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Design chief vs senior designer

The differences between design chiefs 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 design chief and a senior designer. Additionally, a design chief has an average salary of $103,343, which is higher than the $102,058 average annual salary of a senior designer.

The top three skills for a design chief include website design, design process and user experience. The most important skills for a senior designer are sketch, graphic design, and human centered design.

Design chief vs senior designer overview

Design ChiefSenior Designer
Yearly salary$103,343$102,058
Hourly rate$49.68$49.07
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs49,81547,503
Job satisfaction-1
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age3838
Years of experience1212

Design chief vs senior designer salary

Design chiefs and senior designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Design ChiefSenior Designer
Average salary$103,343$102,058
Salary rangeBetween $45,000 And $233,000Between $72,000 And $143,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASeattle, WA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaWashington
Best paying companyAdvance Tooling ConceptsLyft
Best paying industry-Media

Differences between design chief and senior designer education

There are a few differences between a design chief and a senior designer in terms of educational background:

Design ChiefSenior Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Design chief vs senior designer demographics

Here are the differences between design chiefs' and senior designers' demographics:

Design ChiefSenior Designer
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 74.8% Female, 25.2%Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage13%13%

Differences between design chief and senior designer duties and responsibilities

Design chief example responsibilities.

  • Manage REVIT models for various BIM projects including updating, cleaning, and linking arch models for MEP design.
  • Create and present artwork and PowerPoint presentations for senior management, the sales and marketing group, and dealer viewing.
  • Compile PowerPoint presentations for trend inspiration and verification involving motion and music.
  • Elicit and gather user and business requirements through design sessions, brainstorming and prototyping.
  • Design and oversee graphics for apparel lines, integrating original style-guide art concepts with innovative detailing.
  • Establish agency-wide design production process guidelines, evaluate and implement new department software, and create procedures for prototyping.
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Senior designer example responsibilities.

  • Identify, plan and lead brainstorming sessions for new blue-sky product opportunities across all boys' lines.
  • Design all marketing collateral within those standards including flyers, ads, conference materials, brochures, and design mailed pieces.
  • Implement HTML and CSS tags.
  • Format designs and media for use in print and web applications; deliver production-ready graphics in HTML and CSS.
  • Design and production of marketing materials, PowerPoint templates for pitch decks, event graphics, various collateral and HTML e-mails.
  • Lead the team in brainstorming sessions and assist with market research and testing.
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Design chief vs senior designer skills

Common design chief skills
  • Website Design, 10%
  • Design Process, 9%
  • User Experience, 7%
  • Product Design, 7%
  • CSS, 6%
  • Design Solutions, 6%
Common senior designer skills
  • Sketch, 15%
  • Graphic Design, 5%
  • Human Centered Design, 4%
  • User Experience, 4%
  • UI, 4%
  • CAD, 4%

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