Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between production graphic artists and lead graphic 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 graphic artist and a lead graphic designer. Additionally, a lead graphic designer has an average salary of $76,009, which is higher than the $69,707 average annual salary of a production graphic artist.
The top three skills for a production graphic artist include graphic design, adobe illustrator and adobe photoshop. The most important skills for a lead graphic designer are adobe photoshop, graphic design, and design concepts.
| Production Graphic Artist | Lead Graphic Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $69,707 | $76,009 |
| Hourly rate | $33.51 | $36.54 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 58,934 | 46,260 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A production graphic artist specializes in developing commercial art for production and marketing operations. They typically work together with a company's creative team to conceptualize plans and execute designs according to project requirements and client preferences. Although the extent of their duties depends on their place or industry of employment, it typically includes developing drafts and layouts, utilizing special software and tools, presenting samples to managers or clients, preparing files according to format, and maintaining an active communication line with the team members for an efficient workflow.
A lead graphic designer is responsible for creating, designing, and updating the company's visual aspects. The lead graphic designer works closely with the branding department alongside the advertising and marketing team. It is essential for the lead graphic designer must be creative, willing to think outside the box, and brave to dare novel ideas. The lead graphic designer is also responsible for leading the creative department in accomplishing assigned tasks from management.
Production graphic artists and lead graphic designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Graphic Artist | Lead Graphic Designer | |
| Average salary | $69,707 | $76,009 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $114,000 | Between $44,000 And $131,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | CoStar Group | Netflix |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Technology |
There are a few differences between a production graphic artist and a lead graphic designer in terms of educational background:
| Production Graphic Artist | Lead Graphic Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | 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 graphic artists' and lead graphic designers' demographics:
| Production Graphic Artist | Lead Graphic Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.7% Female, 47.3% | Male, 61.8% Female, 38.2% |
| 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% |