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Color and materials designer vs senior designer

The differences between color and materials designers and senior designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a color and materials designer and a senior designer. Additionally, a senior designer has an average salary of $102,058, which is higher than the $83,086 average annual salary of a color and materials designer.

The top three skills for a color and materials designer include photoshop, apparel and CMF. The most important skills for a senior designer are sketch, graphic design, and human centered design.

Color and materials designer vs senior designer overview

Color And Materials DesignerSenior Designer
Yearly salary$83,086$102,058
Hourly rate$39.95$49.07
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs51,03247,503
Job satisfaction-1
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age3838
Years of experience1212

What does a color and materials designer do?

Color and materials designers are skilled professionals who are responsible for conceiving and executing designs related to colors and materials used to produce the finished products. These designers must create graphics such as icons and logos by using programs like Photoshop and Illustrator. In the apparel industry, color, and materials, designers must learn the technical aspects of construction techniques and fabrications for all types of apparel. They must also work with various vendors to perform screen printing on t-shirts and produce textile designs for sales representatives.

What does a senior designer do?

Senior designers are typically in charge of realizing design solutions that adhere to the business goals and marketing strategies of an organization. They should be comfortable managing graphics designers and making decisions. They must have extensive knowledge of styles, layout techniques, and graphic design while also managing projects and people effectively. Senior designers have a variety of duties, which include delegating tasks to junior designers, maintaining high-quality standards, and collaborating to improve digital creativity standards.

Color and materials designer vs senior designer salary

Color and materials designers and senior designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Color And Materials DesignerSenior Designer
Average salary$83,086$102,058
Salary rangeBetween $58,000 And $117,000Between $72,000 And $143,000
Highest paying CityRedmond, WASeattle, WA
Highest paying stateMarylandWashington
Best paying companyMicrosoftLyft
Best paying industry-Media

Differences between color and materials designer and senior designer education

There are a few differences between a color and materials designer and a senior designer in terms of educational background:

Color And Materials DesignerSenior Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Color and materials designer vs senior designer demographics

Here are the differences between color and materials designers' and senior designers' demographics:

Color And Materials DesignerSenior Designer
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 52.5% Female, 47.5%Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0%
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 color and materials designer and senior designer duties and responsibilities

Color and materials designer example responsibilities.

  • Manage graphic design projects from concept through production, including corporate logos, product catalogs, brochures, and sales flyers.
  • Conceptualize and design brochures, quarterly mail-outs, announcements, advertisements and individually tailor reports and packages.
  • Create unique typography images to accompany photographs.

Senior designer example responsibilities.

  • Identify, plan and lead brainstorming sessions for new blue-sky product opportunities across all boys' lines.
  • Design all marketing collateral within those standards including flyers, ads, conference materials, brochures, and design mailed pieces.
  • Implement HTML and CSS tags.
  • Format designs and media for use in print and web applications; deliver production-ready graphics in HTML and CSS.
  • Design and production of marketing materials, PowerPoint templates for pitch decks, event graphics, various collateral and HTML e-mails.
  • Lead the team in brainstorming sessions and assist with market research and testing.
  • Show more

Color and materials designer vs senior designer skills

Common color and materials designer skills
  • Photoshop, 39%
  • Apparel, 24%
  • CMF, 10%
  • Consumer Trends, 8%
  • Color Direction, 6%
  • CAD, 4%
Common senior designer skills
  • Sketch, 15%
  • Graphic Design, 5%
  • Human Centered Design, 4%
  • User Experience, 4%
  • UI, 4%
  • CAD, 4%

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