While careers in graphic design aren’t exactly synonymous with the salaries you’d expect from, say, the finance or business world, they’re an ideal path for anyone looking combine a love of art with tech-savviness, and a knack for project management and general business.

They’re also in high demand, particularly in sectors known for rapid technological innovation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment of graphic designers in computer systems design and related services is projected to grow 24 percent by 2028.

The field of graphic design covers a wide range of commercial artistry but overall, most often refers to the application of design to things like printed materials, company branding, logos, designs for web, social media—and nearly everything else we look at that has images, words, or both.

In addition to that, with as little as a bachelor’s degree in graphic design in hand, you’ll find that there are an extensive variety of jobs that you can pursue across just as many industries, including advertising, manufacturing, publishing, and education, among a long list of others.

But at the same time, having a nearly endless assortment of specializations and focuses in the field can make it difficult to discern how are designers compensated for their work.

According to the 2020 creative and marketing salary guide from global human resource consulting firm Robert Half, graphic designers pull in a median of $56,750 per year. Not the most comfortable salary, but don’t let it serve as a marker for every graphic design expert out there. One of the biggest salary indicators is the length of career, with experience leading to greater responsibility, promotions, and higher pay.

With this in mind, it’s no surprise that the highest-paying jobs in graphic design make up roles that go beyond the day-to-day grind of churning out mockups and obsessing over fonts to take charge of design and creative teams. Across the board, these positions are known for leading the creative professionals they work with and inspiring them to create the best work possible. And as it turns out, that ability is one that substantial pay.

• What are the Highest Paying Graphic Design Jobs?
• Where do Graphic Designers make the Most Money?
• Which States pay Graphic Designers the Least in the U.S?
• How Much do Graphic Designers Earn in All 50 States in the U.S?
• How can Graphic Designers make money in 2021?
• Is Graphics Design a good Career?
• Is Graphic Design in Demand?
• The 5 Most in‑demand Types of Designers right now
• How do I Sell my Graphic Design?

What are the Highest Paying Graphic Design Jobs?

Graphic designer encapsulates numerous areas, like marketing, tech, and advertising—just to name a few. Because of this, we at Bittbox wanted to help our readers explore various graphic design careers, who’s offering them, and the kind of money available.

Read Also: How to Get Gigs as a Freelance Graphic Designer

We tried to pick a handful of design jobs that cover varying skill, education, and experience level. So, in theory, you can benefit from this list whether you are just beginning your design career, or if you’ve been working in the field for many years.

1. Creative Services Manager – $86,250

It’s common to find creative services managers (CSMs) at work in advertising agencies or corporate settings. In an agency, the CSM initially meets with a new client to fine-tune an idea, whether it’s a new brand concept, the creation of a one-off marketing piece, or even a branded event. In a corporate setting, the process is much the same, but the clients are internal. In this case, they may include marketing directors, product managers, or other leadership.

Once the idea is streamlined and approved, CSMs are responsible for executing it by mapping out budgets and timelines and delegating tasks across a creative team. From here, CSMs will commonly meet with their client to receive feedback as the idea takes shape, and implement their feedback into the final product.

Though CSMs and art directors take part in a similar creative process, CSMs typically ensure the productivity of a given design or creative team. Art directors, on the other hand, focus on style, messaging, and imagery.

To enter the field you’ll most likely need at least a bachelor’s degree in design, media production, or a related field. Companies also prefer candidates to have three to five years of supervisory experience, as well as a wealth of graphic design, photography, and, in some cases, videography expertise.

2. Art Director – $85,750

While it’s up to creative directors to steer their organization’s creative strategy, unify their teams, and foster a positive work environment, the art director focuses on executing the details of the project or projects at hand.

Once a concept is out on the table, art directors are responsible for managing their creative teams through the phases of production, edits, and final execution. Unlike a creative director, they may jump in at certain points in the process to create themselves.

