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Creative designer vs senior designer

The differences between creative designers and senior 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 senior designer. Additionally, a senior designer has an average salary of $102,058, 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 senior designer are sketch, graphic design, and human centered design.

Creative designer vs senior designer overview

Creative DesignerSenior Designer
Yearly salary$69,771$102,058
Hourly rate$33.54$49.07
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs47,39447,503
Job satisfaction-1
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age3838
Years of experience1212

What does a creative designer do?

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.

What does a senior designer do?

Senior designers are typically in charge of realizing design solutions that adhere to the business goals and marketing strategies of an organization. They should be comfortable managing graphics designers and making decisions. They must have extensive knowledge of styles, layout techniques, and graphic design while also managing projects and people effectively. Senior designers have a variety of duties, which include delegating tasks to junior designers, maintaining high-quality standards, and collaborating to improve digital creativity standards.

Creative designer vs senior designer salary

Creative designers and senior designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Creative DesignerSenior Designer
Average salary$69,771$102,058
Salary rangeBetween $48,000 And $101,000Between $72,000 And $143,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASeattle, WA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaWashington
Best paying companyMetaLyft
Best paying industryAutomotiveMedia

Differences between creative designer and senior designer education

There are a few differences between a creative designer and a senior designer in terms of educational background:

Creative DesignerSenior Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Creative designer vs senior designer demographics

Here are the differences between creative designers' and senior designers' demographics:

Creative DesignerSenior Designer
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 51.2% Female, 48.8%Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage13%13%

Differences between creative designer and senior designer duties and responsibilities

Creative designer example responsibilities.

  • Manage website redesign including copywriting and updating all website content.
  • Design functional and effective website with wide knowledge of UI design, HTML.
  • Implement PHP and JavaScript to make sites dynamic to deliver the best user experience.
  • Design of large scale posters.
  • Create concept design, style frames and animation for channel bumpers.
  • Assist with updating and maintaining social media site such as Facebook.
  • Show more

Senior designer example responsibilities.

  • Identify, plan and lead brainstorming sessions for new blue-sky product opportunities across all boys' lines.
  • Design all marketing collateral within those standards including flyers, ads, conference materials, brochures, and design mailed pieces.
  • Implement HTML and CSS tags.
  • Format designs and media for use in print and web applications; deliver production-ready graphics in HTML and CSS.
  • Design and production of marketing materials, PowerPoint templates for pitch decks, event graphics, various collateral and HTML e-mails.
  • Lead the team in brainstorming sessions and assist with market research and testing.
  • Show more

Creative designer vs senior designer skills

Common creative designer skills
  • Sketch, 15%
  • Graphic Design, 9%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 5%
  • Design Concepts, 5%
  • CSS, 4%
  • HTML, 4%
Common senior designer skills
  • Sketch, 15%
  • Graphic Design, 5%
  • Human Centered Design, 4%
  • User Experience, 4%
  • UI, 4%
  • CAD, 4%

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