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Associate designer vs graphic designer/production

The differences between associate designers and graphic designer/productions can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an associate designer and a graphic designer/production. Additionally, an associate designer has an average salary of $56,770, which is higher than the $48,619 average annual salary of a graphic designer/production.

The top three skills for an associate designer include sketch, CAD and customer service. The most important skills for a graphic designer/production are graphic design, adobe photoshop, and adobe illustrator.

Associate designer vs graphic designer/production overview

Associate DesignerGraphic Designer/Production
Yearly salary$56,770$48,619
Hourly rate$27.29$23.37
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs47,57195,831
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age3838
Years of experience1212

What does an associate designer do?

An Associate Designer helps in developing sketches on paper and in graphic design software. They usually are supervised by the junior staff and interns.

What does a graphic designer/production do?

A Graphics Designer in production is the person in charge of designing and interpreting ideas pointed out by the client or the company. The graphics designer must use market standard applications and techniques to produce attention-grabbing designs intended to market a product, service, or company. Graphic designers are an integral part of a company's digital marketing, especially over the internet. The graphic designer must have a good eye for style, typesetting, and the use of colors.

Associate designer vs graphic designer/production salary

Associate designers and graphic designer/productions have different pay scales, as shown below.

Associate DesignerGraphic Designer/Production
Average salary$56,770$48,619
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $80,000Between $35,000 And $67,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAMenlo Park, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonMaryland
Best paying companyAppleOptimum Nutrition
Best paying industryRetailTechnology

Differences between associate designer and graphic designer/production education

There are a few differences between an associate designer and a graphic designer/production in terms of educational background:

Associate DesignerGraphic Designer/Production
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Associate designer vs graphic designer/production demographics

Here are the differences between associate designers' and graphic designer/productions' demographics:

Associate DesignerGraphic Designer/Production
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 34.8% Female, 65.2%Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0%
Race ratioBlack 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%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 Percentage13%13%

Differences between associate designer and graphic designer/production duties and responsibilities

Associate designer example responsibilities.

  • Create & manage PPC advertising campaigns and perform basic SEO maintenance to improve web traffic.
  • Select all fabrics and trims, develop styles from first sketch through production, manage sample room, and extensive fittings.
  • Develop marketing and brand awareness initiatives through social media outlets; create and manage company Facebook and Houzz profiles.
  • Design print collateral such as brochures and promotional products
  • Establish new grade rules in PLM.
  • Operate POS & other computerize cash registers.
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Graphic designer/production example responsibilities.

  • Manage production of products; custom banners, t-shirts, satin flags, from concept to final product.
  • Manage various publications including catalogs, catalog inserts, brochures, mailers and advertising material.
  • Develop and update conference materials, including PowerPoint presentations, posters, handouts, badges, table tents, and folders.
  • Produce corporate identity systems and collateral print materials, print advertising, product/capabilities brochures, direct mail and newsletters.
  • Produce daily, weekly and monthly newsletters in both print and HTML.
  • Create cleaner HTML email templates and help others within the group improve their HTML skills.
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Associate designer vs graphic designer/production skills

Common associate designer skills
  • Sketch, 10%
  • CAD, 8%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Design Projects, 4%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • Space Planning, 4%
Common graphic designer/production skills
  • Graphic Design, 14%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 9%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 8%
  • Art Direction, 6%
  • Adobe Indesign, 5%
  • Signage, 5%

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