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The differences between freelance designers and graphic designer/productions can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a freelance designer and a graphic designer/production. Additionally, a freelance designer has an average salary of $57,260, which is higher than the $48,619 average annual salary of a graphic designer/production.
The top three skills for a freelance designer include sketch, CSS and HTML. The most important skills for a graphic designer/production are graphic design, adobe photoshop, and adobe illustrator.
| Freelance Designer | Graphic Designer/Production | |
| Yearly salary | $57,260 | $48,619 |
| Hourly rate | $27.53 | $23.37 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 45,914 | 95,831 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Freelance designers are creative, independent contractors who create visual and graphic designs for their clients. They develop text and illustrated versions of brands, messages, and communications with strong visible influence with their clients. Typical activities include networking, seeking projects, and negotiating prices to their customers. They manage client proposals, develop concepts, present solutions, and ensure the timely completion of projects. Freelance visual and graphic designers are creative, self-motivated as well as result and deadline oriented.
A Graphics Designer in production is the person in charge of designing and interpreting ideas pointed out by the client or the company. The graphics designer must use market standard applications and techniques to produce attention-grabbing designs intended to market a product, service, or company. Graphic designers are an integral part of a company's digital marketing, especially over the internet. The graphic designer must have a good eye for style, typesetting, and the use of colors.
Freelance designers and graphic designer/productions have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Freelance Designer | Graphic Designer/Production | |
| Average salary | $57,260 | $48,619 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $83,000 | Between $35,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Maryland |
| Best paying company | - | Optimum Nutrition |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a freelance designer and a graphic designer/production in terms of educational background:
| Freelance Designer | Graphic Designer/Production | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between freelance designers' and graphic designer/productions' demographics:
| Freelance Designer | Graphic Designer/Production | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0% | Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0% |
| 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% |