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The differences between production designers and creative directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a production designer, becoming a creative director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a creative director has an average salary of $137,779, which is higher than the $54,760 average annual salary of a production designer.
The top three skills for a production designer include sketch, graphic design and adobe creative suite. The most important skills for a creative director are graphic design, creative concepts, and creative direction.
| Production Designer | Creative Director | |
| Yearly salary | $54,760 | $137,779 |
| Hourly rate | $26.33 | $66.24 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 96,682 | 11,610 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 38 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 6 |
A production designer is responsible for monitoring the visual presentation of a media or theatre production, ensuring the set's adherence to the theme, and presenting visual elements according to the production requirements. Production designers research the current industry trends for creative ideas that would attract the audience, creating outstanding visual pictures throughout the production. In most cases, production designers also operate software systems and tools to suggest graphic effects and support the artistic team for deliverables. A production designer develops all visual plans within the budget goals and discusses adjustments to the production management team as needed.
A creative director is an individual who creates and maintains a vision for a company's products and branding through digital, print, and film installations. Creative directors supervise and innovative staff team such as graphic designers and artists to discuss and plan the vision's layout and visuals. They also meet with clients or marketing and advertising departments to create designs and make the necessary changes to the systems. Most creative directors must have a bachelor's degree in fine arts and should build work portfolios while starting their careers as graphic designers or photographers.
Production designers and creative directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Designer | Creative Director | |
| Average salary | $54,760 | $137,779 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $82,000 | Between $82,000 And $228,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Technology |
There are a few differences between a production designer and a creative director in terms of educational background:
| Production Designer | Creative Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between production designers' and creative directors' demographics:
| Production Designer | Creative Director | |
| Average age | 38 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.4% Female, 44.6% | Male, 64.7% Female, 35.3% |
| 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, 4.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 11% |