Visual graphics flood the internet every day. Blog posts that include graphics receive more than double the traffic of straight text-based posts. Social media newsfeeds are bombarded with memes, branding, and other images that are designed to elicit specific emotions. This is all thanks, in part, to the graphic design industry.
Graphic Designer Employment Rate
Nearly 260,000 people are currently employed as graphic designers.
Graphic designers often use computers to create amazing works of art, but they can draw their artwork traditionally as well. They use these images to communicate something specific, whether that is a company’s message to prospects or to inspire people to do bigger or greater things. They develop the production design to many of today’s marketing materials, from brochures to magazines to corporate reports.
Graphic Design Salary Statistics
1. Graphic designers earned an average salary of $44,150 in 2012.
2. The employment outlook for graphic designers within the next decade is lower than average with just an increase of 7% expected.
3. Unlike other forms of employment, many graphic designers require very little on-the-job training to get started with their career.
4. Industry Revenue worth a total of $11 billion.
5. High competition has forced many graphic designers to expand into complementary marketing and other services.
Takeaway: If you love graphic design and you’re already employed as a designer, then you’re pretty safe in your current position. If you’ve earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and are looking for your first job, however, you may find it at least initially difficult to break into this industry.
Other Graphic Design Industry Statistics
1. The lowest 10% of graphic designers who are employed full time earned less than $27,000 per year in salary.
2. On the other hand, the highest 10% of salary earners within this industry earned over $77,000.
3. Almost 25% of all graphic designers are self-employed.
4. The manufacturing industry hires the most graphic designers globally, accounting for 14% of all full time positions within the graphic design industry.
5. It is not uncommon for graphic designers to supplement their income by teaching part-time at local schools or universities to further the education of the industry.
6. There is an expected 16% decline in the employment of graphic designers in what used to be normally strong fields of newspapers, periodicals, and directory assistance books, accounting for the slow growth prospects of this industry.
7. Working with various types of media as a graphic designer, including web-based applications and traditional printing, will help future employment prospects more than an advanced education within the industry.
Takeaway: Graphic designers will always be needed, but with easy-to-use tools that are available online for a minimal fee, the average person on the internet can also do their own graphic design work. Despite this fact, organizations will still use graphic designers for professional looking branding and marketing materials, thereby keeping this industry alive and well for years to come.
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