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The differences between digital designers and production artists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a digital designer and a production artist. Additionally, a digital designer has an average salary of $72,987, which is higher than the $61,870 average annual salary of a production artist.
The top three skills for a digital designer include sketch, digital marketing and graphic design. The most important skills for a production artist are graphic design, adobe photoshop, and adobe creative suite.
| Digital Designer | Production Artist | |
| Yearly salary | $72,987 | $61,870 |
| Hourly rate | $35.09 | $29.75 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 61,109 | 59,103 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A digital designer is an individual who is responsible for creating digital assets for multimedia and graphic projects that can include mobile applications, video games, and interactive displays. Digital designers must collaborate with project managers, design teams, and content experts to interpret the team's concepts into a design that will deliver an effective user experience. They must be experts in using computer software and applications to create digital designs and convert data to a graphical interface such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Digital designers must also have a bachelor's degree in graphic design or fine arts.
A production artist is responsible for managing digital content, meeting clients' standard specifications and requests for successful project completion. Production artists must have computer proficiency, especially on utilizing various software tools and applications to create illustrations and layouts. They also work closely with the creative team, cooperating in brainstorming sessions to ensure the consistency for each assigned task. A production artist should be keen on details, adjusting outputs as needed to maintain the highest quality for the actual presentation.
Digital designers and production artists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Digital Designer | Production Artist | |
| Average salary | $72,987 | $61,870 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $114,000 | Between $40,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Lyft | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | - |
There are a few differences between a digital designer and a production artist in terms of educational background:
| Digital Designer | Production Artist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between digital designers' and production artists' demographics:
| Digital Designer | Production Artist | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0% | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% |
| 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% |