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The differences between production designers and freelance 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 designer and a freelance designer. Additionally, a freelance designer has an average salary of $57,260, 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 freelance designer are sketch, CSS, and HTML.
| Production Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $54,760 | $57,260 |
| Hourly rate | $26.33 | $27.53 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 96,682 | 45,914 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
Freelance designers are creative, independent contractors who create visual and graphic designs for their clients. They develop text and illustrated versions of brands, messages, and communications with strong visible influence with their clients. Typical activities include networking, seeking projects, and negotiating prices to their customers. They manage client proposals, develop concepts, present solutions, and ensure the timely completion of projects. Freelance visual and graphic designers are creative, self-motivated as well as result and deadline oriented.
Production designers and freelance designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Average salary | $54,760 | $57,260 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $82,000 | Between $39,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | Meta | - |
| Best paying industry | Internet | - |
There are a few differences between a production designer and a freelance designer in terms of educational background:
| Production Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between production designers' and freelance designers' demographics:
| Production Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.4% Female, 44.6% | Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0% |
| 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% |