Creative director vs producer

The differences between creative directors and producers 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 producer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a creative director has an average salary of $137,779, which is higher than the $72,202 average annual salary of a producer.

The top three skills for a creative director include graphic design, creative concepts and creative direction. The most important skills for a producer are work ethic, video production, and client relationships.

Creative director vs producer overview

	Creative Director	Producer
Yearly salary	$137,779	$72,202
Hourly rate	$66.24	$34.71
Growth rate	4%	8%
Number of jobs	11,610	10,610
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	6	12

What does a creative director do?

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.

What does a producer do?

A producer is an individual who is responsible for providing infrastructure, resources, and logistics in making a movie, television show, or stage production. Producers hire production staff such as director, crew, and sometimes actors to coordinate their activities throughout the production process. They support the creative team by conducting meetings to discuss the production's progress and ensure adherence to deadlines. Producers also travel often either to film on location for a movie or to tour with a theatre production.

Creative director vs producer salary

Creative directors and producers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Creative Director	Producer
Average salary	$137,779	$72,202
Salary range	Between $82,000 And $228,000	Between $43,000 And $120,000
Highest paying City	Menlo Park, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Nevada
Best paying company	Apple	Meta
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between creative director and producer education

There are a few differences between a creative director and a producer in terms of educational background:

	Creative Director	Producer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common major	Graphic Design	Communication
Most common college	Harvard University	Harvard University

Creative director vs producer demographics

Here are the differences between creative directors' and producers' demographics:

	Creative Director	Producer
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 64.7% Female, 35.3%	Male, 58.2% Female, 41.8%
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, 7.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.3% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	11%	14%

Differences between creative director and producer duties and responsibilities

Creative director example responsibilities.

Manage designers and lead entire in-house healthcare creative department.
Manage all social media outlets and create Youtube channel.
Create, direct, and produce engaging videos and manage Instagram page.
Manage staff including designers, producers, HTML designers, creative writers, and developers; interview and select candidates.
Manage multiple social media profiles (corporate twitter accounts and blogs) to strategically increase readership and draw website traffic.
Develop and manage business-to-business PowerPoint presentation service that create new business opportunities and increase revenue for the company.

Producer example responsibilities.

Manage and augment existing budget with EP.
Manage production of a Sony HD motion graphics internal sales video.
Manage all union matters including, IASTE, DGA and AFTRA.
Prospect and generate new business through telemarketing leads, referrals, networking and cold leads.
Lead the creation of key titles including high profile X360 launch title and new NFL brand IP.
Manage and guide guest bloggers through the editing process, copy edit blogs and produce content in HTML.

Creative director vs producer skills

Common creative director skills

Graphic Design, 6%
Creative Concepts, 6%
Creative Direction, 6%
Video Production, 5%
Photography, 5%
Digital Marketing, 4%

Common producer skills

Work Ethic, 9%
Video Production, 6%
Client Relationships, 6%
Project Management, 6%
Cross-Selling, 6%
News Stories, 4%

Creative Director vs. similar jobs

Creative Director related careers

Creative Director related jobs

Creative Director jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Industry
Creative Director
Creative Director vs Producer

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs