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The differences between senior designers and head 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 senior designer and a head designer. Additionally, a head designer has an average salary of $116,986, 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 head designer are product design, UI, and sketch.
| Senior Designer | Head Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $102,058 | $116,986 |
| Hourly rate | $49.07 | $56.24 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 47,503 | 53,876 |
| Job satisfaction | 1 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
The Head Designer is the overall command over the creative team's design and the entire company. The heads of the organization look toward the head designer to provide insights into the artistic path the company will take to achieve a unique brand in the market. The head designer is highly-creative, good in management, and can articulate abstract ideas clearly and relay them to company administrators, customers, and clients. A head designer's responsibilities are to handle the creative team, train each member, and provide guidance in every part of the designing process.
Senior designers and head designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Designer | Head Designer | |
| Average salary | $102,058 | $116,986 |
| Salary range | Between $72,000 And $143,000 | Between $71,000 And $191,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Lyft | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Media | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a senior designer and a head designer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Designer | Head Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | 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 senior designers' and head designers' demographics:
| Senior Designer | Head Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0% | Male, 50.1% Female, 49.9% |
| 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% |