Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for principal graphic designers in the United States
Principal graphic designer job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected principal graphic designer job growth rate is 3% from 2018-2028.
About 6,800 new jobs for principal graphic designers are projected over the next decade.
Principal graphic designer salaries have increased 12% for principal graphic designers in the last 5 years.
There are over 4,665 principal graphic designers currently employed in the United States.
There are 83,351 active principal graphic designer job openings in the US.
The average principal graphic designer salary is $100,224.
Are principal graphic designer jobs in demand?
Principal graphic designer job and salary trends over time
Principal graphic designer jobs over time
Principal graphic designer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 4,665 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 4,605 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 4,936 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 4,979 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 4,965 | 0.00% |
Average principal graphic designer salary over time
Principal graphic designer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $100,224 | $48.18 | +2.4% |
| 2024 | $97,840 | $47.04 | +3.5% |
| 2023 | $94,573 | $45.47 | +3.4% |
| 2022 | $91,437 | $43.96 | +2.2% |
| 2021 | $89,447 | $43.00 | +1.6% |
Principal graphic designer jobs by state
Most common states for principal graphic designers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 175 | 25% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,490 | 22% |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 230 | 22% |
| 4 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,532 | 21% |
| 5 | Vermont | 623,657 | 123 | 20% |
| 6 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,447 | 17% |
| 7 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 696 | 17% |
| 8 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 229 | 17% |
| 9 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 801 | 14% |
| 10 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 758 | 13% |
| 11 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 730 | 13% |
| 12 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 121 | 12% |
| 13 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 958 | 11% |
| 14 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 777 | 11% |
| 15 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,321 | 10% |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 1,290 | 10% |
| 17 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 977 | 10% |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 586 | 10% |
| 19 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 351 | 10% |
| 20 | Delaware | 961,939 | 93 | 10% |
Principal Graphic Designer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of principal graphic designer experts
University of Akron
Louisiana State University at Shreveport
The Illinois Institute of Art-Schaumburg
San Francisco State University
Columbia University in the City of New York
Louisiana Tech University
Ferris State University
University of Northern Iowa
Highline College
Texas State University
Bowling Green State University
Belmont University
Eastern Illinois University
Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University
Art Academy of Cincinnati
Kansas State University
AIGA, the professional association for design
MJSA
Jacksonville State University
Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY
What general advice would you give to a Principal Graphic Designer?
David Flynn: Everything that you see has been touched by a designer. The field is expanding with technology, but basic communication design principals remain paramount. It doesn’t matter if it’s a newspaper ad or a social post, you must have a professional that knows how to communicate a message, move the viewer's eye, and make the point. Designers work in every company and in every industry, worldwide.
What Principal Graphic Designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Allen Garcie MFA: One way that a new graduate can maximize their earning potential is by gaining professional experience as soon as possible. Freelance work is a great way to do this! Another way is for a new graduate to work towards earning a field-specific professional certificate (For example, both the American Institute for Graphic Arts [AIGA] and the American Marketing Association [AMA] offer these.), a software-related certification (Adobe and Autodesk offer these.), or an advanced degree (Such as an MA or MFA.). While gaining employment in the design field is primarily related to your portfolio and related experience, additional credentials can still make you more competitive.
What will help Principal Graphic Designers increase their earning potential?
Allen Garcie MFA: On the technical side, software is always evolving so skills related to this are always important. However, I think keeping up with advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) is going to be most important for designers over the next 3 to 5 years. This is an area that's already changing the design field as companies like Adobe and others continue to integrate AI into their software. On the other hand, being a designer isn't all about developing technology-related skills though. I also think developing non-technical skills like creativity, collaboration, and adaptability are extremely important for any designer.
Eric Benson
Associate Professor and Chair of Graphic Design and Design for Responsible InnovationThe Illinois Institute of Art-Schaumburg
Graphic Communications
What will help Principal Graphic Designers increase their earning potential?
Eric Benson: As I'm answering this now, I'd have to acknowledge that AI tools will become more prevalent in graphic design. We should explore them in order to take ownership of them, so we don't lose our relevancy. In addition, sustainability within the field will continue to grow and be increasingly more important to have a knowledgebase in.
What will help Principal Graphic Designers increase their earning potential?