As with all of the jobs on this list, education is a crucial first step for anyone seeking out future work within this role. Most employers prefer candidates to have at least a bachelor’s degree in graphic design, web design, art, animation, or a related field. They also need five or more years of work experience as a graphic designer, editor, photographer, or within a related field is also essential to mastering the technical skills you’ll need to manage a team of creatives.

3. Interactive Art Director – $92,500

This role can most easily be described by taking what you now know about art directors and adding a specialization. Whereas art directors, in general, might manage the creative process behind a variety of projects, interactive art directors pay special focus to projects concerning web and mobile products and services.

Like all art directors, this specialization requires candidates to combine their expertise of design principles with an intuitive sense of style and in-depth knowledge of the markets and technologies that pertain to their work.

Additionally, most interactive art directors will have at least a bachelor’s degree in art or design and five or more years of professional experience. Depending upon the industry, they may work as graphic designers, fine artists, editors, photographers, or in another art or design specialization before advancing to this role.

4. Creative Director – $116,750

Likely the most well-known of leadership positions in the creative sphere, creative directors are responsible for overseeing the creative vision of a company or brand and ensuring that vision manifests in everything their team creates—be it an advertising campaign, fashion line, video game or magazine.

Depending on the size and scope of their organization, they may also tasked to establishes their department’s budgets and timelines, and manage client relationships.

A bachelor’s degree in fine arts or graphic design will be helpful to get your foot in the door of a creative-based company, but it’s going to take more than that to land the title of creative director. While most companies don’t require candidates to hold an advanced degree, some candidates may pursue a master of fine arts (MFA) or master of business administration (MBA) degree to further their skills and knowledge in the field.

And, alongside years of work experience, aspiring creative directors can further prove their dedication to the field by joining professional organizations such as the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the International Council of Design (Ico-D), and the Graphic Arts Guild.

5. User Experience Director – $129,250

A user experience (UX) director exists as the principal leader of a company or brand’s UX department, which focuses on designing digital or physical products that are useful, easy to use, and delightful to interact with. In essence, they work to enhance people’s experience of a product, whether they’re scrolling through a website, clicking a link in a marketing email, or playing a game on their phone.

If a UX director has an overall agenda, it’s to define their organization’s design language while managing their department’s work processes and promoting its growth. Typically, candidates pursuing this role have an extremely high degree of UX design expertise coupled with managerial leadership experience with teams that design service, support, or product systems in areas like technology, media, or software.

In some cases, employers will require a bachelor’s degree in areas like computer science, information systems, design, or even psychology. In others, they may call for graduate-level degrees like an MBA, or a master’s in marketing, design, or engineering.

Where do Graphic Designers make the Most Money?

Graphic designers in the District of Columbia earn the most money on average, with a mean annual wage of $71,180. Here’s a list of the top-10 states in order of the highest average incomes for graphic designers.

Rank	State	2018 Average Annual Wage
1	New York	$64,840
2	Massachusetts	$64,010
3	California	$61,100
4	Connecticut	$60,700
5	Virginia	$60,540
6	Washington	$60,530
7	Alaska	$59,640
8	New Jersey	$59,140
9	Rhode Island	$58,720
10	Maryland	$58,610

New York and Massachusetts take the No. 1 and No. 2 spots with average graphic designer salaries in excess of $64,000 a year. The drop-off from No. 2 to No. 3 is nearly $3,000. Geographically, the U.S. Northeast and West Coast dominate, with the former represented by five states, and the latter by three states. Maryland and Virginia lay in the U.S. South, according to the Census Bureau.

Which States pay Graphic Designers the Least in the U.S?

The states that pay graphic designers the least are a mix of states in the U.S. Census-designated West North Central division (South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa), Mountain division (Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico) and South region (Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Kentucky)

Rank	State	2018 Average Annual Wage
50	South Dakota	$36,300
49	Wyoming	$38,490
48	Oklahoma	$40,710
47	North Dakota	$41,800
46	Montana	$42,220
45	Arkansas	$42,250
44	Mississippi	$42,640
43	Iowa	$43,920
42	New Mexico	$44,040
41	Kentucky	$44,550

How Much do Graphic Designers Earn in All 50 States in the U.S?

