Creative/Design Industry Overview

The US graphic design services industry includes about 16,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $7 billion, according to Hoovers. The industry is highly fragmented: The 50 largest companies account for less than 15 percent of revenue. No single firm dominates the market for creative/design jobs, with the 50 largest companies accounting for less than 15 percent of revenue.

The closely allied sector of Web consulting services offers creative jobs for professionals who provide design, development and support services for corporate and ecommerce Web sites. Work may encompass graphic design and programming, site maintenance and monitoring. Typical projects for professionals in Web design jobs can include marketing Web sites, corporate intranets and online retail.

Creative/Design Job Market

Graphics designers held nearly 280,000 jobs in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), making the field one of the most common jobs in creative/design. Graphic design job opportunities were expected to grow 13 percent between 2010 and 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations, the BLS reports. More than 37,000 graphic design jobs are projected to be created over the decade.

Many design professionals work for creative agencies; thousands more work in the marketing and communications departments of midsize and large companies.

The range of creative/design work opportunities is broad and growing as the digital media landscape continues to evolve. The best employment opportunities go to experienced creative professionals who have both an eye for the visual and command of the opportunities that new media will create.

Common creative/design careers include graphic designer, graphic artist, Web designer, interactive designer, packaging designer, creative director and art director.

Creative/Design Salaries

Median annual wages for graphic designers were $44,010 in May 2011, according to the BLS. The middle 50 percent earned between $33,410 and $59,410, while the top 10 percent made more than $77,000. Multimedia artists earned median salaries of $60,830, with the top 10 percent taking in $109,370.