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The differences between media designers and graphic artists 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 graphic artist. Additionally, a graphic artist has an average salary of $54,900, 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 graphic artist are graphic design, adobe photoshop, and adobe illustrator.
| Media Designer | Graphic Artist | |
| Yearly salary | $54,018 | $54,900 |
| Hourly rate | $25.97 | $26.39 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 52,989 | 8,752 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| 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.
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.
Media designers and graphic artists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Media Designer | Graphic Artist | |
| Average salary | $54,018 | $54,900 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $73,000 | Between $35,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | Brookline, MA | Bellevue, WA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | McKinsey & Company Inc | Parsons |
| Best paying industry | Media | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a media designer and a graphic artist in terms of educational background:
| Media Designer | Graphic Artist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between media designers' and graphic artists' demographics:
| Media Designer | Graphic Artist | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4% | Male, 54.6% Female, 45.4% |
| 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% |