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The differences between creative directors & designer and visual 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 visual designer. Additionally, a creative director & designer has an average salary of $108,589, which is higher than the $86,495 average annual salary of a visual designer.
The top three skills for a creative director & designer include graphic design, sketch and photography. The most important skills for a visual designer are sketch, visual design, and graphic design.
| Creative Director & Designer | Visual Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $108,589 | $86,495 |
| Hourly rate | $52.21 | $41.58 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 52,688 | 46,815 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| 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 visual designer is someone who creates designs for a variety of platforms such as Internet and intranet sites, games, and wearables. The duties of visual designers depend on the specific project or industry in which they are working. Duties include creating user-centered interaction models, working with information technology and business teams to resolve complex issues, and designing logos, icons, and infographics. The qualifications to become a visual designer include possessing strong problem-solving, communication, and negotiation skills and obtaining a bachelor's degree in design.
Creative directors & designer and visual designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Creative Director & Designer | Visual Designer | |
| Average salary | $108,589 | $86,495 |
| Salary range | Between $72,000 And $163,000 | Between $51,000 And $143,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | ByteDance |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a creative director & designer and a visual designer in terms of educational background:
| Creative Director & Designer | Visual Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| 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 visual designers' demographics:
| Creative Director & Designer | Visual Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% | Male, 53.1% Female, 46.9% |
| 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% |