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The differences between creative directors & designer and creative 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 director & designer and a creative designer. Additionally, a creative director & designer has an average salary of $108,589, which is higher than the $69,771 average annual salary of a creative designer.
The top three skills for a creative director & designer include graphic design, sketch and photography. The most important skills for a creative designer are sketch, graphic design, and adobe creative suite.
| Creative Director & Designer | Creative Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $108,589 | $69,771 |
| Hourly rate | $52.21 | $33.54 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 52,688 | 47,394 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Creative Directors and Designers are responsible for leading the creative output and brand representation of a product, service, or organization's publication. Their duties include developing visual communication strategies across design, content, graphics, artworks, and media, implement industry benchmarks, leading creative marketing campaigns, and working with the design team to create product or service design. Besides that, they are involved in setting the creative direction and message of a brand and supervising the creative team in ensuring brand touchpoints consistency. Creative Directors and Designers also monitor project delivery and assist in creative project budgeting.
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.
Creative directors & designer and creative designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Creative Director & Designer | Creative Designer | |
| Average salary | $108,589 | $69,771 |
| Salary range | Between $72,000 And $163,000 | Between $48,000 And $101,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a creative director & designer and a creative designer in terms of educational background:
| Creative Director & Designer | Creative Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between creative directors & designer' and creative designers' demographics:
| Creative Director & Designer | Creative Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% | Male, 51.2% Female, 48.8% |
| 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% |