Graphic Designer: Salaries, Skills, Responsibilities and More

There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing your hard work on a billboard, poster or online advertisement. Being a graphic designer means never getting bored - you will go on to experience a multitude of design jobs and your creative mind will always be challenged.

But is it a fruitful career in terms of money and growth? Let’s dive in.

Are graphic designers in demand?

According to CareerFoundry, the demand for graphic designers is among the top 10 most in-demand job titles in 2022, with the first being a product designer. It’s no surprise though as graphic design is a need for many industries, especially for branding aspects such as logos, marketing collaterals or campaign key visuals.

Zippia states there are over 118,080 graphic designers employed in the United States (US).

The top industry hiring graphic designers are Fortune 500 companies (17%), with media (14%) trailing closely behind, followed by retail (11%), professional (10%) and technology (10%).

On the other hand, some may argue that graphic design is a dying profession because of new technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) taking over design work.

However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that employment of graphic designers is projected to grow 3% from 2020 to 2030 - albeit, slower than other occupations. But data reveals that openings for graphic designer positions are mostly replacements of workers who have transferred or exited the labor force altogether, which could account for the slow growth.

Fret not, a large part of design is conceptualization - a skill that requires the human mind. Current AI solutions do not have the ability to understand the brand as deeply as a graphic designer would to form concepts that reach audiences.

What does a graphic designer do?

There are two types of graphic designers - a generalist that does everything, or a specialized graphic designer that focuses on one aspect, such as motion graphics or 3D graphic design.

But in general, graphic designers create creative assets, including billboards, posters, digital collaterals, packaging, out-of-home advertising, branding elements (logos, brand guidelines), and practically everything related to marketing or branding.

Skills and responsibilities of a graphics designer

Like every other job: the more skills you have, the more marketable you are, which means the more money you can earn.

But skills don't necessarily have to come from job experience, it can also come through education or course certifications. So, let’s take a look at the must-have skills as a graphic designer and what responsibilities you’ll probably be tasked with.

What skills should a graphic designer have?

• Typography: Typography is a powerful tool when it comes to graphic design - it helps emphasize your messaging with visual hierarchy. After all, words are the best ways to communicate to the audience. Graphic designers will need to understand the fundamentals of typography such as how fonts are made, and how to make words appear visually eye-catching and understandable for the audience.  
• Expertise in the right software: Graphic designers need to know how to work these essential tools - Figma, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign. You’ll need these tools to do almost everything from editing photos to creating your own icon designs.
• Creative eye: Being a graphic designer is all about creativity. Graphic designers need to be creative not only with colors or design, but also creative in ways to bring forth the messaging to reach the targeted audience. You may also be tasked to come up with branding assets such as logos. Having an eye for creative visuals is a skill to ensure your designs are innovative and effective.
• Digital design: Going digital is a large part of many companies and knowing how to design digital assets such as Google display ads or social ads is imperative. You will need to understand the ideal dimensions of such assets, and what kind of designs are most effective. Displays or website banners tend to have limited space, so you will need to be strategic in your visuals.
• HTML and CSS: These skills are a bonus. Fret not, you don’t have to be experts at coding. However, if you design for websites, knowing the basics of HTML and CSS (and even JavaScript) can give you an edge when it comes to applying to jobs, as you’ll understand how your design gets translated into code, as well as work better with developers.

What responsibilities does a graphic designer have?

• Understand and advice for design briefs: A graphic designer will receive briefs from different departments and will need to understand ways to design for these varying teams. It can range from designing internal human resource assets to creating performance ads. As a graphic designer, it is your role to understand these needs, and advise the best solution on the design concept.
• Ideation and conceptualization: After receiving the brief, you will need to propose several different design concepts, especially if it is a major campaign. Graphic designers are considered masters of creative assets and many turn to them on how to creatively conceptualize an idea. Graphic designers may also need to pitch concepts for major branding items such as logos or large-scale campaigns.
• Collaborate with other teams: Graphic designers are a need for almost every department. In this role, a designer is expected to collaborate with various teams, from social media to corporate communication.

How much is a graphic designer’s salary?

When it comes to salary research, you’ll find that the numbers vary. This is because it depends on where you get your data from. Job boards generate salary averages from data collected from those who use their platform.

To get better insight into the salary of a graphic designer, we will be comparing averages from different job boards. These are the average annual salaries in the US that we have found:

• Payscale: average of $47,955
• Talent.com: average of $48,795
• Zippia: average of $49,450
• Indeed: average of $54,117
• Glassdoor: average of $50,122

However, these figures are based on base pay - it does not take into account additional compensation (bonus, commission, tips, etc.) or allowances. Glassdoor’s overall average hikes up to $95,316 after taking into account additional pay received!

Now, let’s look into the differences of graphic designer salaries by location and experience, as well as how they compare to other design roles.

