Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between production designers and head 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 head designer. Additionally, a head designer has an average salary of $116,986, 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 head designer are product design, UI, and sketch.
| Production Designer | Head Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $54,760 | $116,986 |
| Hourly rate | $26.33 | $56.24 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 96,682 | 53,876 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| 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.
The Head Designer is the overall command over the creative team's design and the entire company. The heads of the organization look toward the head designer to provide insights into the artistic path the company will take to achieve a unique brand in the market. The head designer is highly-creative, good in management, and can articulate abstract ideas clearly and relay them to company administrators, customers, and clients. A head designer's responsibilities are to handle the creative team, train each member, and provide guidance in every part of the designing process.
Production designers and head designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Designer | Head Designer | |
| Average salary | $54,760 | $116,986 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $82,000 | Between $71,000 And $191,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a production designer and a head designer in terms of educational background:
| Production Designer | Head Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between production designers' and head designers' demographics:
| Production Designer | Head Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.4% Female, 44.6% | Male, 50.1% Female, 49.9% |
| 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% |