How to hire a production designer

How to hire a production designer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step production designer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a production designer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new production designer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a production designer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a production designer, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect production designer also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of production designer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Production Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   Production Designer	Graphic designers create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and production design for various applications such as advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports.	$17-39
   Designer/Art Director	An art director collaborates with the design and art staff for books, public relations firms, advertising agencies, or newspaper publishers. Art directors create designs and layouts that embody the organization and send the message they want the audience to get... Show more	$28-75
   Graphic Designer/Production	A Graphics Designer in production is the person in charge of designing and interpreting ideas pointed out by the client or the company. The graphics designer must use market standard applications and techniques to produce attention-grabbing designs intended to market a product, service, or company... Show more	$16-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Sketch
   • Graphic Design
   • Adobe Creative Suite
   • Digital Marketing
   • HTML
   • Adobe Indesign
   • Project Management
   • Adobe Photoshop
   • Production Design
   • PowerPoint
   • Adobe Illustrator
   • Layout Design
   • Art Direction
   • Mac

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage website redesign including copywriting and updating all website content.
   • Migrate HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and XML content from outside sources into content management system.
   • Edit existing PowerPoint slides to enhance the corporate message.
   • Create 3D files and renderings for packaging using SolidWorks and KeyShot.
   • Hire by Collins as a design liaison between Collins and Facebook design teams.
   • Develop and maintain company website and social presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and other networks.

   More production designer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your production designer job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A production designer can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, production designers' average salary in south dakota is 60% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level production designers 56% less than senior-level production designers.
   • Certifications. A production designer with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a production designer's salary.

   Average production designer salary

   $54,760yearly

   $26.33 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level production designer salary

   $36,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average production designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$91,090	$44
   2	Washington	$83,092	$40
   3	District of Columbia	$68,122	$33
   4	New York	$66,446	$32
   5	Virginia	$65,053	$31
   6	Pennsylvania	$64,430	$31
   7	Massachusetts	$63,976	$31
   8	New Jersey	$62,851	$30
   9	Nevada	$59,049	$28
   10	Arizona	$58,751	$28
   11	Texas	$57,654	$28
   12	Colorado	$54,462	$26
   13	Michigan	$52,551	$25
   14	Utah	$51,651	$25
   15	Ohio	$51,137	$25
   16	Illinois	$49,383	$24
   17	Florida	$47,364	$23
   18	Wisconsin	$43,870	$21
   19	Minnesota	$43,755	$21
   20	Georgia	$43,080	$21

   Average production designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$141,290	$67.93	796
   2	Square	$130,621	$62.80
   3	Apple	$126,054	$60.60	59
   4	Macy's	$111,385	$53.55	4
   5	Classy	$103,705	$49.86
   6	Amazon	$101,333	$48.72	246
   7	Cricut	$99,509	$47.84	5
   8	Gap Inc.	$97,787	$47.01
   9	Nuveen Investments	$97,155	$46.71
   10	Mayo Clinic	$92,330	$44.39	2
   11	Aquent	$89,641	$43.10	2
   12	The Home Depot	$89,385	$42.97	1,157
   13	Bloomingdale's	$88,630	$42.61	1
   14	DreamWorks Animation	$86,000	$41.35
   15	Delta Air Lines	$85,409	$41.06	5
   16	COUNTRY Financial	$85,110	$40.92
   17	SmartPractice	$83,577	$40.18	2
   18	Publicis Sapient	$83,194	$40.00
   19	VF	$82,850	$39.83	22
   20	iHeartMedia	$82,037	$39.44	6

4. Writing a production designer job description

   A job description for a production designer role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a production designer job description:

   Production designer job description example

   Bachelor's Degree from a 4-year college or university

   1-2 years related experience

   • Practices open and continuous communication, values keeping others informed, effectively presenting information in a clear, concise manner
   • Excellent leadership, facilitation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work across functional lines and at many levels
   • Expert of Adobe Creative Suite. Knowledge of motion graphics web platforms a plus
   • Digital portfolio that shows strong examples of smart designing thinking, focused on branding, typography, information architecture and timeless design principles within an in-house creative team or studio
   • Ability to think creatively, strategically and technically
   • Ability to work a flexible schedule based on department and Company needs

   Click here to enter text.

   Physical Requirements:

   • Requires prolonged periods of sitting, with occasional standing
   • Occasionally requires walking, bending, reaching, hearing and talking
   • Continuous use of computers and other office equipment
   • Frequently lift/move up to 15 lbs.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right production designer for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your production designer job on Zippia to find and recruit production designer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit production designers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new production designer

   Once you have selected a candidate for the production designer position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new production designer. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a production designer?