Graphic designing seems like a fun job, and there a lot of people doing it. So you’re probably wondering how much you can earn as a graphic designer. Well, like any other job, it mainly depends on your experience and area of work.
According to 99designs, the average salary of a graphic designer with medium experience ranges from $45,000 to $55,000. Sources for salary information like Glassdoor and PayScale even estimate the salary of a graphic designer to reach up to $80,000.
Still, the graphic designer’s employment type is a more significant determinant of these amounts. So we’ve prepared the specifics in a graphic designer’s salary both locally and globally. Read on also to see the kinds of employers that hire graphic designers.
Estimated Salary of Graphic Designers Based on Experience
In 2017, digital design educator Designation released an analysis of the estimated lowest and highest salaries for digital designers and web development jobs. The data dates a few years back, but there haven’t been reports of significant differences in the earnings of these professionals since that year until 2019.
The chart they made shows the salary range of graphic designers, among other designer jobs, according to years of experience. Here’s the summary for graphic designers’ annual income.
1-3 Years
This range of experience for a graphic designer qualifies for the junior graphic designer position. The salary for these graphic designers can vary between $39,750 to $56,750.
This amount also applies even to those online graphic design jobs that ask for the same qualifications. However, there still isn’t a steady approximate for these particular positions as they vary according to business scale.
3-5 Years
Once you step on this level, you are already a candidate for a senior graphic designer position. Take note of the word candidate as it depends on the firm that is hiring.
Some businesses look for 3-5 years of graphic design experience for such a position. If they require more, at least this is the best time for any graphic designer looking for a big break. They can earn $53,250 to $72,250, so that is pretty decent.
5+ Years
This is the point in every graphic designer’s career when they are eligible for a senior graphic designer position without any doubt. More than half a decade of experience pays around $93,000 to $97,500.
Average Salary of Graphic Designers According to Employment Type
Invision, a product design platform, released a 2016 Product Design Report based on a survey of over 1,650 designers from 65 countries. The report has a detailed analysis of annual salaries depending on employment and organization type.
Here’s a summary of the findings.
Full-Time Jobs
Various companies hire graphic designers full-time as they are a vital part of marketing, after all. The report found that graphic designers working on this regular basis (30+ hours a week) earn an average of $76,544.
Below are the specific salaries for the different types of firms that hire graphic designers.
Education Companies
Education companies or agencies offering remote learning services use a lot of graphic design for their campaigns and materials. They are one of the businesses that provide the most online graphic design jobs seen on different platforms.
A full-time position as a graphic designer in a firm like this offers an average compensation of $60,611.
Government Organizations
Although government organizations don’t seem to need much artistry in their graphics, they still pay their full-time graphic designers a reasonable $55, 727. That rate falls near the highest salary a graphic designer with 1-3 years of experience earns, so that’s a fair amount.
Startups
Startups these days need a graphic designer a lot. Excellent digital marketing means having quality images or logos to represent a fresh brand.
That is the only way the enterprise can debut into the industry and scale in no time. People love seeing infographics, aesthetically pleasing visuals, and picture ads more than textual ones.
That is why they pay even pay more than education companies. They invest a whopping $79,889 in a full-time graphic designer, which is quite large for a new operating business.
In-House
In-house graphic designers are the ones that are employed to work in the creative or marketing department of an organization. It means they do more than produce visuals.
They have to continually come up with new ideas to pitch to the company. They are huge contributors to the entire department they are a part of, so this full-time job could be more stressful than the ones above.
In-house graphic designers are paid $84,438, though. So it’s worth all the hard work at the end of the day.
Agencies
Graphic designers working full-time in agencies are talents who are asked to accomplish specific projects for companies. These companies are the ones who do not like the idea of investing in a graphic designer.
Due to this type of work, graphic designers earn less than the in-house ones. Their salary is just a portion of what their clients pay the agency itself.
Also, not all designers here get the best-paying projects. So their average salary is only $63,900, which is way less than what in-house workers get.
Freelance or Contractual Jobs
Speaking of clients that don’t want to invest in a graphic designer, most of them pay freelancers instead. They offer contractual jobs that are not attached to any third party like an agency.
That is why these free workers receive an estimated salary of $72,912. That is way higher than those working under an agency.
Many freelance graphic designers are on freelancing platforms like Rakuboss. There, they can sell skills they have in designing websites, products, etc., without any fee.
Graphic Designers Salary in the Philippines
The US Dollar rates probably made you think if it applies to graphic designers working in the Philippines. Sadly, it doesn’t. Filipinos who are working freelance or remotely for foreign companies don’t even receive that much.
PayScale says that the average annual salary for graphic designers in the Philippines is only PHP 222,788. That is just equivalent to $4,381.46, which is not even half of the yearly earnings of a graphic designer in the United States.
That is why there are many online graphic design jobs from foreign employers as they take advantage of the average Filipino wage. Despite this disappointing news, you can still make a living out of that estimated pay.
You have to keep it very simple, of course. However, if you are determined to get high-paying freelance or outsourced gigs, read this guide about how it’s like to work as a graphic designer in the Philippines.