Saskia Van Kampen: This question is impossible for me to answer as what one likes or dislikes about graphic design will be very individual.
Pilar Newton
Program Director of Electronic Design and Multimedia programColumbia University in the City of New York
Fine And Studio Arts
What Principal Graphic Designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Pilar Newton: Look into what industry you are interested in pursuing and research what the salary range is for positions that you are interested in especially entry level.
Research what studios are looking for. Even if a studio is not hiring reach out to them to set up informational interviews with studios that you are interested in. Often studio art directors will generously spend time on the phone, zoom or even an in person meeting to talk to you and tell you what the studio is looking for in potential artists that work for them.
Keep sharp! Keep practicing and staying on time of the latest versions of software and keep building your skills.
What Principal Graphic Designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jake Dugard: Code. Designers will need to know how to code... just kidding. I would be remiss if I did not mention Artificial Intelligence. I think there is a lot of value in becoming highly specialized, but I think AI will empower anyone to become an "expert" in everything. So where I won't advocate for specific tools, I think it'll be crucial for designers to be able to collaborate with AI and people.
What are the best companies to work for a Principal Graphic Designer?
Patrick Klarecki: The Printing and Packaging Industry has had a strong history of employing college graduates each year. In my 28 years as faculty/administrator for the Graphic Communication and Graphic Media Management degrees, we have always had 3-6 jobs available for each of our graduates. Even through the 2008 economy, we were able to celebrate full employment for our graduates.
What type of skills will young Principal Graphic Designers need?
Patrick Klarecki: Recent projections from the Printing United Alliance show business owners are optimistic about 2021 and see their needs returning to "Pre-COVID" levels by the end of 2021 or early 2022. The workforce in our industry continues to age, technology continues to evolve, and young minds' needs will prevail.
Elizabeth Sutton
Department Head, Professor of Art HistoryUniversity of Northern Iowa
Department of Art
What skills stand out on Principal Graphic Designer resumes?
Elizabeth Sutton: What really stands out is the quality of the student's portfolios and that they have client-based real-world experience.
What soft skills should all Principal Graphic Designers possess?
Elizabeth Sutton: There are many--the ability to collaborate and communicate effectively is absolutely necessary. The ability to ask for feedback and be able to take that feedback and incorporate it into a process is very important. Of course, meeting deadlines is also very important.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Principal Graphic Designers?
Elizabeth Sutton: We train our students in Adobe Creative Suite: InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator.
What skills will help Principal Graphic Designers earn the most?
Elizabeth Sutton: It's not about money. It's about liking what you do and making enough to meet you and your family's needs.... in any case, some of our Graphic Designers do very well when they add a Marketing minor from the College of Business.
What soft skills should all Principal Graphic Designers possess?
Diana Boyd: -Collaboration/Teamwork
-Interpersonal
-Reliability
-Ethical behavior
-Self-starter
Holly Sterling
Associate Professor of Communication Design, Internship CoordinatorTexas State University
School of Art and Design
What soft skills should all Principal Graphic Designers possess?
Holly Sterling: - Strong communication and problem-solving skills - not only in your design work but in your day-to-day job.
- Being able to work collaboratively and be a responsible team member (i.e., productive, organized, respond positively to feedback, adaptable).
What skills will help Principal Graphic Designers earn the most?
Holly Sterling: - If you're talking about hard skills, there's a run on "all things UX," and there are more positions to fill than designers to fill them. Also, strong visual designers who can do also do some illustration and motion graphics are in high demand.
- If you're talking soft skills, hiring managers frequently tell me that "who" the designer is every bit as important as what they can do, so be a good human that people will want to work with. This will serve you well throughout your entire career.
Jenn Stucker
Associate Professor, Chair of The Graphic Design DivisionBowling Green State University
School of Art
What skills stand out on Principal Graphic Designer resumes?
Jenn Stucker: A BFA degree, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design or communication design are distinctive. It is a professional degree in the field. A BFA represents a concentration in growing creative skills through creative coursework. While technical skills earned in a technology or certificate program are valuable for producing design work, strong skills in visual design and creative thinking define how and WHAT work is worthy and necessary for people to experience.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Principal Graphic Designers?
