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The differences between executive creative directors and senior creative directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an executive creative director and a senior creative director. Additionally, an executive creative director has an average salary of $162,850, which is higher than the $141,259 average annual salary of a senior creative director.
The top three skills for an executive creative director include sketch, graphic design and creative direction. The most important skills for a senior creative director are creative direction, brand development, and graphic design.
| Executive Creative Director | Senior Creative Director | |
| Yearly salary | $162,850 | $141,259 |
| Hourly rate | $78.29 | $67.91 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 72,952 | 9,886 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
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 senior creative director spearheads the visual aspects of a company's marketing and advertising departments. They manage creative teams and lead the efforts from conceptualizing to executing projects and campaigns. As a senior creative director, their responsibilities typically include setting goals and budgets, establishing guidelines, coordinating departments, delegating tasks to managers, researching new business opportunities, liaising with internal and external parties, and developing strategies to optimize procedures. Furthermore, they must serve as a mentor to junior directors and staff, promoting and enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
Executive creative directors and senior creative directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive Creative Director | Senior Creative Director | |
| Average salary | $162,850 | $141,259 |
| Salary range | Between $88,000 And $300,000 | Between $73,000 And $271,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Chicago, IL |
| Highest paying state | New York | Illinois |
| Best paying company | Estée Lauder | Sally Beauty Holdings |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an executive creative director and a senior creative director in terms of educational background:
| Executive Creative Director | Senior Creative Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between executive creative directors' and senior creative directors' demographics:
| Executive Creative Director | Senior Creative Director | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4% | Male, 71.3% Female, 28.7% |
| 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, 4.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 7.2% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |