Arts, design, media and sports
Graphic designer
Design or create graphics to meet specific commercial or promotional needs, such as packaging, displays, or logos. May use a variety of mediums to achieve artistic or decorative effects.
Median pay
$62,960
Growth to 2035
−2%
little or no change
Openings a year
16,000
Time to qualify*
16 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Graphic designer
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
- Required
- No license; portfolio is the gate
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Graphic designer: 55% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Key information into computer equipment to create layouts for client or supervisor.
- Review final layouts and suggest improvements, as needed.
- Determine size and arrangement of illustrative material and copy, and select style and size of type.
- Develop graphics and layouts for product illustrations, company logos, and Web sites.
- Create designs, concepts, and sample layouts, based on knowledge of layout principles and esthetic design concepts.
- Use computer software to generate new images.
- Prepare digital files for printing.
- Confer with clients to discuss and determine layout design.
Also called: Artist · Brand Designer · Designer · Graphic Artist · Graphic Design Coordinator · Graphic Designer · Online Producer · Production Artist
Outlook and AI
Graphic designers held 253,100 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 248,800 by 2035 (−2%, little or no change; all jobs: +3.5%).
Productivity change, capital/labor substitution - share decreases as new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), replace some workers and make other workers more efficient.
Compare with
- Graphic designer vs. UX designer
- Graphic designer vs. Marketing specialist
- Graphic designer vs. Special effects artists and animators
- Graphic designer vs. Art director
- Graphic designer vs. Fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators
- Graphic designer vs. Desktop publisher
- Graphic designer vs. Set and exhibit designers
- Graphic designer vs. Commercial and industrial designers
- Graphic designer vs. Interior designer
- Graphic designer vs. Software engineer