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The differences between production graphic artists and production 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 production designer. Additionally, a production graphic artist has an average salary of $69,707, which is higher than the $54,760 average annual salary of a production designer.
The top three skills for a production graphic artist include graphic design, adobe illustrator and adobe photoshop. The most important skills for a production designer are sketch, graphic design, and adobe creative suite.
| Production Graphic Artist | Production Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $69,707 | $54,760 |
| Hourly rate | $33.51 | $26.33 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 58,934 | 96,682 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| 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 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.
Production graphic artists and production designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Graphic Artist | Production Designer | |
| Average salary | $69,707 | $54,760 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $114,000 | Between $36,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | CoStar Group | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Internet |
There are a few differences between a production graphic artist and a production designer in terms of educational background:
| Production Graphic Artist | Production Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| 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 production designers' demographics:
| Production Graphic Artist | Production Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.7% Female, 47.3% | Male, 55.4% Female, 44.6% |
| 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% |