How To Become A Publications Designer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a publications designer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

David Flynn

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a publications designer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.98 an hour? That's $56,121 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 6,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a publications designer?

David Flynn

Professor of Practice, University of Akron

Everything that you see has been touched by a designer. The field is expanding with technology, but basic communication design principals remain paramount. It doesn’t matter if it’s a newspaper ad or a social post, you must have a professional that knows how to communicate a message, move the viewer's eye, and make the point. Designers work in every company and in every industry, worldwide.

ScorePublications DesignerUS Average

Salary

4.4

Avg. Salary $56,121

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.2

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.37%

Asian 10.42%

Black or African American 3.42%

Hispanic or Latino 10.63%

Unknown 4.99%

White 70.17%

Gender

female 60.18%

male 39.82%

Age - 37

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 37

Stress level

4.2

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.9

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a publications designer

Explore publications designer education requirements

Most common publications designer degrees

Bachelor's

70.1 %

Associate

17.1 %

Master's

8.0 %

Start to develop specific publications designer skills

Skills	Percentages
Graphic Design	20.33%
Adobe Indesign	13.76%
Adobe Creative Suite	12.99%
Publication Design	9.05%
Art Direction	8.79%

Complete relevant publications designer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New publications designers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a publications designer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real publications designer resumes.

Research publications designer duties and responsibilities

Manage website redesign including copywriting and updating all website content.
Assist with all in-house product photography, setting up and styling shots for catalog and advertising use.
Design the inner spreads of both books, and complete the typesetting.
Revamp the photo studio for better lighting and overall quality of the photography.

Prepare your publications designer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your publications designer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a publications designer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable publications designer resume templates

Build a professional publications designer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your publications designer resume.