How To Become A Creative Services Designer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a creative services designer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Abby Guido

Creative services designers are responsible for creating various materials, such as product labels or brochures that provide information about their offerings. They design the materials using paper sketches and digital illustration software. They also review or assist in developing service proposals, meeting with management teams to determine need, and leading brainstorming sessions with creative teams.

Creative services designers earn an average salary of $74,000 annually or $36 per hour. Their duties include initializing a project by coming up with a general concept and presenting the idea with a rough layout that might include sketches or digital illustrations. They collaborate with managers, engineers, artists, and other designers to evaluate the credibility of the design and provide solutions for possible issues relating to the actual production of said design.

Creative services designers typically hold a bachelor's degree in graphic design or a related field from an accredited university. They are expected to have some years of experience as a service designer or in a similar role. Some employers prefer candidates with artistic ability and excellent analytical and communication skills.

What general advice would you give to a creative services designer?

Abby Guido

Assistant Professor, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University

We've all heard the buzz about networking, and there is so much buzz because it works. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is both up to date and active. Connect with all of your past professors, classmates, and anyone and everyone you meet in a professional setting. I often tell students to get into the habit of searching for any classroom guests, or guest lecturers, to connect, thank them for their time, and build their network. Share content. Write articles, or reshare those you find interesting.

Every job I have ever received in my career has been through someone else I know. I share this with students to help them see the value in relationships. I always remember the students that took the time to write a handwritten thank-you note. And I think of them when I get an email asking if I know any students are looking for work.

ScoreCreative Services DesignerUS Average

Salary

6.2

Avg. Salary $79,164

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.2

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.37%

Asian 10.42%

Black or African American 3.42%

Hispanic or Latino 10.63%

Unknown 4.99%

White 70.17%

Gender

female 50.49%

male 49.51%

Age - 37

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 37

Stress level

4.2

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.9

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a creative services designer

Explore creative services designer education requirements

Most common creative services designer degrees

Bachelor's

73.0 %

Associate

16.8 %

Master's

7.1 %

Start to develop specific creative services designer skills

Skills	Percentages
Graphic Design	22.96%
Design Process	14.53%
Design Projects	11.33%
Autocad	8.20%
Adobe Creative Suite	8.11%

Complete relevant creative services designer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New creative services designers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a creative services designer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real creative services designer resumes.

Research creative services designer duties and responsibilities

Lead & design all creative content stemming from apparel design to web identity.
Design graphics and content for business cards, brochures, presentations.
Construct HTML e-mail announcements, and electronic newsletters.
Provide comps and PDF proofs to clients and account reps.

Prepare your creative services designer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your creative services designer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a creative services designer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable creative services designer resume templates

Build a professional creative services designer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your creative services designer resume.