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The differences between designers and visual 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 designer and a visual designer. Additionally, a visual designer has an average salary of $86,495, which is higher than the $66,347 average annual salary of a designer.
The top three skills for a designer include sketch, customer service and graphic design. The most important skills for a visual designer are sketch, visual design, and graphic design.
| Designer | Visual Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $66,347 | $86,495 |
| Hourly rate | $31.90 | $41.58 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 52,433 | 46,815 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A designer is someone who creates a master plan of the look or workings of something before it will be made. It could be tangible or intangible objects, products, procedures, laws, events, games, graphics, services, and even experiences. Designers are creative thinkers with a great eye to configure the skeletal and structural properties of the targeted output. They work in several fields, such as fashion, architecture, web graphics, and user experience. In spite of the variety of professionals in the design industry, all of them are artistic, passionate, inspiring, and emotionally connected to their projects and brands.
A visual designer is someone who creates designs for a variety of platforms such as Internet and intranet sites, games, and wearables. The duties of visual designers depend on the specific project or industry in which they are working. Duties include creating user-centered interaction models, working with information technology and business teams to resolve complex issues, and designing logos, icons, and infographics. The qualifications to become a visual designer include possessing strong problem-solving, communication, and negotiation skills and obtaining a bachelor's degree in design.
Designers and visual designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Designer | Visual Designer | |
| Average salary | $66,347 | $86,495 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $97,000 | Between $51,000 And $143,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | ByteDance |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a designer and a visual designer in terms of educational background:
| Designer | Visual Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between designers' and visual designers' demographics:
| Designer | Visual Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% | Male, 53.1% Female, 46.9% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 13% | 13% |