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The differences between production designers and product designers 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 product designer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a product designer has an average salary of $102,033, 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 product designer are sketch, visual design, and UI.
| Production Designer | Product Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $54,760 | $102,033 |
| Hourly rate | $26.33 | $49.05 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 96,682 | 98,465 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 38 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
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 product designer's key responsibilities are to perform design research, selecting the best materials, and develop user storyboards for the client and users' best interest. Product designers usually work with a whole design team, documenting suggestions to deliver high-quality outputs or improve existing products to match the market trends. They must also communicate with other skilled professionals to enhance their ideas and consult clients for any necessary adjustments that would affect the total user experience. A product designer should also have extensive knowledge of the consumer's preference to make the design more appealing and engaging.
Production designers and product designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Designer | Product Designer | |
| Average salary | $54,760 | $102,033 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $82,000 | Between $68,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Sacramento, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Netflix |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Technology |
There are a few differences between a production designer and a product designer in terms of educational background:
| Production Designer | Product Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between production designers' and product designers' demographics:
| Production Designer | Product Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.4% Female, 44.6% | Male, 74.2% Female, 25.8% |
| 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, 1.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 10.1% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 8% |