Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between production artists and assistant 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 production artist and an assistant designer. Additionally, a production artist has an average salary of $61,870, which is higher than the $52,475 average annual salary of an assistant designer.
The top three skills for a production artist include graphic design, adobe photoshop and adobe creative suite. The most important skills for an assistant designer are sketch, tech packs, and adobe illustrator.
| Production Artist | Assistant Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $61,870 | $52,475 |
| Hourly rate | $29.75 | $25.23 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 59,103 | 47,598 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A production artist is responsible for managing digital content, meeting clients' standard specifications and requests for successful project completion. Production artists must have computer proficiency, especially on utilizing various software tools and applications to create illustrations and layouts. They also work closely with the creative team, cooperating in brainstorming sessions to ensure the consistency for each assigned task. A production artist should be keen on details, adjusting outputs as needed to maintain the highest quality for the actual presentation.
Assistant designers act as administrative support to senior designers in creating innovative designs by negotiating with the vendors about the prices of decoration materials. They are keen and up-to-date to the latest fashion and trends by conducting surveys and research. They are exceptionally creative and innovative and have excellent IT skills as they use illustration, typography, and photography layouts in the design process. However, being an assistant designer, career development relies on his/her /her specialism, reputation, and experience depending on how its opportunities are influenced by the company he/she works for.
Production artists and assistant designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Artist | Assistant Designer | |
| Average salary | $61,870 | $52,475 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $94,000 | Between $37,000 And $73,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Apple | PVH |
| Best paying industry | - | Construction |
There are a few differences between a production artist and an assistant designer in terms of educational background:
| Production Artist | Assistant Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between production artists' and assistant designers' demographics:
| Production Artist | Assistant Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% | Male, 28.3% Female, 71.7% |
| 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% |