Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between design specialists and graphic designer/productions can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a design specialist, becoming a graphic designer/production takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a design specialist has an average salary of $56,917, which is higher than the $48,619 average annual salary of a graphic designer/production.
The top three skills for a design specialist include customer service, sketch and CAD. The most important skills for a graphic designer/production are graphic design, adobe photoshop, and adobe illustrator.
| Design Specialist | Graphic Designer/Production | |
| Yearly salary | $56,917 | $48,619 |
| Hourly rate | $27.36 | $23.37 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 68,347 | 95,831 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A design specialist is responsible for creating engaging visual images and digital content to improve customers' brand awareness about the organization's products and services. Design specialists may also work for media production, creating graphic animations for viewers depending on production requirements and media demands. A design specialist must have excellent knowledge of utilizing various software tools and programs, coordinating with the whole design team on adjusting plans, improving layouts according to budget limitations, and submitting deliverables within the set deadlines.
A Graphics Designer in production is the person in charge of designing and interpreting ideas pointed out by the client or the company. The graphics designer must use market standard applications and techniques to produce attention-grabbing designs intended to market a product, service, or company. Graphic designers are an integral part of a company's digital marketing, especially over the internet. The graphic designer must have a good eye for style, typesetting, and the use of colors.
Design specialists and graphic designer/productions have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Design Specialist | Graphic Designer/Production | |
| Average salary | $56,917 | $48,619 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $91,000 | Between $35,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Maryland |
| Best paying company | BP America Inc | Optimum Nutrition |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a design specialist and a graphic designer/production in terms of educational background:
| Design Specialist | Graphic Designer/Production | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Cornell University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between design specialists' and graphic designer/productions' demographics:
| Design Specialist | Graphic Designer/Production | |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9% | Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 4.6% White, 82.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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 | 23% | 13% |