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The differences between fashion designers and 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 a fashion designer, becoming a graphic designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a fashion designer has an average salary of $54,265, which is higher than the $49,450 average annual salary of a graphic designer.
The top three skills for a fashion designer include fashion design, sketch and apparel. The most important skills for a graphic designer are adobe creative suite, adobe photoshop, and adobe illustrator.
| Fashion Designer | Graphic Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $54,265 | $49,450 |
| Hourly rate | $26.09 | $23.77 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 49,476 | 45,625 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 37 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
Fashion designers design and assist with the making of shoes, accessories, and clothing. They identify trends and styles, colors, and trims of a clothing collection. The designers keep an eye on travel shows and read fashion magazines to spot trends and interpret specific patterns, color palettes, and prints for each season. They sketch designs by hand, address buyers as a seasoned marketer, and create technical production drawings. It is part of their responsibilities to collaborate with team members to make edits to lines, select seasonal themes, and create new concepts.
Graphic designers are visual communicators who create graphic ideas to deliver a message through art and images which inspire, inform, and motivate consumers with the use of computer software, especially Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign or by hand. They have the ability to design stunning illustrations that are easily understood, even without a lot of thinking or based on the demand of their clients. It is very crucial to them as well to be flexible and to stay on top of the design trends. They create websites, posters, packaging, logos, advertising, and marketing materials, depending on the nature of the business.
Fashion designers and graphic designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Fashion Designer | Graphic Designer | |
| Average salary | $54,265 | $49,450 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $78,000 | Between $34,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Ralph Lauren | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Technology |
There are a few differences between a fashion designer and a graphic designer in terms of educational background:
| Fashion Designer | Graphic Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Cornell University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between fashion designers' and graphic designers' demographics:
| Fashion Designer | Graphic Designer | |
| Average age | 37 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7% | Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 11.6% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | 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 | 18% | 13% |