs graphic designer demographics

Here are the differences between artist assistants' and graphic designers' demographics:

Artist AssistantGraphic Designer
Average age4038
Gender ratioMale, 35.7% Female, 64.3%Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%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 Percentage11%13%

Differences between artist assistant and graphic designer duties and responsibilities

Artist assistant example responsibilities.

  • Demonstrate effective communication skills, well-execute and expedient application of makeup to achieve the look guests desires.
  • Re-Modele the website using HTML, AJAX, XHTML and CSS.
  • Design and implement after-school arts clubs for Pre-K to 2nd grade students.
  • Design, fabrication, and sales of products and art ranging from furniture to printmaking.
  • Paint and market fine art.-Produce original watercolor artwork-Coordinate with galleries-Work with publishers for reproduction contracts-Teach watercolor workshops-Wrote watercolor instruction book
  • Create original artwork using pen & ink, charcoal, and acrylic paints.
  • Show more

Graphic designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead the transition from paste-up, typesetting, pasting up page layout to digital ad/page building and web printing.
  • Design new template for magazine as well as ads, flyers, brochures, and cards for a variety of events.
  • Plan the development of a social networking site website using HTML, CSS, PHP, and a WordPress management system.
  • Compose and create daily advertisements for national automotive dealerships utilizing typography and design concepts while adhering to corporate brand standards.
  • Follow style guide requirements to maintain brand integrity with specific treatments of photography, typography, graphic elements and team/sponsor/arena logos.
  • Create UI kit for the website.
  • Show more

Artist assistant vs graphic designer skills

Common artist assistant skills
  • Adobe Photoshop, 17%
  • Video Shoots, 13%
  • Photography, 9%
  • Sculpture, 8%
  • Graphic Design, 5%
  • Art Projects, 4%
Common graphic designer skills
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 6%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 6%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 6%
  • Typography, 5%
  • Brochures, 5%
  • Design Concepts, 5%

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