How to hire a color and materials designer

How to hire a color and materials designer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step color and materials designer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a color and materials designer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new color and materials designer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a color and materials designer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The color and materials designer hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A color and materials designer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, color and materials designers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents color and materials designer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Color And Materials Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   Color And Materials Designer	Graphic designers create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and production design for various applications such as advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports.	$27-56
   Freelancer	A freelancer is a self-employed individual that provides services for multiple clients at one time and usually earns money on a per-job basis. Often known as independent contractors, freelancers usually set their schedules while running their own business and have a flexible lifestyle... Show more	$19-41
   Graphic Artist	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... Show more	$16-40

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Photoshop
   • Apparel
   • CMF
   • Consumer Trends
   • Color Direction
   • CAD
   • Seasonal Color
   • Design Trends
   • Support Production
   • Production Color
   • Material Stories
   • OEM
   • Adobe Indesign

   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.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your color and materials designer job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A color and materials designer can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, color and materials designers' average salary in hawaii is 52% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level color and materials designers 50% less than senior-level color and materials designers.
   • Certifications. A color and materials designer with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a color and materials designer's salary.

   Average color and materials designer salary

   $83,086yearly

   $39.95 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level color and materials designer salary

   $58,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average color and materials designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$105,068	$51
   2	Massachusetts	$97,848	$47
   3	New York	$90,185	$43
   4	California	$89,894	$43
   5	Michigan	$87,768	$42
   6	Oregon	$85,431	$41
   7	Arizona	$84,602	$41
   8	Georgia	$80,277	$39
   9	Colorado	$80,262	$39
   10	Ohio	$78,029	$38
   11	Utah	$76,971	$37
   12	Texas	$76,036	$37

   Average color and materials designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Microsoft	$119,550	$57.48	62
   2	Tesla	$103,569	$49.79	10
   3	Nokia	$103,000	$49.52	6
   4	VF	$95,403	$45.87	7
   5	Rivian	$94,597	$45.48	13
   6	Nike	$91,416	$43.95	122
   7	The Walt Disney Company	$87,908	$42.26	19
   8	Under Armour	$87,089	$41.87	81
   9	M.I.T. International, Inc.	$86,320	$41.50	1
   10	Akebono Brake	$86,147	$41.42
   11	Akzo Nobel Coatings Inc.	$85,922	$41.31	2
   12	Mercedes-Benz of Sarasota	$84,546	$40.65
   13	Naumann/Hobbs Material Hndlng	$84,262	$40.51
   14	Paramount	$83,167	$39.98	2
   15	Converse	$79,337	$38.14
   16	SSOE Group	$74,949	$36.03	7
   17	Black Diamond	$57,196	$27.50
   18	Schneller	$55,506	$26.69

4. Writing a color and materials designer job description

   A good color and materials designer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a color and materials designer job description:

   Color and materials designer job description example

   Minimum qualifications:
   
   + 5 years of relevant CMF design experience
   
   + Experience with material technology and manufacturing processes
   
   + Experience building digital and physical CMF (Color, Material, and Finishing) narratives and strategy
   
   Preferred qualifications:
   
   + Experience in local and global design community
   
   + Ability to work independently and in a mixed team environment
   
   + Ability to promote ideas and contribute to design discussions with excellent communication skills
   
   + Design skills (e.g., proportions, color, form, typography, and presentation)
   
   + Detail and color acuity skills
   
   + Ability to travel domestically and internationally
   
   As a Color, Materials, Finishes (CMF) Designer and a member of the industrial design team, you will be responsible for understanding trends and consumer mindsets to create a product that tells an authentic story. You will contribute beyond your product category and connect your work to the broader portfolio strategy
   
   Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Our Devices & Services team combines the best of Google AI, Software, and Hardware to create radically helpful experiences for users. We research, design, and develop new technologies and hardware to make our user's interaction with computing faster, seamless, and more powerful. Whether finding new ways to capture and sense the world around us, advancing form factors, or improving interaction methods, the Devices & Services team is making people's lives better through technology
   
   + Create high-quality presentation materials (e.g., digital and physical) that communicate the design intent at any phase in a project and present design concepts to internal teams and executives
   
   + Participate in design trends and market research to understand the wants, needs, and opportunities for innovation in a project
   
   + Manage multiple programs under the guidance of executive CMF Designers to develop design directions from early concept to production
   
   + Contribute to the evolving design culture and process in the studio
   
   + Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define a successful product launch

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find color and materials designers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any color and materials designers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level color and materials designers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   To find color and materials designer candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with color and materials designer candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new color and materials designer

   Once you've selected the best color and materials designer candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a color and materials designer?