Positions

Solo designer

A freelance or self-employed design professional who works independently of a company and has no employees.

Owner, partner, principal

An owner, partner, principal holds an equity position and has major business responsibility for a firm with employees.

Creative/Design director

A creative director or design director is the creative head of a design firm, advertising agency or an in-house corporate design department. In all of these areas, key responsibilities can include the development of graphic design, advertising, communications and industrial design publications.

Art director

The art director establishes the conceptual and stylistic direction for design staff and orchestrates their work, as well as the work of production artists, photographers, illustrators, prepress technicians, printers and anyone else who is involved in the development of a project. The art director generally selects vendors and, if there isn’t a creative director on staff, has final creative authority.

Senior designer

The senior designer is responsible for conceptualization and design of solutions from concept to completion. In some firms, a senior designer directs the work of one or more junior designers, who generate comps and create layouts and final art. In some cases, senior designers do not manage staff but are designated “senior” because of their authority in design decision making.

Designer

A designer is responsible for the conceptualization and design of graphic applications such as collateral material, environmental graphics, books and magazines, corporate identity, film titling and multimedia interfaces, to their completion.

Entry-level designer

An entry-level designer is one to two years out of school and requires mentoring in all aspects of design conception and implementation.

Print production artist

A print production artist has a working understanding of layout, type and color and is able to take instructions from a designer and create a complete layout, working proficiently in InDesign, QuarkXPress, Photoshop and Illustrator. Responsibilities also include producing final files that image properly to printer specification.

Web designer

A web designer determines and develops the look and feel of sites and is responsible for site-navigation design and visual execution.

Copywriter

A copywriter writes, edits and proofs promotional or publicity copy for print or electronic publications. At higher levels, copywriters are often responsible for strategic and conceptual development of messages and stories.

Print production manager

A print production manager is responsible for overseeing the publication process from concept through production, including bids, scheduling, photography, separations, 4-color press work, digital production, and delivery. Print production managers are strong project managers, handling multiple jobs simultaneously. In some cases, proficiency in InDesign, Quark, Photoshop and Illustrator is desirable in this role.

Marketing/New business manager or director

A marketing or new business professional is responsible for seeking business opportunities, developing proposals and marketing the firm’s practices.

Web developer (front-end/interface systems)

A front-end developer uses HTML/JavaScript/ASP/ColdFusion and other tools to develop static and dynamic web pages.

Web programmer/developer (back-end systems)

A back-end programmer works with web server systems and web databases, develops web queries to databases and programs web applications.

Web/Senior/Executive Producer

A web producer organizes web development teams and ensures adherence to budget, schedule and design of website development.

Content developer

A content developer, also known as a web writer or editor, is responsible for the production and repurposing of text/graphic/audio content on sites.

Compensation measures

• Salary/wages Average annual full-time salary/wages.
• Total cash compensation Average annual total cash compensation includes salary/wages PLUS bonuses, profit sharing, incentive pay, etc. Excludes the value of employee benefits, perks and deferred compensation.

Statistics

25th percentile

25 percent of those in this position, under these circumstances, earn less than this amount.

Median

50 percent of those in this position, under these circumstances, earn less than this amount.

75th percentile

75 percent of those in this position, under these circumstances, earn less than this amount.

Locations

Results are available for 31 major metropolitan areas (Core-Based Statistical Areas):

• Atlanta
• Austin
• Baltimore
• Boston
• Chicago
• Cincinnati
• Cleveland
• Dallas
• Denver
• Detroit
• Houston
• Indianapolis
• Kansas City
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• Minneapolis/St. Paul
• Nashville
• New York
• Omaha
• Orlando
• Philadelphia
• Phoenix
• Pittsburgh
• Portland
• Raleigh
• Richmond
• San Diego
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• St. Louis
• Washington, D.C.

Results are also available for the nine standard U.S. Census divisions

New England

CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT

Middle Atlantic

NJ, NY, PA

South Atlantic

DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, PR, SC, VA, WV

East North Central

IL, IN, MI, OH, WI

East South Central

AL, KY, MS, TN

West North Central

IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD

West South Central

AR, LA, OK, TX

Mountain

AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY

Pacific

AK, CA, HI, OR, WA