Product design manager vs design manager

The differences between product design managers and design managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a product design manager, becoming a design manager takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a product design manager has an average salary of $133,190, which is higher than the $102,637 average annual salary of a design manager.

The top three skills for a product design manager include product design, user research and sketch. The most important skills for a design manager are sketch, project management, and visualization.

Product design manager vs design manager overview

	Product Design Manager	Design Manager
Yearly salary	$133,190	$102,637
Hourly rate	$64.03	$49.34
Growth rate	10%	2%
Number of jobs	146,576	61,273
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	39	48
Years of experience	10	-

What does a product design manager do?

A product design manager typically works with engineers and specialists in the joint effort to develop high-quality standard products. As a product design manager, they are responsible for managing product design teams, understanding and identifying a project's needs, performing research and analysis, setting objectives and guidelines, liaising with external parties, and presenting prototypes for client approval. Moreover, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage staff to reach product goals while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.

What does a design manager do?

A design manager is responsible for creating graphic and digital designs, following clients' specifications, and managing project deliverables efficiently. Design managers work closely with the marketing and public relations department, developing strategies to promote the brand to the target audience. They coordinate with the creative team and present the design ideas to the management, ask for final approval, perform revisions as needed, and follow the budget goals. A design manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle the design team's concerns and needs.

Product design manager vs design manager salary

Product design managers and design managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Product Design Manager	Design Manager
Average salary	$133,190	$102,637
Salary range	Between $91,000 And $193,000	Between $69,000 And $150,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	Meta
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between product design manager and design manager education

There are a few differences between a product design manager and a design manager in terms of educational background:

	Product Design Manager	Design Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Graphic Design	Graphic Design
Most common college	University of Wisconsin - Madison	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Product design manager vs design manager demographics

Here are the differences between product design managers' and design managers' demographics:

	Product Design Manager	Design Manager
Average age	39	48
Gender ratio	Male, 66.2% Female, 33.8%	Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 11.8% White, 71.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	10%	9%

Differences between product design manager and design manager duties and responsibilities

Product design manager example responsibilities.

Create, implement and manage the QA program.
Lead teams for branding, wire-framing, prototyping, user-testing, UX and UI design, and more.
Lead cross-functional team in pioneering the application/game download ecosystem with the implementation of Java games and generating significant new revenue stream.
Update product line launch PowerPoint; create marketing presentations for sales and clients.
paper prototyping and usability studies) into design team.
Maintain production schedule in AS400 base MAPICS XA MRP system.

Design manager example responsibilities.

Help achieve status of medical device manufacturer through the FDA.
Manage several consultants preparing contract documents on the various NYC let and NYS let projects.
Manage and collaborate with ASIC library/memory vendors.
Manage design, tooling, equipment implementations and process improvements for foundry/machining metalworking manufacturer of automotive OEM products.
Design blueprints, bills of materials, FEA as required.
Include producing FDA and ISO-9000 level documentation of the project.

Product design manager vs design manager skills

Common product design manager skills

Product Design, 15%
User Research, 13%
Sketch, 12%
Product Management, 7%
Facebook, 6%
Visual Design, 6%

Common design manager skills

Sketch, 8%
Project Management, 8%
Visualization, 5%
User Experience, 4%
PowerPoint, 4%
Design Process, 4%

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Product Design Manager
Product Design Manager vs Design Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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