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Commercial artist vs graphic art designer

The differences between commercial artists and graphic art designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a commercial artist, becoming a graphic art designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a commercial artist has an average salary of $60,449, which is higher than the $42,598 average annual salary of a graphic art designer.

The top three skills for a commercial artist include art projects, photography and adobe photoshop. The most important skills for a graphic art designer are graphic design, web design, and design.

Commercial artist vs graphic art designer overview

Commercial ArtistGraphic Art Designer
Yearly salary$60,449$42,598
Hourly rate$29.06$20.48
Growth rate6%3%
Number of jobs30,06647,181
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age4038
Years of experience612

Commercial artist vs graphic art designer salary

Commercial artists and graphic art designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Commercial ArtistGraphic Art Designer
Average salary$60,449$42,598
Salary rangeBetween $36,000 And $100,000Between $25,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Meta
Best paying industry-Hospitality

Differences between commercial artist and graphic art designer education

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

Commercial ArtistGraphic Art Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeDuke UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Commercial artist vs graphic art designer demographics

Here are the differences between commercial artists' and graphic art designers' demographics:

Commercial ArtistGraphic Art Designer
Average age4038
Gender ratioMale, 58.4% Female, 41.6%Male, 51.7% Female, 48.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.8% 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 commercial artist and graphic art designer duties and responsibilities

Commercial artist example responsibilities.

  • Manage external communications such as brochures and other sales collateral for direct mail from inception to circulation.
  • Utilize a variety of creative media including illustration, photography and digital design to convey ideas beautifully and intelligently.
  • Create online stores and sell artwork through Zazzle, Etsy, and Cafepress.

Graphic art designer example responsibilities.

  • Create ads, manage copywriting, respond to customer inquiries, generate brand unity, establish clear company identity.
  • Prep customer create art for flyers, business cards, posters, etc.
  • Create logos, flyers, business cards, marketing materials, and design websites.
  • Design a variety of print publications including brochures, programs and banners.
  • Update and maintain pages on the website including html code editing as needed.
  • Design collateral, corporate identity, brochures and direct mail from thumbnails to final mechanical.
  • Show more

Commercial artist vs graphic art designer skills

Common commercial artist skills
  • Art Projects, 32%
  • Photography, 12%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 12%
  • Technical Illustrations, 8%
  • Customer Relations, 6%
  • Posters, 5%
Common graphic art designer skills
  • Graphic Design, 35%
  • Web Design, 13%
  • Design, 10%
  • Autocad, 8%
  • Photography, 7%
  • Design Concepts, 4%

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