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The differences between head designers and freelance 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 head designer and a freelance designer. Additionally, a head designer has an average salary of $116,986, which is higher than the $57,260 average annual salary of a freelance designer.
The top three skills for a head designer include product design, UI and sketch. The most important skills for a freelance designer are sketch, CSS, and HTML.
| Head Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $116,986 | $57,260 |
| Hourly rate | $56.24 | $27.53 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 53,876 | 45,914 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
The Head Designer is the overall command over the creative team's design and the entire company. The heads of the organization look toward the head designer to provide insights into the artistic path the company will take to achieve a unique brand in the market. The head designer is highly-creative, good in management, and can articulate abstract ideas clearly and relay them to company administrators, customers, and clients. A head designer's responsibilities are to handle the creative team, train each member, and provide guidance in every part of the designing process.
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.
Head designers and freelance designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Head Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Average salary | $116,986 | $57,260 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $191,000 | Between $39,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | - |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | - |
There are a few differences between a head designer and a freelance designer in terms of educational background:
| Head Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between head designers' and freelance designers' demographics:
| Head Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.1% Female, 49.9% | Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0% |
| 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% |