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The differences between creative directors & designer and senior art directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a creative director & designer, becoming a senior art director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a creative director & designer has an average salary of $108,589, which is higher than the $103,294 average annual salary of a senior art director.
The top three skills for a creative director & designer include graphic design, sketch and photography. The most important skills for a senior art director are graphic design, photography, and creative concepts.
| Creative Director & Designer | Senior Art Director | |
| Yearly salary | $108,589 | $103,294 |
| Hourly rate | $52.21 | $49.66 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 52,688 | 9,098 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 38 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 6 |
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 senior art director is responsible for monitoring the creative art department's operations, ensuring the adequacy of resources and materials, as well as high-quality outputs based on clients' specifications and business requirements. Senior art directors implement strategic project management procedures to offer deliverables within the budget goals and set timeframe. They coordinate with the clients for progress updates and inform them of any adjustments as needed. A senior art director should have a keen eye for details and knowledge of various art software applications to assist the team, especially when doing revisions.
Creative directors & designer and senior art directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Creative Director & Designer | Senior Art Director | |
| Average salary | $108,589 | $103,294 |
| Salary range | Between $72,000 And $163,000 | Between $63,000 And $167,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | DoorDash |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Professional |
There are a few differences between a creative director & designer and a senior art director in terms of educational background:
| Creative Director & Designer | Senior Art Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between creative directors & designer' and senior art directors' demographics:
| Creative Director & Designer | Senior Art Director | |
| Average age | 38 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% | Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6% |
| 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, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 68.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 11% |