Graphic designer salary by location

According to Talent.com, New York recorded the highest average with $63,375, followed by Massachusetts ($62,075) and Minnesota ($60,000).

Meanwhile, the lowest average is in South Dakota with $34,613, while New Mexico’s average figures are only $378 higher.

On the other hand, Indeed records the highest graphic designer salary in Los Angeles at $64,033, followed by Portland ($59,188) and New York ($58,260).

Meanwhile, Zippia states the highest paying city at an average of $63,052 is Washington DC. Boston comes in second with a graphic designer salary at $58,402, and Seattle follows with $57,758.

Generally, graphic designer salaries from the highest cities listed in these job boards are not that different. However, the region or city that records the highest averages tend to differ with these websites. This could be due to the difference in the data recorded.

Graphic designer salary by experience

Of course, with experience comes more money. So, let’s take a closer look at the different titles for a graphic designer and compare it to the average earnings.

A Lead Graphic Designer’s average salary on Zippia is 25% higher than what is recorded on Talent.com, which isn’t a stark difference. Other figures for Senior Graphic Designer and Junior Graphic Designer salaries are not that far apart as well - however, Talent.com and Zippia state slightly higher averages than Indeed and Glassdoor for these two roles.

PayScale reveals that an entry-level product designer with less than one year of experience earns about 16% less than the average annual salary of $47,955. Here’s what PayScale reveals in terms of experience when it comes to graphic designer salaries:

• Less than one year experience: average of $40,468
• One to four years experience: average of $45,427
• Five to nine years experience: average of $50,756
• 10 to 19 years of experience: average of $52,133
• 20 years and higher of experience: average of 53,010

Graphic designer salaries compared to other design roles

When it comes to design, there are many different roles that you can take on and potentially, earn more. You can read about the different types of design and creative roles here - we found that UI and UX designers can earn more than $100,000 annually. Nevertheless, illustrators earn around $60,000 and 3D artists can earn roughly $70,000, which is around the mark of a graphic designer’s average salary.

The differences in pay from roles such as a user experience (UX) designer could stem from the demand in growing industries, such as tech, where UX designers are tasked with designing websites and app interfaces.

Meanwhile, according to CareerFoundry, product designers top the list in terms of demand for design talent with an average salary above $100,000. You can read a more in-depth guide to product designer salaries here if you're interested in learning more.

Graphic designer specializations salaries

As we mentioned, there are some specialized roles graphic designers can take on such as motion design or 3D work. With this, there could be an opportunity to earn more.

Here’s a breakdown on how much you can earn for these roles, compared to a general graphic design role.

Based on these averages, a creative director earns the most - up to 179% higher than a graphic designer’s salary! But this could possibly be because it is a lead role. Many creative designers start their careers as a graphic designer and eventually climb the ladder to become a creative director.

Becoming specialized as a motion graphics designer could also rake in a higher salary up to 60% higher than the average graphic designer salary. Learning these extra skills could benefit you should you decide to specialize in the future.

Here’s how you can boost your graphic designer salary

There are ways you can give yourself that extra shot at negotiating a higher pay - here are two things to note.  

1. Bring up your education level

If you are thinking of becoming a graphic designer throughout your entire career path, then it is worth it to invest in your education. According to Zippia, graphic designers who have a Master’s Degree earn about 75% higher at $53,731 annually than those with a Bachelor’s Degree at $49,963.

2. Learn extra skills

If you have extra skills such as HTML, those are considered as bonuses for employers - especially those in the tech industry. This gives you some leverage when it comes to negotiating your salary because essentially, employers are paying you for your service and with extra service, comes extra costs.

According to PayScale, there are skills that affect graphic designer salaries. Those with knowledge of Blender, a popular 3D graphic tool, can earn 37% higher!

Thankfully, the wonderful World Wide Web has given us access to various online courses that do not need any physical attendance. On top of that, most of these courses come with certification too. You can check our Udemy or Coursera for graphic design courses.

Earn cash on the side with freelance jobs

Freelancing is another avenue you can earn as a graphic designer. This is good for those who love remote work, or are thinking of ways to earn a little extra from a side gig. Plus, the average base salary of a freelance graphic designer’s salary, according to Glassdoor, is $42,237. It hikes up to $84,043 a year when including figures from additional pay!

Meanwhile, PayScale records an average of $49,948 - that’s about $30.19 per hour. There are job listings that are specifically for freelance graphic designers on these job boards. Besides that, you can check out platforms such as Upwork or Fiverr as well to find short-term freelance gigs.

Contribute to IconScout as a side gig

You could also think about contributing to IconScout if you are looking for some extra cash flow - we have some of the highest royalty payouts in the industry!

You’ll also enjoy rights to your own work, while uploading your resources is made easy so you can concentrate on creating the best assets. Payouts are also simple and made to a PayPal account. So, if this is something you’d be interested in, find out more on how to be an IconScout contributor now.