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The differences between senior designers and creative directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a senior designer, becoming a creative director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a creative director has an average salary of $137,779, which is higher than the $102,058 average annual salary of a senior designer.
The top three skills for a senior designer include sketch, graphic design and human centered design. The most important skills for a creative director are graphic design, creative concepts, and creative direction.
| Senior Designer | Creative Director | |
| Yearly salary | $102,058 | $137,779 |
| Hourly rate | $49.07 | $66.24 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 47,503 | 11,610 |
| Job satisfaction | 1 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 38 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 6 |
Senior designers are typically in charge of realizing design solutions that adhere to the business goals and marketing strategies of an organization. They should be comfortable managing graphics designers and making decisions. They must have extensive knowledge of styles, layout techniques, and graphic design while also managing projects and people effectively. Senior designers have a variety of duties, which include delegating tasks to junior designers, maintaining high-quality standards, and collaborating to improve digital creativity standards.
A creative director is an individual who creates and maintains a vision for a company's products and branding through digital, print, and film installations. Creative directors supervise and innovative staff team such as graphic designers and artists to discuss and plan the vision's layout and visuals. They also meet with clients or marketing and advertising departments to create designs and make the necessary changes to the systems. Most creative directors must have a bachelor's degree in fine arts and should build work portfolios while starting their careers as graphic designers or photographers.
Senior designers and creative directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Designer | Creative Director | |
| Average salary | $102,058 | $137,779 |
| Salary range | Between $72,000 And $143,000 | Between $82,000 And $228,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Lyft | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Media | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior designer and a creative director in terms of educational background:
| Senior Designer | Creative Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between senior designers' and creative directors' demographics:
| Senior Designer | Creative Director | |
| Average age | 38 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0% | Male, 64.7% Female, 35.3% |
| 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, 4.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 11% |