Jenn Stucker: Technical skills in the Adobe Creative Cloud are necessary as it is the industry standard. Additionally, good designers should know the basics of HTML and CSS and work in digital collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, Miro, and Figma.
What skills will help Principal Graphic Designers earn the most?
Jenn Stucker: Along with good visual design skills, creative thinking, problem-solving, and strategy will set a designer apart from others. These kinds of designers can understand the big picture of design in relation to context, culture, and meaning.
Doug Regen
Professor of PracticeBelmont University
Graphic Design Department
What skills stand out on Principal Graphic Designer resumes?
Doug Regen: Ability to problem-solve with strong creative solutions. Innovative. Detail-oriented. Ability to design creative solutions based on research...understanding the target audience, trends, etc.
What soft skills should all Principal Graphic Designers possess?
Doug Regen: Team player. Enthusiasm. Hark worker...willing to put in the time. Strong communicator. Openminded.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Principal Graphic Designers?
Doug Regen: Must know all the Adobe Creative software. Any level of video experience is a big plus.
What skills will help Principal Graphic Designers earn the most?
Doug Regen: Brilliant Ideas are executed flawlessly. Team player. Ability to motivate and lead others. Strong communicator and presentation skills.
Samantha Osborne
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, Owner, Samantha Osborne DesignEastern Illinois University
Art + Design
What skills will help Principal Graphic Designers earn the most?
Samantha Osborne: An ability to effectively communicate, navigate creative resources, network, empathize with others, and come up with innovative creative solutions. That said, your work still needs to be stellar and consistently great if you're going to be a big earner.
What skills stand out on Principal Graphic Designer resumes?
Samantha Osborne: Soft skills are equally important to hard skills. Graphic designers are visual communicators. Visual communication is a universal learned skill, vs. a linguistic capability. This means that graphic designers must learn to recognize and effectively utilize mood and tone in their own visual compositions in regard to color theory and psychology, gestalt principles, and font or lettering design. Essentially a well-skilled graphic designer becomes part psychologist in working through design problems and deciphering client direction, part problem-solver in developing an effective solution to the design problem, and part artist in bringing astonishing and original visual communication and graphics to reach a solution.
What soft skills should all Principal Graphic Designers possess?
Samantha Osborne: Three soft skills stand out most: an ability to see the big picture, an ability to "read" people, and an ability to make a convincing argument for your design solution(s).
i. An ability to see big picture: there are an infinite number of details in graphic design, whether you work in website design on the front or back end, or in print media with physical outputs. It's easy to get caught up on the details, especially when clients are making specific demands about things such as paper type. A skilled designer must be able to see beyond the details and look at the big picture for an effective design solution. For example, a client may be asking for an invitation design for an up-coming event. A skilled designer will ask questions and dig in, eventually uncovering that perhaps for a successful event, the client also needs a splash page and social media, either in place of or in addition to an invitation. A skilled designer addresses design problems holistically, rather than minutely.
ii. An ability to "read" people: designers are trained in art-specific vocabulary. Hue, saturation, pixels, gestalt...most non-art folks don't use or speak that language. When clients are describing their goals, they aren't using art-vocabulary. It's a designer's job to translate what the client is saying into an advanced and effective creative solution. They must be able to speak and understand the language of non-creative folks, as well as the language of the broader creative industry.
iii. An ability to make a convincing argument for your design solution(s): many young and inexperienced designer tend to get their hearts broken when a client smashes one of their [very well thought-out] ideas. Rather than rolling over, a designer must learn to navigate how best to build support for their idea(s). That might mean in some instances you work more fluidly with the client throughout the design process, so that they feel they have ownership in the development of the solution. In other instances it might mean that the designer is presenting options, rather than a single solution, so that the client feels empowered to make choices throughout the design process. And in some instances, it might be a matter of better explaining and presenting your idea to a client; perhaps the designer needs to push back more, perhaps they need to provide more research as to why their solution is best, or maybe they simply need to present it with more excitement and enthusiasm.
What general advice would you give to a Principal Graphic Designer?
Abby Guido: We've all heard the buzz about networking, and there is so much buzz because it works. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is both up to date and active. Connect with all of your past professors, classmates, and anyone and everyone you meet in a professional setting. I often tell students to get into the habit of searching for any classroom guests, or guest lecturers, to connect, thank them for their time, and build their network. Share content. Write articles, or reshare those you find interesting.
