Graphic design can be found in almost every industry, and a graphic designer can enhance and contribute to the success of any business. Especially now, with the Internet’s reach and capabilities incorporated into everyday business and life.
Considering that the Internet is now affecting almost everyone’s everyday lives, we can expect this type of profession to remain a front-runner in terms of career prospects. Let’s peer into this growing industry and check out the best jobs for graphic designers and the highest-paying jobs you can get in this profession.
What Is a Graphic Designer?
Graphic designers apply various technical skills and knowledge to create attractive designs to steer a company’s consumers to their services and products. A graphic designer’s work is aimed toward the online world today. Many tools are used in the visual design process, including images and moving graphics. Graphic designers create unique concepts for each client.
Your projects and work will cater to a wide spectrum of users and consumers, young and old. Therefore, you’ll need the necessary skills to develop the best designs and attract the specified consumer category. If you are just getting started, you will need to search for information on becoming a graphic designer.
Most professionals going into this field have a graphic design bachelor’s degree, and they use some of their technical skills and training to create designs that will draw consumers. Knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, UX/UI design, page layout design, designing packaging, typography, and social media can lead to a vast array of careers you may want to pursue.
It is important to note that having a degree is not the only way into a promising graphic design career. You can choose not to follow the college route and attend bootcamp courses instead, which may also help you achieve your dream of landing a job in the design industry without going to graphic design school.
What Jobs Are Available to Graphic Designers?
Fortunately, the world of graphic design offers many opportunities that you can pursue. You can recreate yourself either as a new graphic designer or a seasoned professional. With the popularity of social media ads, graphic design jobs are even more important for companies trying to sell their products in an extremely competitive world.
Since this area of the design field is showing loads of versatility, you could, for example, become an animation designer who works in entertainment and designs animations for cartoon programs or online games by using specialized software. Just think about how proud you would be to see your design ideas in a cartoon aired on television.
Or you may want to work in publishing and focus on designing publication covers and layouts. Graphic designers can also work on blogs, books, newspapers, and other physical or digital prints. Imagine seeing your creative design on a book cover in retail stores.
The design field offers various opportunities for freelance graphic designers, especially in today’s post-pandemic world. More people see remote work as a permanent feature in their lives, which ultimately offers them more freedom and a better work-life balance.
Companies That Hire Graphic Designers
- Freelancer.com. This is a company specializing in IT services and consulting, linking potential employers with freelancers worldwide. It is considered the world’s biggest company in the freelancing field. It currently employs around 500 people, although that is most likely only the permanent workforce. It has a staff rating of 3.8 out of five stars.
- Google LLC. This is a company that specializes in digital services and products with digital marketing technologies, including a search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. It also owns some notable companies like Motorola and Fitbit. It currently has over 10,000 staff and is given a rating of 4.3 out of five stars.
- Apple. Arguably the most well-known company in this industry. Apple creates, produces, and promotes a multitude of devices and offers relevant services for its products. Currently, it has over 10,000 people in its workforce and has been rated by its staff at 4.2 out of five stars.
- Aquent. This is a personal services company offering an array of specialized staffing and recruitment services. There are other businesses this company owns, too, such as Aquent Studios and RoboHead. Those companies have more than 10,000 people on the books and are given a rating of four out of five stars by staff.
- Nike. This is one of the world’s best-known and most prominent designers, producers, promoters, and retailers of a wide variety of sporting goods, from shoes to fitness equipment. Over 10,000 people are employed by this company and have given it a rating of 4.1 out of five stars.
10 Highest-Paying Jobs for Graphic Designers
| Job Title | Average Salary | Top 10% Salary |
| Product Designer | $84,316 | $138,499 |
| Art Director | $78,781 | $111,000 |
| Packaging Designer | $71,135 | $105,000 |
| Publication Designer | $66,183 | $114,000 |
| Marketing Manager | $66,085 | $98,000 |
| Market Research Analyst | $63,344 | $85,500 |
| Multimedia Designer | $56,206 | $74,000 |
| Book Cover Designer | $55,135 | $100,000 |
| Production Artist | $50,800 | $75,000 |
| Fashion Designer | $50,793 | $70,000 |
Below we will go into more detail about the highest-paying jobs for graphic designers, discussing what each job entails and what skills you should possess to succeed in these roles.
