Layout designers are creative individuals who work as graphic artists or graphic designers. They may be freelancers who take work on a commission basis or are employed in a creative agency. They manage client requests and set expectations based on the requirements of the client. They work with images and text that are intended for publishing or printing. The bulk of their work is ensuring that the images and texts in the projects they are working on are balanced and eye-catching. Layout designers are adept at various graphic design software, applications, or programs. They are able to use the different functions of the programs to achieve the desired effect, as agreed upon with their client.
Layout designers are bachelor's degree holders of courses related to graphic designing, visual communication, and visual arts. They should also have extensive knowledge and familiarity with editing and layout software. While there are some individuals who are creative enough to make it as a layout designer without having a formal educational background, it is still important to have one as it will anchor the individual with theories and techniques involved in designing.
How to Become a Layout Designer
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a layout designer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $48.48 an hour? That's $100,846 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 8,800 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Layout Designer Do
There are certain skills that many layout designers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, artistic ability and communication skills.
How To Become a Layout Designer
If you're interested in becoming a layout designer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 56.6% of layout designers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 5.2% of layout designers have master's degrees. Even though most layout designers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a layout designer. When we researched the most common majors for a layout designer, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on layout designer resumes include master's degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a layout designer. In fact, many layout designer jobs require experience in a role such as graphic designer. Meanwhile, many layout designers also have previous career experience in roles such as mask designer or designer.
Layout Designer Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a layout designer can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as senior designer, progress to a title such as lead designer and then eventually end up with the title lead designer.
Average Salary for a Layout Designer
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Layout Designers
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
4. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
6. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
7. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
8. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
9. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
10. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
Top Skills For a Layout Designer
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.3% of layout designers listed cad on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and artistic ability are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Layout Designer Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Layout Designer templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Layout Designer resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Layout Designer Demographics
Layout Designer Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among layout designers, 40.0% of them are women, while 60.0% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among layout designers is White, which makes up 76.1% of all layout designers.
- The most common foreign language among layout designers is Spanish at 47.0%.
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Best States For a Layout Designer
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a layout designer. The best states for people in this position are California, Texas, Washington, and Arizona. Layout designers make the most in California with an average salary of $100,585. Whereas in Texas and Washington, they would average $89,654 and $88,734, respectively. While layout designers would only make an average of $85,267 in Arizona, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. California
$100,585
Avg. Salary
2. Washington
$88,734
Avg. Salary
3. Oregon
$83,991
Avg. Salary
How Do Layout Designer Rate Their Jobs?
Top Layout Designer Employers
Most Common Employers For Layout Designer
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cirrus Logic | $139,448 | $67.04 | 8 |
| 2 | Lattice Semiconductor | $134,617 | $64.72 | 10 |
| 3 | National Semiconductor | $130,654 | $62.81 | 17 |
| 4 | Analog Devices | $125,606 | $60.39 | 10 |
| 5 | Skyworks Solutions | $117,284 | $56.39 | 14 |
| 6 | Broadcom | $117,074 | $56.29 | 9 |
| 7 | Texas Instruments | $116,546 | $56.03 | 39 |
| 8 | Silicon Labs | $109,474 | $52.63 | 6 |
| 9 | Honeywell | $107,682 | $51.77 | 7 |
| 10 | Maxim Integrated | $103,893 | $49.95 | 23 |
Layout Designer Videos
