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Senior designer vs visual designer

The differences between senior designers and visual 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 visual designer. Additionally, a senior designer has an average salary of $102,058, which is higher than the $86,495 average annual salary of a visual designer.

The top three skills for a senior designer include sketch, graphic design and human centered design. The most important skills for a visual designer are sketch, visual design, and graphic design.

Senior designer vs visual designer overview

Senior DesignerVisual Designer
Yearly salary$102,058$86,495
Hourly rate$49.07$41.58
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs47,50346,815
Job satisfaction1-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age3838
Years of experience1212

What does a senior designer do?

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.

What does a visual designer do?

A visual designer is someone who creates designs for a variety of platforms such as Internet and intranet sites, games, and wearables. The duties of visual designers depend on the specific project or industry in which they are working. Duties include creating user-centered interaction models, working with information technology and business teams to resolve complex issues, and designing logos, icons, and infographics. The qualifications to become a visual designer include possessing strong problem-solving, communication, and negotiation skills and obtaining a bachelor's degree in design.

Senior designer vs visual designer salary

Senior designers and visual designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior DesignerVisual Designer
Average salary$102,058$86,495
Salary rangeBetween $72,000 And $143,000Between $51,000 And $143,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WASan Bruno, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyLyftByteDance
Best paying industryMediaStart-up

Differences between senior designer and visual designer education

There are a few differences between a senior designer and a visual designer in terms of educational background:

Senior DesignerVisual Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior designer vs visual designer demographics

Here are the differences between senior designers' and visual designers' demographics:

Senior DesignerVisual Designer
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 71.0% Female, 29.0%Male, 53.1% Female, 46.9%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage13%13%

Differences between senior designer and visual designer duties and responsibilities

Senior designer example responsibilities.

  • Identify, plan and lead brainstorming sessions for new blue-sky product opportunities across all boys' lines.
  • Design all marketing collateral within those standards including flyers, ads, conference materials, brochures, and design mailed pieces.
  • Implement HTML and CSS tags.
  • Format designs and media for use in print and web applications; deliver production-ready graphics in HTML and CSS.
  • Design and production of marketing materials, PowerPoint templates for pitch decks, event graphics, various collateral and HTML e-mails.
  • Lead the team in brainstorming sessions and assist with market research and testing.
  • Show more

Visual designer example responsibilities.

  • Design, project manage, and build retail stores from sketch to completion.
  • Manage website redesign including copywriting and updating all website content.
  • Produce and deliver HTML5, CSS3 and graphical items.
  • Design team brand and logo for organization.
  • Provide approved design in HTML5 to web developer for publishing.
  • Utilize expertise in Photoshop CS6, HTML5/CSS, Squarespace, and JavaScript.
  • Show more

Senior designer vs visual designer skills

Common senior designer skills
  • Sketch, 15%
  • Graphic Design, 5%
  • Human Centered Design, 4%
  • User Experience, 4%
  • UI, 4%
  • CAD, 4%
Common visual designer skills
  • Sketch, 19%
  • Visual Design, 8%
  • Graphic Design, 5%
  • UI, 5%
  • User Experience, 4%
  • Visualization, 4%

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