If you want to become a graphic designer, you may require a degree. However, it is important to note that this is not the only way to get into graphic design. Bootcamps can help you jumpstart your career and achieve your graphic design goals faster.
Product Designer
Product designers create and enhance new or existing products in nearly every business. They design and exhibit these products digitally or by using mock-ups to showcase them to important stakeholders. Product designers will collaborate with many departments in a company to produce the greatest product outcomes for customers and increase the company’s revenue.
An interest in the early stages of product development and the ability to influence the progression and outcome of the production process is a plus. You’ll be able to put your creative ideas and technical skills to good use, and you’ll get a sense of accomplishment when you see your designs on the shelves of a retail chain.
Art Director
Art directors supervise a design team and use their understanding of several art forms to best influence the process of creating the intended designs or images. They coach, hire, schedule project completion timeframes, and manage project budgets.
If you are a person who enjoys facilitating and leading the development of both products and people and has solid communication skills, then this may be the perfect career for you. Being an art director will give you the opportunity to touch base on a few diverse parts of the business and cater to your creative side.
Packaging Director
Packaging directors, also known as creative directors, create packaging and wrapping designs for tons of different kinds of products. They utilize CAD software and inventive thinking techniques, coupled with knowledge of design principles. By taking advantage of these methods they achieve a consumer-friendly experience.
Being someone who thinks a little differently from most is a plus in this profession since you may create a new revolutionary kind of packaging. Your innovative thinking will also enable you to make your designs scalable and interchangeable, enhancing their viability across various products.
Publication Designer
Publication designers use their print and media understanding to produce all visual components of printed publications, whether on paper or digitally. Page layouts, images, and other elements are examples of this. They create a publication that is easy to read, understand, and follow.
For this artistic field, you must be extremely innovative in your thinking. Knowing how variables like visual arrangement, page layout, and text mapping affect your readers’ ability to comprehend the material is essential.
Marketing Manager
A marketing manager leads and manages a team of people responsible for promoting aspects of a business’s products and services. Marketing activities aim to influence consumer market share and awareness positively. Marketing managers also conduct market research and develop innovative ideas to cater to consumer needs based on trends.
You should enjoy running a team of creative thinkers and have the ability to keep your eye on various desired key performance indicators, such as social media, web page design, and data analytics. Marketing managers can influence the entire product life cycle from start to finish.
Market Research Analyst
A market research analyst creates reports on relevant markets or products by collecting and decoding information to help executives and stakeholders in the decision-making process. Based on the results of this research, businesses can make insightful decisions for current and future strategies that will positively affect their financial outcomes.
A love for investigating and decoding information is a must in this creative career. Identifying trends and patterns and anticipating the possible impacts on the business will allow you to increase the business’s ability to stay relevant in the market. This is considered a key aspect regarding any business’s ability to maintain an increase in its future revenue.
Multimedia Designer
Multimedia artists or designers sometimes work as animators and use various technical skills and technologies to design composite animations and graphics with technical programs. Their use of color, motion, and lighting, for example, can make or break the project’s desired outcomes.
Knowledge of multimedia is a must in this graphic design role. Being familiar with the impact of textures or shadows in this design area is also crucial. You should enjoy collaborating with people since this role will deal with a vast and dynamic range of industry professionals working in video gaming or television fields.
"Career Karma entered my life when I needed it most and quickly helped me match with a bootcamp. Two months after graduating, I found my dream job that aligned with my values and goals in life!"
