E-learning designer vs digital designer

The differences between e-learning designers and digital designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an e-learning designer, becoming a digital designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a digital designer has an average salary of $72,987, which is higher than the $65,312 average annual salary of an e-learning designer.

The top three skills for an e-learning designer include learning objectives, instructional design and training programs. The most important skills for a digital designer are sketch, digital marketing, and graphic design.

E-learning designer vs digital designer overview

	E-Learning Designer	Digital Designer
Yearly salary	$65,312	$72,987
Hourly rate	$31.40	$35.09
Growth rate	7%	3%
Number of jobs	51,006	61,109
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	44	38
Years of experience	4	12

What does an e-learning designer do?

An e-learning designer specializes in designing and establishing instructional materials and systems for effective online learning. Their responsibilities include performing research and analysis to identify curriculum or student needs, setting goals and objectives, liaising with other experts, and developing coursework and assessments, ensuring quality and accuracy. Furthermore, as an e-learning designer, it is essential to perform regular maintenance checks to ensure the quality of designs and systems, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

What does a digital designer do?

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.

E-learning designer vs digital designer salary

E-learning designers and digital designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	E-Learning Designer	Digital Designer
Average salary	$65,312	$72,987
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $90,000	Between $46,000 And $114,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Lyft
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between e-learning designer and digital designer education

There are a few differences between an e-learning designer and a digital designer in terms of educational background:

	E-Learning Designer	Digital Designer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Graphic Design
Most common college	Carnegie Mellon University	University of Pennsylvania

E-learning designer vs digital designer demographics

Here are the differences between e-learning designers' and digital designers' demographics:

	E-Learning Designer	Digital Designer
Average age	44	38
Gender ratio	Male, 61.9% Female, 38.1%	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 5.5% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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	16%	13%

Differences between e-learning designer and digital designer duties and responsibilities

E-learning designer example responsibilities.

Manage complex e-Learning projects involving SME s and reviewers from multiple levels and departments in the organization.
Develop SCORM compliant eLearning courses, assessments and acknowledgments.
Create storyboards, scripts, course content for eLearning solutions.
Design and code monthly newsletter broadcast using Photoshop, HTML, CSS.
Implement and publish AICC and SCORM compliant online courses to the LMS.
Edit and update for large complex websites using HTML, CSS and JavaScript on JSP pages.

Digital designer example responsibilities.

Manage various clients and projects as a sole proprietor, specializing in creative design, animation, and illustration.
Use ASP.NET and XML to automate common workflow tasks due to extremely high volume of designs to be create.
Manage website redesign including copywriting and updating all website content.
Work in SharePoint, Dreamweaver, HTML5, CSS, wireframes, storyboards, and WordPress.
Create weekly HTML email campaigns to generate a marketing presence and drive traffic to their social media and web sites.
Make clickable prototypes using InVision.

E-learning designer vs digital designer skills

Common e-learning designer skills

Learning Objectives, 13%
Instructional Design, 12%
Training Programs, 11%
Addie, 10%
Captivate, 10%
Blended Learning, 9%

Common digital designer skills

Sketch, 12%
Digital Marketing, 7%
Graphic Design, 7%
Digital Design, 6%
Adobe Creative Suite, 5%
UI, 4%

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Education, Training, and Library Industry
E-Learning Designer
E-Learning Designer vs Digital Designer

Updated January 8, 2025

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