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The differences between creative designers and lead 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 lead designer. Additionally, a lead designer has an average salary of $110,001, which is higher than the $69,771 average annual salary of a creative designer.
The top three skills for a creative designer include sketch, graphic design and adobe creative suite. The most important skills for a lead designer are sketch, user experience, and architecture.
| Creative Designer | Lead Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $69,771 | $110,001 |
| Hourly rate | $33.54 | $52.89 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 47,394 | 45,423 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| 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.
A lead designer is responsible for addressing the clients' needs of digital content and coordinating with the design team for the planning and innovation of the visual design and concept. Lead designers conduct the initial layout of frameworks and collaborate with the art staff for the specifications and outputs using various software applications and digital boards. They regularly update the client of the project's status, including adjustment and design recommendations, ensuring that the plan meets the client's budget goals. A lead designer must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on running diagnostic tests to improve optimal performance.
Creative designers and lead designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Creative Designer | Lead Designer | |
| Average salary | $69,771 | $110,001 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $101,000 | Between $78,000 And $154,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a creative designer and a lead designer in terms of educational background:
| Creative Designer | Lead Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between creative designers' and lead designers' demographics:
| Creative Designer | Lead Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.2% Female, 48.8% | Male, 73.2% Female, 26.8% |
| 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% |