Here’s a look at average graphic designer salaries by state. Each state’s overall ranking is included, and D.C. is included as well.

Rank	State	2018 Average Annual Wage
33	Alabama	$46,960
7	Alaska	$59,640
15	Arizona	$54,030
45	Arkansas	$42,250
3	California	$61,100
13	Colorado	$56,670
4	Connecticut	$60,700
20	Delaware	$50,920
	District of Columbia	$71,180
27	Florida	$48,780
14	Georgia	$54,260
19	Hawaii	$51,690
38	Idaho	$45,620
11	Illinois	$56,890
40	Indiana	$45,030
43	Iowa	$43,920
34	Kansas	$46,270
41	Kentucky	$44,550
37	Louisiana	$45,660
35	Maine	$45,800
10	Maryland	$58,610
2	Massachusetts	$64,010
32	Michigan	$47,700
16	Minnesota	$53,500
44	Mississippi	$42,640
22	Missouri	$50,350
46	Montana	$42,220
30	Nebraska	$47,980
26	Nevada	$49,330
18	New Hampshire	$51,710
8	New Jersey	$59,140
42	New Mexico	$44,040
1	New York	$64,840
25	North Carolina	$49,700
47	North Dakota	$41,800
23	Ohio	$50,130
48	Oklahoma	$40,710
12	Oregon	$56,690
17	Pennsylvania	$53,050
9	Rhode Island	$58,720
36	South Carolina	$45,790
50	South Dakota	$36,300
28	Tennessee	$48,760
21	Texas	$50,700
29	Utah	$48,130
24	Vermont	$50,000
5	Virginia	$60,540
6	Washington	$60,530
39	West Virginia	$45,360
31	Wisconsin	$47,980
49	Wyoming	$38,490

Graphic designer salaries in Hawaii have seen very impressive growth from 2015 to 2018. In 2015, the average annual salary for a graphic designer was $41,670. By 2018, that had risen to $51,690, an increase of 24% in three years. Other states that have seen excellent growth in incomes from 2015 to 2018 include:

• Alaska: 16.9% increase
• Idaho: 16.7% increase
• Arizona: 16.6% increase
• South Carolina: 16.4% increase
• Mississippi: 16.3% increase

How can Graphic Designers make money in 2021?

There are many ways to make money online as a graphic designer, no matter what niche you’re interested in! If you’re wondering how to become a graphic designer, have a look at this list and start selling or making some of these items.

1. Create and Sell Templates

This is arguably one of the most profitable ways to get passive income for graphic designers. With this approach, all you have to do is make templates of any kind, which could be for ebooks, posters, invitations, or Pinterest graphics. Then, sell the templates online.

Many small business owners and bloggers who are always in a time crunch or who don’t have the skillset to create their own designs from scratch love purchasing these products because of how simple it is to customize them.

Once you have your own template shop set up and you put in the work, you could earn income without doing much else besides marketing your products.

2. Share Knowledge Through Workshops or Webinars

Online learning is at an all-time high, and I’m sure many of you reading this would even attend an online workshop on ‘How to Make Money as a Graphic Designer.’

If you’ve studied graphic design or feel that you know enough about it, then sell access to online courses, workshops, training, or webinars where you introduce others to the topic who may not know a whole lot about it.

Even if you just discuss basics, you’d be helping out many people and making some money along the way.

3. Sell Stickers

Due to the recent popularity of TikTok, small sticker shops are on the rise. To make stickers, all you need access to is Photoshop or Canva to make text-based stickers, or an iPad for illustrative stickers. 

