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Graphic artist vs student graphic designer

The differences between graphic artists and student graphic designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a graphic artist and a student graphic designer. Additionally, a graphic artist has an average salary of $54,900, which is higher than the $27,337 average annual salary of a student graphic designer.

The top three skills for a graphic artist include graphic design, adobe photoshop and adobe illustrator. The most important skills for a student graphic designer are graphic design, event posters, and GPA.

Graphic artist vs student graphic designer overview

Graphic ArtistStudent Graphic Designer
Yearly salary$54,900$27,337
Hourly rate$26.39$13.14
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs8,75255,508
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age3838
Years of experience1212

What does a graphic artist do?

A graphic artist is either an illustrator or an animator who creates art work that will be used in graphic projects such as advertisements, posters, or even book covers. Although a graphic artist has his/her own style of artwork, he/she may be often commissioned to create art specifically for a particular project. A graphic artist may work with a graphic designer in order to convey the overall message of a project. The portfolio of a graphic artist includes cartoons, illustrations, and graphic novels.

What does a student graphic designer do?

Student Graphic Designer is committed to embroidering the school's promotional and recreational work. He/she must be studying artistic skills to design the school's portfolio. Student graphic designer does prepare graphics for flyers, pamphlets, journals, magazines, posters, and brochures.

Graphic artist vs student graphic designer salary

Graphic artists and student graphic designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Graphic ArtistStudent Graphic Designer
Average salary$54,900$27,337
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $84,000Between $21,000 And $34,000
Highest paying CityBellevue, WA-
Highest paying stateWashington-
Best paying companyParsons-
Best paying industryNon Profits-

Differences between graphic artist and student graphic designer education

There are a few differences between a graphic artist and a student graphic designer in terms of educational background:

Graphic ArtistStudent Graphic Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaCarnegie Mellon University

Graphic artist vs student graphic designer demographics

Here are the differences between graphic artists' and student graphic designers' demographics:

Graphic ArtistStudent Graphic Designer
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 54.6% Female, 45.4%Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage13%13%

Differences between graphic artist and student graphic designer duties and responsibilities

Graphic artist example responsibilities.

  • Manage external communications such as brochures and other sales collateral for direct mail from inception to circulation.
  • Develop, debug, and maintain client websites using HTML & CSS, WordPress, and basic use of JavaScript.
  • Flash & Dreamweaver software assisting in production of the company website.
  • Create custom graphic art for cars, windows, store fronts, business signs.
  • Design and implement the company's first Facebook app and engages in designing everything encompassing pixels and print.
  • Design, develop and maintain websites as projects present themselves with the use of HTML and WYSIWYG web development tools.
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Student graphic designer example responsibilities.

  • Research lead to sketch iteration, which lead to full scale prototypes.
  • Create and manage digital media content for department and resource center websites, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
  • Manage data migrations and SharePoint integration for corporate Intranet with external consultants.
  • Design closet units and formations in 2D and 3D using SolidEdge, AutoCAD, TeamCenter.
  • Create and maintain digital 3D and 2D design packages using Pro/E and AutoCAD design tools.
  • Create package design, branding, and doing photography for clients that are starting up small businesses.
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Graphic artist vs student graphic designer skills

Common graphic artist skills
  • Graphic Design, 12%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 10%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 9%
  • Art Direction, 7%
  • Photography, 5%
  • Brochures, 4%
Common student graphic designer skills
  • Graphic Design, 13%
  • Event Posters, 8%
  • GPA, 7%
  • Web Banners, 6%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 5%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 5%

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