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The differences between creative directors and graphic designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a creative director, becoming a graphic designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a creative director has an average salary of $137,779, which is higher than the $49,450 average annual salary of a graphic designer.
The top three skills for a creative director include graphic design, creative concepts and creative direction. The most important skills for a graphic designer are adobe creative suite, adobe photoshop, and adobe illustrator.
| Creative Director | Graphic Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $137,779 | $49,450 |
| Hourly rate | $66.24 | $23.77 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 11,610 | 45,625 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
A creative director is an individual who creates and maintains a vision for a company's products and branding through digital, print, and film installations. Creative directors supervise and innovative staff team such as graphic designers and artists to discuss and plan the vision's layout and visuals. They also meet with clients or marketing and advertising departments to create designs and make the necessary changes to the systems. Most creative directors must have a bachelor's degree in fine arts and should build work portfolios while starting their careers as graphic designers or photographers.
Graphic designers are visual communicators who create graphic ideas to deliver a message through art and images which inspire, inform, and motivate consumers with the use of computer software, especially Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign or by hand. They have the ability to design stunning illustrations that are easily understood, even without a lot of thinking or based on the demand of their clients. It is very crucial to them as well to be flexible and to stay on top of the design trends. They create websites, posters, packaging, logos, advertising, and marketing materials, depending on the nature of the business.
Creative directors and graphic designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Creative Director | Graphic Designer | |
| Average salary | $137,779 | $49,450 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $228,000 | Between $34,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a creative director and a graphic designer in terms of educational background:
| Creative Director | Graphic Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Harvard University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between creative directors' and graphic designers' demographics:
| Creative Director | Graphic Designer | |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.7% Female, 35.3% | Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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 | 11% | 13% |