Set designer vs designer

The differences between set designers and designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a set designer, becoming a designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a designer has an average salary of $66,347, which is higher than the $57,970 average annual salary of a set designer.

The top three skills for a set designer include set design, art direction and photography. The most important skills for a designer are sketch, customer service, and graphic design.

Set designer vs designer overview

	Set Designer	Designer
Yearly salary	$57,970	$66,347
Hourly rate	$27.87	$31.90
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	49,102	52,433
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	42	38
Years of experience	4	12

Set designer vs designer salary

Set designers and designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Set Designer	Designer
Average salary	$57,970	$66,347
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $94,000	Between $45,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	New Windsor, NY	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Washington
Best paying company	Stanley Black & Decker	Meta
Best paying industry	Education	Technology

Differences between set designer and designer education

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

	Set Designer	Designer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Fine Arts	Graphic Design
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Set designer vs designer demographics

Here are the differences between set designers' and designers' demographics:

	Set Designer	Designer
Average age	42	38
Gender ratio	Male, 49.5% Female, 50.5%	Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 11.4% White, 70.6% 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	12%	13%

Differences between set designer and designer duties and responsibilities

Set designer example responsibilities.

Develop UNIX shell scripts to automate file manipulation and data loading process.
Develop marketing and brand awareness initiatives through social media outlets; create and manage company Facebook and Houzz profiles.
Used PL/SQL for writing procedures and triggers.
Trouble-Shout, reload and reject records using DTS, SQL scripts.
Create stored procedures, functions, packages, views and triggers using PL/SQL.
Project entail building a Halloween store set for the movie team in Cleveland area.

Designer example responsibilities.

Lead & design all creative content stemming from apparel design to web identity.
Manage various PCB designs utilizing state of the art DFM techniques and comply with company standards.
Utilize CSS, DHTML, HTML, and JavaScript for cross browser, cross platform compatibility and consistency.
Develop different kinds of functions globally, locally for the development of forms using JavaScript, CSS.
Transform customer specifications into usable SolidWorks 3D models and assemblies from which all manufacturing are derived.
Process ECR's and ECO's using Windchill.

Set designer vs designer skills

Common set designer skills

Set Design, 36%
Art Direction, 17%
Photography, 9%
CAD, 6%
Graphic Design, 6%
Concept Development, 5%

Common designer skills

Sketch, 10%
Customer Service, 7%
Graphic Design, 6%
CSS, 5%
HTML, 4%
PowerPoint, 4%

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Set Designer
Set Designer vs Designer

Updated January 8, 2025

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