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Junior art director vs graphic design manager

The differences between junior art directors and graphic design managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a junior art director, becoming a graphic design manager takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a junior art director has an average salary of $86,890, which is higher than the $66,975 average annual salary of a graphic design manager.

The top three skills for a junior art director include graphic design, adobe creative suite and creative concepts. The most important skills for a graphic design manager are graphic design, project management, and customer service.

Junior art director vs graphic design manager overview

Junior Art DirectorGraphic Design Manager
Yearly salary$86,890$66,975
Hourly rate$41.77$32.20
Growth rate4%3%
Number of jobs20,10548,269
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4038
Years of experience612

What does a junior art director do?

The job of a junior art director is to plan, assist, and execute the design and creative projects, including websites, emails, magazines, and ad campaigns. Duties may vary but typically include creating presentations and layouts, working closely with other departments on current projects, and organizing and conducting training on branding and design concepts. Additionally, you will be responsible for creating logos, brand standards, and corporate marketing. You are also responsible for creating graphic standards and communication guidelines.

What does a graphic design manager do?

A graphic design manager is primarily in charge of leading and overseeing the efforts of a graphic design team, ensuring adherence to goals and deadlines. It is their duty to learn and analyze the purpose of design, coordinate staff, liaise with internal and external parties, set goals and objectives, manage schedules, and conceptualize plans. Furthermore, as a graphic design manager, it is essential to lead and encourage teams to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

Junior art director vs graphic design manager salary

Junior art directors and graphic design managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Junior Art DirectorGraphic Design Manager
Average salary$86,890$66,975
Salary rangeBetween $50,000 And $148,000Between $49,000 And $91,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateOregonNew York
Best paying companyThe Walt Disney CompanyMeta
Best paying industryProfessionalFinance

Differences between junior art director and graphic design manager education

There are a few differences between a junior art director and a graphic design manager in terms of educational background:

Junior Art DirectorGraphic Design Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Junior art director vs graphic design manager demographics

Here are the differences between junior art directors' and graphic design managers' demographics:

Junior Art DirectorGraphic Design Manager
Average age4038
Gender ratioMale, 54.9% Female, 45.1%Male, 48.9% Female, 51.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 7.7% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%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 Percentage11%13%

Differences between junior art director and graphic design manager duties and responsibilities

Junior art director example responsibilities.

  • Direct and manage all photography including composition, talent acquisition and photo manipulation.
  • Lead the interactive team from concept, UX and design to implementation.
  • Key player responsible for the creation and maintenance of SEO ready web pages.
  • Develop portions of the corporate website relative to design, layout and HTML content.
  • Assist in planning and merchandising photographic shoots for large catalog projects and POS displays.
  • Provide clients with top SEO rankings and help them succeed with top-notch designs and online marketing campaigns.
  • Show more

Graphic design manager example responsibilities.

  • Train employees how to utilize CMS to manage Psych.org content by assigning department web liaisons in web management tasks
  • Create ads, manage copywriting, respond to customer inquiries, generate brand unity, establish clear company identity.
  • Operate and maintain CNC machinery to increase shop productivity.
  • Use HTML and image editors as needed to maintain product catalog.
  • Operate computer and thermal wax printer to create heat transferable patterns.
  • Identify and implement SEO and SEM tactics that deliver quality measurable results.
  • Show more

Junior art director vs graphic design manager skills

Common junior art director skills
  • Graphic Design, 16%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 12%
  • Creative Concepts, 11%
  • Visual Design, 8%
  • Art Direction, 5%
  • Mac, 4%
Common graphic design manager skills
  • Graphic Design, 9%
  • Project Management, 7%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 6%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 5%
  • Brochures, 5%

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