The great thing about creating stickers is that you can use dropshipping, which essentially means that you don’t have to be in charge of packing and sending them out if you don’t want to be.

You can hire a third-party vendor to manage all your sales, and you’ll still get more money in your pocket at the end of the day. The best places to sell stickers include Etsy, RedBubble, and Society6. You can also consider hosting your own website with your designs on Shopify.

4. Be A Design Consultant

If you want to make money as a graphic designer with high-ticket items, then becoming a design consultant might be the job for you.

With this, you essentially sell an hour or two of your time to someone who wants your opinions and ideas on graphic design for their own business. You set your hourly rate and coach and advise potential designers — giving them advice and pointing them in the right direction. 

5. Design Fonts for Creative Market or Etsy

Fonts are a great way to make passive income for graphic designers if you’re interested in typography. There are many ways to easily make fonts, even just with your own handwriting, which you can then sell for up to $100 on websites like Creative Market or Etsy.

6. Make Pre-Made Logo Packages

Similar to creating and selling templates, you could create and sell a wide variety of different logos that are already set up as vectors.

This is a popular way that many smaller businesses that can’t afford personalized branding packages create their own logos. All they have to do is open the design file and swap out the words and colours, and voila, they have their own new logo. 

7. Sell Customized Branding Packages

Branding is one of the other high-ticket services that you can offer as a graphic designer, as these can cost up to $4000 if you’re in high demand.

These packages include a personalized logo, colour scheme, fonts, patterns, and other similar items that help brands define themselves.

8. Create and Sell Printables

Passive income for graphic designers is easy to come by if you create and sell printables online through a platform like Etsy. You could make printables for teachers, students, travelers, literally anything that you can think of!

The great thing about printables is that they are a digital product, so all you have to do is automate your process to immediately send a PDF version of the printable once it’s purchased. You don’t even have to worry about shipping.

9. Work With Clients As A Freelancer

Working with clients is a great route to take if you like a variety of tasks to work on.

By working with clients, you could be designing logos one day and then helping with the layout design of a printed magazine the next. More information on finding these jobs can be found further down in this article.

10. Design Social Media Graphics and Highlight Covers

Social media graphics are another popular way to make money as a graphic designer. Everyone needs help with social media, and you could sell packs of social media templates or pre-made Instagram highlight covers for a small price which can add up over time.

Is Graphics Design a good Career?

Graphic design can cover a wide range of commercial artistry but most often refers to the application of design to things like printed materials, company branding, logos, signage, designs for web, social media channels, and things most people never notice but look at every single day.

Things like product packaging, billboard designs, and nearly everything you look at on a daily basis that has images and words occurring together (and sometimes only one or the other) was created by a graphic designer.

Everything from that adorable clothing tag to the brochure at your dentist’s office—and everything in between. That is graphic design.

Whether graphic design is a good career choice is not entirely up to you (or me). People who want to be designers usually find that they have no natural ability, no matter how much schooling they have. Others may pick it up as naturally as a musician picks up a tune. One thing is true, if you apply yourself and practice, you can become a great designer (but this also doesn’t mean that you will become one).

Graphic design is not a career for everyone. As a job, we invite (and even require) criticism every single day. Our jobs require thick skin, great communication, intelligence, intuition, creativity, and technical skill. We do much more than “make things pretty” or “sit around and color all day.”

We truly give a face to your business, a feel to your web page, and do our best to create things to be remembered, whether sentimental or business. Our goal remains united: to make the world a more aesthetically pleasing, correctly spelled, well kerned place, and to show the world that being a great designer does not happen in the fx panel in Photoshop.

The obvious appeal for you is the creative nature of this career path. But there are some other lesser-known perks that graphic designers enjoy.

