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The differences between designer/art directors and production 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 designer/art director, becoming a production designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a designer/art director has an average salary of $97,448, which is higher than the $54,760 average annual salary of a production designer.
The top three skills for a designer/art director include photography, graphic design and creative concepts. The most important skills for a production designer are sketch, graphic design, and adobe creative suite.
| Designer/Art Director | Production Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $97,448 | $54,760 |
| Hourly rate | $46.85 | $26.33 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 53,314 | 96,682 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
An art director collaborates with the design and art staff for books, public relations firms, advertising agencies, or newspaper publishers. Art directors create designs and layouts that embody the organization and send the message they want the audience to get. They work with producers and directors of theatres, television, and movie productions to oversee set designs. Being an art director also includes critiquing people's work, working to reach deadlines while still following the budget allocated for a certain project, and (on occasion) disciplining designers who are slacking off on the job.
A production designer is responsible for monitoring the visual presentation of a media or theatre production, ensuring the set's adherence to the theme, and presenting visual elements according to the production requirements. Production designers research the current industry trends for creative ideas that would attract the audience, creating outstanding visual pictures throughout the production. In most cases, production designers also operate software systems and tools to suggest graphic effects and support the artistic team for deliverables. A production designer develops all visual plans within the budget goals and discusses adjustments to the production management team as needed.
Designer/art directors and production designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Designer/Art Director | Production Designer | |
| Average salary | $97,448 | $54,760 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $157,000 | Between $36,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | The Walt Disney Company | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Media | Internet |
There are a few differences between a designer/art director and a production designer in terms of educational background:
| Designer/Art Director | Production Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Harvard University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between designer/art directors' and production designers' demographics:
| Designer/Art Director | Production Designer | |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0% | Male, 55.4% Female, 44.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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% |