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The differences between media 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 media designer and a freelance designer. Additionally, a freelance designer has an average salary of $57,260, which is higher than the $54,018 average annual salary of a media designer.
The top three skills for a media designer include graphic design, animation and motion graphics. The most important skills for a freelance designer are sketch, CSS, and HTML.
| Media Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $54,018 | $57,260 |
| Hourly rate | $25.97 | $27.53 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 52,989 | 45,914 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A media designer is a marketing professional who plans, visualizes, and creates marketing materials such as printed documents, electronic or web-based media based on the business needs and guidance from team members in a company. Media designers must develop brand loyalty among customers about the company's line of products. They are required to make known the image of a given company using graphics, design, video, or interactivity to draw in users or customers. Media designers must also create a social marketing presence by establishing blogs or networking pages on a company's website.
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.
Media designers and freelance designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Media Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Average salary | $54,018 | $57,260 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $73,000 | Between $39,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | Brookline, MA | - |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | - |
| Best paying company | McKinsey & Company Inc | - |
| Best paying industry | Media | - |
There are a few differences between a media designer and a freelance designer in terms of educational background:
| Media Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | 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 media designers' and freelance designers' demographics:
| Media Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4% | 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% |