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The differences between creative designers and lead graphic 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 graphic designer. Additionally, a lead graphic designer has an average salary of $76,009, 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 graphic designer are adobe photoshop, graphic design, and design concepts.
| Creative Designer | Lead Graphic Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $69,771 | $76,009 |
| Hourly rate | $33.54 | $36.54 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 47,394 | 46,260 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| 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 graphic designer is responsible for creating, designing, and updating the company's visual aspects. The lead graphic designer works closely with the branding department alongside the advertising and marketing team. It is essential for the lead graphic designer must be creative, willing to think outside the box, and brave to dare novel ideas. The lead graphic designer is also responsible for leading the creative department in accomplishing assigned tasks from management.
Creative designers and lead graphic designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Creative Designer | Lead Graphic Designer | |
| Average salary | $69,771 | $76,009 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $101,000 | Between $44,000 And $131,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Netflix |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a creative designer and a lead graphic designer in terms of educational background:
| Creative Designer | Lead Graphic Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| 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 graphic designers' demographics:
| Creative Designer | Lead Graphic Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.2% Female, 48.8% | Male, 61.8% Female, 38.2% |
| 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% |