Venus, Software Engineer at Rockbot
Book Cover Designer
A book cover designer is a graphic artist who manages all aspects of the creative process. They deal with graphic design, cover art, typography, create mock-ups, and have knowledge of book marketing. This role involves working with other design professionals to achieve the desired result regardless of the genre.
Even though digital reading is highly popular, printed reading is still widely used and offers a lot of potential for your next graphic design career path. The goal is to apply your graphic design talents to create a suitable cover that draws readers in and leads to curiosity and purchase.
Production Artist
A production artist apprises final designs for various products or services. They are skilled in graphic design and use their critical thinking abilities to approve or reject designs. They look at whether a design caters to a consumer’s requirements. If it does meet the requirements, they may approve it, and if not, they will recommend that further enhancements be performed.
Production artists work with various aspects of technical design in this role. They evaluate features such as colors and how they impact the work and the varying influences of fonts. They also polish and set templates. Having attention to detail assists you in finding and correcting any mistakes at the final stage of your projects before showcasing your designs to stakeholders.
Fashion Designer
A fashion designer creates various products such as shoes, accessories, and clothes. Most fashion designers use CAD programs to design and scale for sizing parameters. They have a firm grasp of what the consumer wants and needs based on research conducted to fulfill the consumer’s desires.
You will love the arts and often experiment with your personal sense of fashion. If this sounds like you, perhaps this is the ideal job for you. Showing off your meticulous scrutiny for styling with appropriate color tones and creating proportional harmony in fashion is part of your daily routine. The setting of trends with your personal style is a huge plus too.
Tips for Finding Success as a Graphic Designer
To have a successful career as a graphic designer, there are some factors you must keep in mind. First, you need to determine the field of graphic design you wish to specialize in. Below you will find a list of all the extra factors you need to consider before pursuing a career as a graphic designer.
- Get a degree in graphic design. Although having a graphic design degree will put you in the running for most of these positions, it is not the only way to break into this sector. If you don’t have a degree, you may need to find a course that you can do part-time or at your own pace. There are many flexible options accessible today.
- Attend a bootcamp. A bootcamp is a school that offers intensive, comprehensive education over a shorter time. There are some fantastic bootcamps out there, and finding the best one for you will definitely put you ahead of any competitors.
- Prepare your resume and cover letter. Writing a professional resume is an art form. There are tons of professional resume writing tips on the Internet, so you can easily find the best resume and cover letter advice to impress potential employers.
- Create your graphic design portfolio. A portfolio can clearly showcase your graphic design skills and create exciting employment opportunities for you despite gaps in your formal education.
- Apply for positions on job boards and online communities. These can be extremely helpful in the hunt for meaningful employment. Some are free and can offer insights into the businesses you seek employment with. Some excellent job boards include Indeed, Monster, Virtual Vocations, and LinkedIn.
Jobs for Graphic Designers Outlook
It’s a good idea to look for graphic designer jobs. We can expect the future of this vocation to be bright, given the technical abilities required and the incredibly rapid development of our digital world and its technology, products, and services.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a three percent job outlook for 2020-2030. It also lists 23,900 current openings in this field, meaning there are plenty of jobs for you. Engaging both your creative and technical skills within the workplace is a plus for anyone wanting to find meaning and happiness in their profession.
This area of technical skills also allows people to work in various dynamic businesses, such as design agencies, advertising agencies, design studios, graphic design firms, and production design, to name a few. Imagine seeing your designs on television, a billboard, bus, or any other public place.
Best Jobs for Graphic Designers FAQ
No. Although most potential employers will require some sort of education in graphic design, there are other ways to achieve this.
You can attend a bootcamp and acquire the technical skills needed, or you can self-study and start working as a freelancer to build up knowledge and experience.
A graphic designer works an average of 37 hours per week. They also work longer hours from time to time, especially when they are behind schedule and need to meet deadlines.
We recommend including six projects. This way, you can adequately showcase a variety of your skills shortly and concisely. Make sure to choose an array of different tasks to show your versatility and skills.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