• The versatility: Almost every organization could utilize the skills of a graphic designer. Whether it’s a new logo, a product package, an informational brochure, a sales presentation or a website mock-up, companies of all types and sizes need creative professionals to bring their ideas to life. This allows for plenty of versatility—both in work settings and the types of projects.
• The growth potential: You’re now aware that with a graphic design major under your belt, you’ll be prepared to take on a variety of roles. But the field is constantly in flux, which means there will always be new tools and technologies to master as you advance in your career. If you’re willing to learn and grow as you go, you could work your way up to become a creative director or specialize in a niche area such as UX design or animation.
• The options of work environment: Graphic designers have the ability to choose from a variety of work settings: in-house, in an agency or freelance. That means whether you’d prefer the fast-paced environment of an agency, the stability of an in-house role or the freedom of a freelance operation, you can design a career that fits your needs.

Is Graphic Design in Demand?

Graphic design is a career sought after by many people. It is a creative profession that commands a decent salary and is needed by many businesses. However, there are some nuances to the big picture aspiring graphic designers should understand.

Unfortunately, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a slower than average growth rate in the graphic design profession, at 4 percent. However, there is more to it than that. Graphic designers working in different areas face different employment landscapes.

For example, a steep decline of 22 percent is expected among graphic designers working with newspapers, books and periodicals. Graphic designers working in digital areas such as computer systems design can expect a 20 percent growth rate. Digital media will undeniably be where most work in this profession comes from in the foreseeable future.

The situation for professional graphic designers is rather complicated. Many organizations need graphic designers to help market themselves, yet saturation in the field and outsourcing can make it harder to find stable jobs. Graphic design students should focus on honing their craft, creating a strong portfolio of work and looking for ways to stand out from the competition when job searching.

The 5 Most in‑demand Types of Designers right now

A recent survey of over 17K designers and design teams in Global Design Survey to better understand the job growth of different designer roles in today’s landscape. We wanted to find out, which types of design jobs are companies most likely to hire for next?

Below you’ll find the top five roles that global design teams identified as looking to onboard this year. Use this information to help you to better understand the demographics of design and where the industry is headed in the near future.

Maybe you’ll be inspired to level up your design career by learning new skills in a coveted field or sharpen up your existing skillsets to shine even brighter in the hiring pool. Let’s jump in!

1. Product Designer

The most coveted role that design teams are currently looking to hire for are product designers. Brands understand now more than ever how the success of their business is strongly correlated to the quality of their product design. Hiring great product designers is an intelligent, strategic investment, and this strongly resonates across all types of businesses.

2. Graphic Designer

Graphic design is still going strong. According to our data, it’s is the second most desired design skill that teams are currently looking to hire for. Strong visual communication is needed now more than ever for brands in the tech space whether it be for social media, marketing collateral, print, or brand identity work. If you’re an Adobe Photoshop wizard, know that you’re a coveted candidate to hire, and creative directors are seeking you out!

3. UX Designer

UX design—once a buzzword is now an incredibly competitive field of design. User experience designers are at the heart of the customer experience, and companies are seriously investing in these roles (with good reason). Without careful consideration of a product’s UX, you may just risk losing a ton of business. It’s safe to say, the need for UX designers isn’t going away anytime soon.

4. Illustrator

Gone are the days where illustration could only be found in print. With the growing digital age, illustration has slowly begun to expand into product design, as big and small brands start to understand the value custom illustration can bring to their business. As more tech giants begin to embrace this form of art, we’re seeing illustration become a defining piece of many brand identities, and in turn, influencing other brands to get in on the action.

5. Motion Designer

It’s no surprise that motion designers are in high demand—animation has become an incredibly desirable skillset, identified by designers as the top skill they want to learn in the next few years to advance in their careers.

The good news is, whatever design skill you specialize in, motion design can be applied to nearly all types of design—from web interactions, UI animations, to bringing static illustrations or branding to life. Multimedia artists are in high demand, and we only expect the need for this role to continue growing.

How do I Sell my Graphic Design?

As a designer, you may be seeking ways to establish your own graphic design business. But that may take time. Until then, you can earn a regular passive income by selling your design products online.

