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Creative director & designer vs layout designer

The differences between creative directors & designer and layout 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 layout designer. Additionally, a creative director & designer has an average salary of $108,589, which is higher than the $94,509 average annual salary of a layout designer.

The top three skills for a creative director & designer include graphic design, sketch and photography. The most important skills for a layout designer are CAD, CMOS, and layout design.

Creative director & designer vs layout designer overview

Creative Director & DesignerLayout Designer
Yearly salary$108,589$94,509
Hourly rate$52.21$45.44
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs52,68843,997
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age3838
Years of experience1212

What does a creative director & designer do?

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.

What does a layout designer do?

A layout designer is responsible for designing and creating attractive layouts for publications and marketing materials. Layout designers utilize various software design applications and systems, requiring them to have excellent computer skills for efficient navigation. They work closely with the whole design and graphic teams for content consistency and adherence to quality standards and requirements. A layout designer evaluates the current market trends to identify media elements and modify designs that meet public demands and interests.

Creative director & designer vs layout designer salary

Creative directors & designer and layout designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Creative Director & DesignerLayout Designer
Average salary$108,589$94,509
Salary rangeBetween $72,000 And $163,000Between $59,000 And $149,000
Highest paying CityMenlo Park, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaApple
Best paying industryInternet-

Differences between creative director & designer and layout designer education

There are a few differences between a creative director & designer and a layout designer in terms of educational background:

Creative Director & DesignerLayout Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Creative director & designer vs layout designer demographics

Here are the differences between creative directors & designer' and layout designers' demographics:

Creative Director & DesignerLayout Designer
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 61.2% Female, 38.8%Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
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 director & designer and layout designer duties and responsibilities

Creative director & designer example responsibilities.

  • Manage design and layout of website as well as maintain the design through CSS & HTML
  • Develop and manage business-to-business PowerPoint presentation service that create new business opportunities and increase revenue for the company.
  • Create pattern tile designs and home decor with overseas vendors from sketch to final product.
  • Create point-of-purchase displays/ merchandising programs, free-standing inserts, corporate and brand identities, brochures, packaging, and marketing collateral.
  • Create layout designs for various direct mail platforms (letters, envelopes, brochures, postcards, self-mailers, etc . )
  • Direct photographers in helicopters around the country in advertising and corporate photography.
  • Show more

Layout designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead development team to manage CMOS projects to meet short time frames, keep schedules sharp with excellent time management practices.
  • Accomplish number of I/O libraries for use in many successfully products.
  • Lead efforts for debugging DRC, ERC and LVS layout and verification issues.
  • Modify SRV-1 source code using JavaScript software to attain tracking at any instantaneous time.
  • Perform reliability verification, DRC, ERC and LVS.
  • Debug DRC, LVS, and DFM errors in device-level and block-level layout.
  • Show more

Creative director & designer vs layout designer skills

Common creative director & designer skills
  • Graphic Design, 11%
  • Sketch, 6%
  • Photography, 5%
  • Creative Direction, 5%
  • Creative Concepts, 5%
  • Art Direction, 3%
Common layout designer skills
  • CAD, 11%
  • CMOS, 7%
  • Layout Design, 7%
  • Cadence Virtuoso, 7%
  • Virtuoso, 5%
  • Analog Circuits, 4%

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