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The differences between creative directors & designer 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 director & designer and a senior designer. Additionally, a creative director & designer has an average salary of $108,589, which is higher than the $102,058 average annual salary of a senior designer.
The top three skills for a creative director & designer include graphic design, sketch and photography. The most important skills for a senior designer are sketch, graphic design, and human centered design.
| Creative Director & Designer | Senior Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $108,589 | $102,058 |
| Hourly rate | $52.21 | $49.07 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 52,688 | 47,503 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| 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.
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 directors & designer and senior designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Creative Director & Designer | Senior Designer | |
| Average salary | $108,589 | $102,058 |
| Salary range | Between $72,000 And $163,000 | Between $72,000 And $143,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Lyft |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Media |
There are a few differences between a creative director & designer and a senior designer in terms of educational background:
| Creative Director & Designer | Senior Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| 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 senior designers' demographics:
| Creative Director & Designer | Senior Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% | Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0% |
| 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% |