How to hire a senior graphic designer

How to hire a senior graphic designer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior graphic designer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior graphic designer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior graphic designer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior graphic designer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your senior graphic designer job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a senior graphic designer for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A senior graphic designer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior graphic designers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of senior graphic designers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Senior Graphic Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Graphic Designer	Graphic designers create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and production design for various applications such as advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports.	$24-50
   Designer/Art Director	An art director collaborates with the design and art staff for books, public relations firms, advertising agencies, or newspaper publishers. Art directors create designs and layouts that embody the organization and send the message they want the audience to get... Show more	$28-75
   Graphic Artist	A graphic artist is either an illustrator or an animator who creates art work that will be used in graphic projects such as advertisements, posters, or even book covers. Although a graphic artist has his/her own style of artwork, he/she may be often commissioned to create art specifically for a particular project... Show more	$16-40

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Sketch
   • Adobe Creative Suite
   • Creative Concepts
   • PowerPoint
   • Art Direction
   • HTML
   • Brochures
   • Adobe Photoshop
   • Fine Arts
   • Digital Marketing
   • Adobe Illustrator
   • Project Management
   • Graphic Design
   • Motion Graphics

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Create and manage license product lines from concept sketch to production sample.
   • Manage front-end development of company website, ordering system, and JavaScript presentations.
   • Create ads, manage copywriting, respond to customer inquiries, generate brand unity, establish clear company identity.
   • Perform front-end development, navigation, IA, UI, analysis, visual design, and SEO.
   • Produce and maintain sales literature, posters, trade show materials, print ads and marketing promotional materials for print media.
   • Design and execute production of marketing collateral; including annual catalogs, brochures, and a special contest information package

   More senior graphic designer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the senior graphic designer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A senior graphic designer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a senior graphic designer in Arkansas may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level senior graphic designer. Additionally, a senior graphic designer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average senior graphic designer salary

   $73,921yearly

   $35.54 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior graphic designer salary

   $51,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 27, 2025

   Average senior graphic designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$99,250	$48
   2	Washington	$94,794	$46
   3	Massachusetts	$88,074	$42
   4	Nevada	$86,359	$42
   5	District of Columbia	$85,229	$41
   6	New York	$84,346	$41
   7	Virginia	$79,997	$38
   8	New Jersey	$79,346	$38
   9	Oregon	$78,491	$38
   10	Utah	$76,839	$37
   11	Maryland	$74,990	$36
   12	Pennsylvania	$74,410	$36
   13	West Virginia	$73,848	$36
   14	Wisconsin	$71,852	$35
   15	Illinois	$71,802	$35
   16	North Carolina	$70,442	$34
   17	Delaware	$69,462	$33
   18	Arizona	$69,300	$33
   19	Ohio	$68,959	$33
   20	Minnesota	$68,407	$33

   Average senior graphic designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Practice Fusion	$124,128	$59.68
   2	BGC Partners	$118,448	$56.95
   3	Quirky	$118,129	$56.79
   4	Datadog	$114,474	$55.04	6
   5	AIG	$109,155	$52.48
   6	Newmark Grubb Knight Frank	$106,211	$51.06	3
   7	Amazon	$105,832	$50.88	204
   8	Cisco	$105,658	$50.80	26
   9	ServiceNow	$105,241	$50.60	4
   10	Parsons	$104,536	$50.26	51
   11	Marcus & Millichap	$104,531	$50.26	3
   12	Yahoo	$103,793	$49.90
   13	Nike	$102,952	$49.50	96
   14	PVH	$102,780	$49.41	11
   15	RH	$102,065	$49.07	42
   16	CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield	$101,691	$48.89
   17	Visa	$100,491	$48.31	7
   18	Neiman Marcus Group	$99,458	$47.82
   19	AT&T	$99,120	$47.65	24
   20	Autodesk	$98,269	$47.24	12

4. Writing a senior graphic designer job description

   A good senior graphic designer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a senior graphic designer job description:

   Senior graphic designer job description example

   Construction is transforming. Trimble, one of the world's leading industrial technology companies, is seeking an experienced B2B designer to support our growing Construction marketing team, to continually evolve our brand and portray the stories to help accelerate that change.
   
   As a key contributor to a high-performing marketing team, you'll help drive technology adoption forward in the construction industry. You will brainstorm a campaign design, understand conversion-focused design needs and brainstorm creative solutions to solve static needs, often in the same hour. The best fit for this role will have experience designing for a cohesive brand across multiple channels - all with an eye toward making our value easy for our customers and prospects to understand.
   About the Role & Team
   
   Reporting to the Trimble Viewpoint Creative Manager, this Sr. Graphic Designer role is responsible for managing and executing visual content, web production and supports the larger Trimble brand story.
   
   This role both contributes to and manages digital production of marketing assets for all channels: digital content production, digital marketing, advertising, social media, executive presentations, sales enablement, email marketing as well as some print and direct mail marketing.
   Works with the Creative Lead to ensure all visual content aligns with brand standards and maps to Trimble Construction key messages across all channels Works with Content and Web teams on the creation and review of design assets to ensure consistency - brainstorming alternative solutions and reviewing as appropriate Actively participates in marketing meetings, understanding the various team needs, working with stakeholders in tandem with the content team to brainstorm solutions and establish priorities Establishes and maintains strong relationships with partners across multiple company functions, including the product marketing, human resources, user experience, sales and more. May manage vendor relationships and follow corporate processes for working with vendors as needed
   
   Why work with us:
   We're a fast-paced company with an exciting time ahead of us - we're helping digitize an industry!We provide competitive salaries and comprehensive health benefits We have consistently challenging projects and welcome new approaches to design We are entrepreneurial in how we approach problems - and fixes We care deeply about our customer experience We get to be creative daily We believe in autonomy and reward proactivity We have a heck of a lot of fun
   
   What are the role requirements?
   BA, BFA, or BS in Graphic Design or equivalent work historyA minimum of 5+ years design and production experience Current portfolio of examples demonstrating multi-channel campaigns, B2B content, innovative digital concepts, video direction and creative design solutions and the like Professional level knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud with a desire to learn new technology and skills Proficient use of Mac platform, Google Suite and Microsoft Office (including PowerPoint) Ability to stay organized and meet deadlines under pressureA keen understanding of, and/or desire to learn more about, the business of TrimbleStrong storytelling, layout, graphics and typography skills Demonstrated ability to maintain consistent brand identities across all media Excellent organizational skills, self-starter Preference given to candidates who have experience working for a B2B software organization environment
   Trimble Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, gender, age, color, religion, national origin, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws, or any other protected factor. EOE/M/F/V/D

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find senior graphic designers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior graphic designer job on Zippia to find and recruit senior graphic designer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting senior graphic designers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior graphic designer

   Once you've found the senior graphic designer candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new senior graphic designer. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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