Post job

Student graphic designer vs lead designer

The differences between student graphic designers and lead 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 student graphic designer and a lead designer. Additionally, a lead designer has an average salary of $110,001, which is higher than the $27,337 average annual salary of a student graphic designer.

The top three skills for a student graphic designer include graphic design, event posters and GPA. The most important skills for a lead designer are sketch, user experience, and architecture.

Student graphic designer vs lead designer overview

Student Graphic DesignerLead Designer
Yearly salary$27,337$110,001
Hourly rate$13.14$52.89
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs55,50845,423
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 76%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age3838
Years of experience1212

What does a student graphic designer do?

Student Graphic Designer is committed to embroidering the school's promotional and recreational work. He/she must be studying artistic skills to design the school's portfolio. Student graphic designer does prepare graphics for flyers, pamphlets, journals, magazines, posters, and brochures.

What does a lead designer do?

A lead designer is responsible for addressing the clients' needs of digital content and coordinating with the design team for the planning and innovation of the visual design and concept. Lead designers conduct the initial layout of frameworks and collaborate with the art staff for the specifications and outputs using various software applications and digital boards. They regularly update the client of the project's status, including adjustment and design recommendations, ensuring that the plan meets the client's budget goals. A lead designer must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on running diagnostic tests to improve optimal performance.

Student graphic designer vs lead designer salary

Student graphic designers and lead designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Student Graphic DesignerLead Designer
Average salary$27,337$110,001
Salary rangeBetween $21,000 And $34,000Between $78,000 And $154,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Airbnb
Best paying industry-Start-up

Differences between student graphic designer and lead designer education

There are a few differences between a student graphic designer and a lead designer in terms of educational background:

Student Graphic DesignerLead Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 76%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeCarnegie Mellon UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Student graphic designer vs lead designer demographics

Here are the differences between student graphic designers' and lead designers' demographics:

Student Graphic DesignerLead Designer
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 49.0% Female, 51.0%Male, 73.2% Female, 26.8%
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 student graphic designer and lead designer duties and responsibilities

Student graphic designer example responsibilities.

  • Research lead to sketch iteration, which lead to full scale prototypes.
  • Create and manage digital media content for department and resource center websites, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
  • Manage data migrations and SharePoint integration for corporate Intranet with external consultants.
  • Design closet units and formations in 2D and 3D using SolidEdge, AutoCAD, TeamCenter.
  • Create and maintain digital 3D and 2D design packages using Pro/E and AutoCAD design tools.
  • Create package design, branding, and doing photography for clients that are starting up small businesses.
  • Show more

Lead designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead development of HTML5, CSS3 and mobile platform prototypes.
  • Lead team in fit meetings and collaborate with TD on sketch updates.
  • Lead & design all creative content stemming from apparel design to web identity.
  • Prepare HTML, CSS and JavaScript coding guides and best practices, and implement, enforce through peer code reviews.
  • Provide expertise skills in CSS, dynamic HTML, java script, and Java development languages.
  • Develop interactive UI features, database schema design, security module design and development.
  • Show more

Student graphic designer vs lead designer skills

Common student graphic designer skills
  • Graphic Design, 13%
  • Event Posters, 8%
  • GPA, 7%
  • Web Banners, 6%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 5%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 5%
Common lead designer skills
  • Sketch, 14%
  • User Experience, 6%
  • Architecture, 5%
  • UI, 5%
  • Design Solutions, 5%
  • Project Management, 4%

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs