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The differences between executive creative directors and lead graphic designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an executive creative director, becoming a lead graphic designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an executive creative director has an average salary of $162,850, which is higher than the $76,009 average annual salary of a lead graphic designer.
The top three skills for an executive creative director include sketch, graphic design and creative direction. The most important skills for a lead graphic designer are adobe photoshop, graphic design, and design concepts.
| Executive Creative Director | Lead Graphic Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $162,850 | $76,009 |
| Hourly rate | $78.29 | $36.54 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 72,952 | 46,260 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
An executive creative director is primarily in charge of directing and overseeing creative projects and campaigns. They manage a company's creative team that typically consist of writers, graphic designers, and content specialists. As an executive creative director, it is their duty to set goals and timelines, understand the client or company's needs, conceptualize plans and insights, control the budget, and develop strategies to optimize operations and outcomes. Moreover, they monitor the progress of all projects and campaigns, resolving issues and concerns should there be any.
A lead graphic designer is responsible for creating, designing, and updating the company's visual aspects. The lead graphic designer works closely with the branding department alongside the advertising and marketing team. It is essential for the lead graphic designer must be creative, willing to think outside the box, and brave to dare novel ideas. The lead graphic designer is also responsible for leading the creative department in accomplishing assigned tasks from management.
Executive creative directors and lead graphic designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive Creative Director | Lead Graphic Designer | |
| Average salary | $162,850 | $76,009 |
| Salary range | Between $88,000 And $300,000 | Between $44,000 And $131,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Estée Lauder | Netflix |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between an executive creative director and a lead graphic designer in terms of educational background:
| Executive Creative Director | Lead Graphic Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Harvard University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between executive creative directors' and lead graphic designers' demographics:
| Executive Creative Director | Lead Graphic Designer | |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4% | Male, 61.8% Female, 38.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 66.9% 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% |