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The differences between creative designers and freelance 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 creative designer and a freelance designer. Additionally, a creative designer has an average salary of $69,771, which is higher than the $57,260 average annual salary of a freelance designer.
The top three skills for a creative designer include sketch, graphic design and adobe creative suite. The most important skills for a freelance designer are sketch, CSS, and HTML.
| Creative Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $69,771 | $57,260 |
| Hourly rate | $33.54 | $27.53 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 47,394 | 45,914 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A creative designer's duties depend on their place or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around meeting with clients to learn their needs and preferences, understanding the message and purpose of the subject, developing concepts and ideas, drafting preliminary designs and prototypes for approval, and updating clients on the progress of procedures. In a company setting, a creative designer must coordinate with different teams and personnel for the production processes, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Freelance designers are creative, independent contractors who create visual and graphic designs for their clients. They develop text and illustrated versions of brands, messages, and communications with strong visible influence with their clients. Typical activities include networking, seeking projects, and negotiating prices to their customers. They manage client proposals, develop concepts, present solutions, and ensure the timely completion of projects. Freelance visual and graphic designers are creative, self-motivated as well as result and deadline oriented.
Creative designers and freelance designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Creative Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Average salary | $69,771 | $57,260 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $101,000 | Between $39,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | Meta | - |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | - |
There are a few differences between a creative designer and a freelance designer in terms of educational background:
| Creative Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between creative designers' and freelance designers' demographics:
| Creative Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.2% Female, 48.8% | Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 Percentage | 13% | 13% |