Every job I have ever received in my career has been through someone else I know. I share this with students to help them see the value in relationships. I always remember the students that took the time to write a handwritten thank-you note. And I think of them when I get an email asking if I know any students are looking for work.
What general advice would you give to a Principal Graphic Designer?
Mark Thomas: To maximize salary potential when starting a career in Graphic Design, Professor Thomas suggests specializing in a niche area of design, continuously updating skills to stay current with industry trends, and negotiating salary based on experience and the value one brings to the role.
What Principal Graphic Designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Mark Thomas: According to Professor Thomas, skills such as UX/UI design, motion graphics, and knowledge of emerging technologies like AR/VR are expected to become more important and prevalent in the field of Graphic Design in the next 3-5 years.
Barbara Anderson
Professor and HeadKansas State University
Department of Interior Design and Fashion Studies
What type of skills will young Principal Graphic Designers need?
Barbara Anderson: Technology in buildings and using technology to design buildings and communicate with teams and clients will be more critical than ever.
What type of skills will young Principal Graphic Designers need?
Bennie F. Johnson: Our Design Futures research from 2018 covered this topic in some detail. Some highlights of needed skills include an understanding of business models, complex systems, and data. One of the seven Design Futures trends is "Bridging Physical and Digital Experiences," which has become even more important in a COVID world. Of course, mastering craft and specific tools remain important, especially for entry-level work, but so is a general ability to "learn how to learn," as the rate of technical change (and obsolescence) is only getting faster.
In May of 2020, AIGA conducted an industry pulse check survey around the impact of COVID-19 on the design community and found, not surprisingly, that adaptability skills continue to be the most critical for design professionals, and collaboration made the list of top five skills for the first time.
How do you envision technology impacting Principal Graphic Designers in the next 5 years?
Rich Youmans: Computer-assisted design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and lasers have become commonplace, but these technologies continue to be honed. In the past few years, 3-D printers have become more affordable, and their quality and output continue to improve. This has opened up more opportunities for jewelry at all levels to increase their productivity. Three-dimensional metal printing, in which users can take a CAD file and print them directly in metal, could disrupt the traditional casting method, but the technology isn't quite there yet -- the cost is still too exorbitant. But the best tools for jewelers are still their hands-there will always be a market for handmade work done by skilled craftsman.
Chad Anderson
Associate Professor of Graphic DesignJacksonville State University
Department of Art
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Principal Graphic Designers in the next 3-5 years?
Chad Anderson: The answer may be different, depending on the focus. Technology, in terms of professional culture (in this field and beyond), may continue to be influenced by changes necessitated by COVID. Remote work and related cultural shifts may cause certain technologies to not only be used more dominantly but may affect the type of work that designers are hired to create (ranging from UI/UX to print-based outcomes).
Designers are problem-solvers, so whether using the latest and most excellent pencil and paper or the latest and greatest software/device, we use our resources-as available and as needed-to create solutions. I hesitate to guess precisely what or how technology will become more critical and prevalent in the field over the next 3-5 years. Change is inevitable.
Carmita Sanchez-Fong
Professor and ChairpersonFashion Institute of Technology, SUNY
Interior Design Department
What general advice would you give to a Principal Graphic Designer?
Carmita Sanchez-Fong: Be resilient. Your ability to absorb, recover, and adapt, particularly during these times of unprecedented uncertainly, will shape your future. COVID-19 has been the most significant global driver of change, and there are evolving opportunities for interior design on every front; residential, healthcare, hospitality, etc.
What Principal Graphic Designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Carmita Sanchez-Fong: Sketch, sketch, sketch, and work on your portfolio. Use the many resources at FIT to stay current with technology, including 3d printing, laser cutting, and virtual reality. Volunteer with one of the professional organizations, attend virtual conferences, enter a competition, develop your personal/professional profile, and become familiar with digital material resources. Work on your research and presentation skills. Create a well-organized digital library of your 2d and 3d assets. Prepare yourself to go back. Take some masterclasses. Volunteer as a virtual artist-in-residence at a local school. Be creative, remain engaged.