So, if you are interested in selling the type of design works you create, you should be aware of the sites that allow you to sell online.

1. Designhill

Designhill is a leading marketplace where the designers and business owners come together to create useful design works. But the designers can use this platform to sell their quality designs such as logos, brochures, business cards, custom mugs and many others. You can also use its shirt design maker to create your designs.

If you are looking for freelance graphic design jobs, this is an ideal site as hundreds of business owners or clients launch their design contests at this site. You can win these contests and get the prize money, besides selling your own works.

2. Etsy

When you visit Etsy, you’ll feel like you have come to a craft fair. This is another globally recognized online site that allows sales of all types of designs. But the site is mainly interested in selling handmade goods and vintage items. You can get a reasonable price of these design pieces from this site. There are 30 million shoppers registered with this platform for retail selling of the crafts. Thus, you are selling your works to a global audience.

The price of listing an item here is $0.20 for four months. However, you will face a fierce competition, which means only high-quality design items have the chance to sell at a reasonable price. So, if you have confidence in your quality graphic design services that create great designs, then sell them through this site.

3. Creative Market

Creative Market is one of the most popular sites to sell your design work online. This is an ideal site where you can sell your website themes, print templates, graphics, fonts, and other works online. You can sell even your 3D assets and photos. Thousands of potential sellers visit this site daily.

One of the key features of this site is that the designers are not bound by any lock-in period. Just set your own price of the design work online. The site lets you take away 70 percent of the sales price home.

4. Art Web

You can sell digital downloads, art, graphic designs, prints, illustrations, paintings, shirt printing designs and other works at Art Web, which is an e-commerce site. You can hope to sell your designs at the global stage. This is also an ideal site to build a strong network of artists. This network helps designers to make money.

A good feature of the site is that it functions on a no-commission base. If you are new to the site and want to try how it works for you, then you can start with the site’s free plan that gives you access to a gallery of 15 images.

05. Design Cuts

Design Cuts is a prominent community-driven marketplace where you can sell your very high-quality design works at attractive prices. But they allow only the best designers to sell their works form the marketplace.

If they enroll you as a member, then, you are assured of easy access to their large base of loyal customers. The site also offers a wide range of products such as illustrations, icons, patterns, infographics, photos, textures, etc to buyers at heavy discounts.

6. Threadless

At Threadless, you are allowed to open your own artist shop for free to sell your design work online. This is a site where your community of like-minded artists is active. The site also allows you to put your work for a public review. If a majority of people from the community vote positively for your work, the site helps your promote your works so that you can sell and earn easily.

7. Zazzle

Zazzle is the online marketplace that you should confidently explore to sell your design products to a wide range of audiences. You can build your online store for free. This site gives you access to its high-quality tools to sell all kinds of designs such as T-shirts, posters, business cards, calendars, stamps, tote bags, and many others.

8. Redbubble

One of the key advantages of selling your design work online at Redbubble is that you can decide and set your profit margin rate. This means that how much will you earn is entirely up to you.

Read Also: Using Skills In 3D Animation To Make Money As A Digital Graphics Artist

The site is also home to many artist groups, which serves as a source of inspiration to creative designers. You can join the site free to make money online. The site lets you know about your earnings regularly.

9. MyFonts

MyFonts is an ideal choice when you want to sell exciting fonts that you created and own. This site gives you a massive audience of potential customers who are looking for some unique fonts. The site also has an extensive collection of fonts that the buyers can search by keywords.

10. Not On The High Street

The High Street is another site where you can sell your design work online. This platform is your source of a massive number of potential buyers of your works at one place.

The site has two million visitors coming to it per month. So, explore this website extensively to get a reasonable price for your creative artworks.

Finally

The good news is that graphic designer salaries are typically higher than the average occupation. Knowing this, you can confidently explore your options and pursue your desired profession. The next step is acquiring the necessary training and education to qualify yourself for these positions.