Graphic Design Career Path: How to Start, Grow, and Thrive in Graphic Design

The graphic design career path opens up myriad job opportunities, most of which allow you to harness your creativity on a daily basis. Just think about it: Everywhere you look, no matter where you are, you can probably pinpoint at least a few pieces of media within your direct line of sight that can be credited to a graphic designer. Graphic design is crucial in creating logos, product packaging, book jackets, ads, brochures, magazines, and so much more.

The industry should grow, too, according to IBIS World, with particular demand rising in the online advertising space. [1] Advertising is only one of the many industries where graphic designers can find work. Explore the various career paths available to graphic designers, what to expect with each, and how to start pursuing the option best aligned with your career goals. 

What does a graphic designer do?

A graphic designer will first strive to fully understand the goal of their project (whether that’s to sell a product, present information to a reader, etc.), determine the design elements that will best meet that goal, and execute the design process.

On a more granular level, this might involve discussing the project with other teams or clients, choosing colors or typefaces, devising different design options and presenting them to teams or clients, using software to create the final design, and proofing designs before publication. 

Entry-level roles in graphic design

After obtaining a degree in graphic design or a related subject—or if a degree is not in your plans, pursuing other educational opportunities, like an Xbox Graphic Designer Professional Certificate—you might begin pursuing one of these entry-level graphic design jobs before expanding on your skill set, experience, and portfolio to obtain a mid-level role. 

Junior graphic designer

Average annual base salary (US): $67,207 [2]

A junior graphic designer directly works on design projects. In this position, you help with the ideation, drafting, and editing processes to ensure design projects meet expectations. Often, you will work under more experienced design professionals who provide feedback and guidance.

Since this job is entry-level, requirements are minimal and typically include educational requirements and familiarity and expertise with the various software and other tools that graphic designers often use. 

Production artist

Average annual base salary (US): $64,688 [3]

A production artist is similar but not quite the same as a junior graphic designer. Where a junior graphic designer may work on the ideation and revision processes necessary for graphic design, the production artist is all about just that: production. In this job, you execute the ideas. If you love the technical aspects of graphic design but aren’t keen on the strategy portion, such as working with a client to ensure a graphic achieves a certain goal, then you may prefer a production artist career path.

One of the most important requirements for a production artist is a high level of technical proficiency, such as in using graphic design software. 

Mid-level roles in graphic design

After a few years of work in an entry-level role or after acquiring additional skills and expertise, you may be able to acquire a mid-level role in graphic design, such as a graphic designer or digital designer. 

Graphic designer

Average annual base salary (US): $67,710 [4]

A graphic designer’s role is quite similar to that of a junior graphic designer, but as a graphic designer, you enjoy more responsibility and freedom. You’ll work with other teams or clients to discuss a design project’s goals and complete the technical work of creating the needed design.

Digital designer

Average annual base salary (US): $73,810 [5]

While the digital designer role requires the same knowledge of design as a graphic designer role and similar software and visual skills, digital design also requires a more specific, niche skill set focused on mediums such as motion graphics, 3D animations, and other video content.

Advanced and leadership roles in graphic design

As you further your skills and expertise, you’ll likely qualify for advanced and leadership roles within the field of graphic design. 

Senior graphic designer,

Average annual base salary (US): $78,228 [6]

As you might expect, the senior graphic designer is the team’s lead graphic designer. 

Typically requiring at least five years of experience as a graphic designer and junior designer, the senior graphic designer often manages a broader team of lower-level graphic designers. This role will offer you more responsibility, and a design project’s success largely falls on your shoulders. 

Again, as can be expected when moving from a junior graphic designer to a graphic designer position, when you move up to a senior graphic designer position, you can usually expect a modest bump in pay. [6] 

Brand identity designer

Average annual base salary (US): $95,292 [7]

A brand identity designer will often need graphic design skills, but the role overall is highly strategic. As a brand identity designer, you literally help a brand design and maintain its identity through a variety of mediums, including content, advertising, marketing, design, and more. As such, while you’ll usually need a graphic design background and the technical skills that come with it, you also need experience in successfully leading creative campaigns. 

Art director

Average annual base salary (US): $91,883 [8]

As one of the most senior positions in graphic design, the art director role is primarily focused on leadership and management. As such, while it’s still important to have plenty of experience in the technical aspects of graphic design in order to pursue this role, you won’t necessarily be using those technical skills every day. Instead, you would be overseeing those on your team.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the art director job market to grow faster than the graphic design market, with a 5 percent growth rate from 2023 to 2033 compared to graphic design’s 3 percent [9]. 

Creative director

Average annual base salary (US): $141,925 [10]

Lastly, the creative director is a similar leadership position, but it differs from the art director role in one key way: While the art director oversees all the visual aspects of a creative project as well as those visual-focused team members working on said project, the creative director owns the entire creative project. That might include text elements as well as the project’s general visual design and may encompass multiple mediums. The role can also entail overseeing the entire creative strategy for a brand or individual project and more general leadership responsibilities such as budgeting and hiring. 

How to begin: Getting a job in graphic design

No matter what your eventual graphic design career goal is, it all starts with the right education and mastery of design basics. 

Many graphic designers hold a bachelor’s degree in graphic design, fine arts, or a similar field, but professional certificates and similar educational opportunities are also an option. While pursuing the right educational background, consider beginning to build a portfolio of graphic design work to present to future potential employers. Build your technical skills by mastering the various pieces of design software that many graphic designers use, such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, CorelDRAW, Sketch, and/or GNU Image Manipulation Program. 

Begin your graphic design career path with Coursera

Whether you prefer the technical nitty-gritty of designing or you love the big-picture strategizing required for successfully completing a creative project, a graphic design career path provides numerous options to fit various preferences and skill sets.

Explore skills that you can use to succeed in graphic design with courses on Coursera, such as the Adobe Content Creator Professional Certificate or the Xbox Graphic Designer Professional Certificate courses.