Graphic Designers

AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
34%
risk level
POLLING
48%
Based on 2,858 votes
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
2.6%
by 2031
WAGES
$57,990
or $27.88 hourly
VOLUME
211,890
as of 2022
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
5.2/10

Automation risk

34% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): Jobs in this level have a limited risk of automation, as they demand a mix of technical and human-centric skills.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some very important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Originality

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Fine Arts

  • Social Perceptiveness

User poll

48% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted that it's unclear if this occupation will be replaced. However, employees may be able to find reassurance in the automated risk level we have generated, which only shows 34% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that this occupation will be replaced by robots or AI in the next 20 years?






Growth

Slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Graphic Designers' job openings is expected to rise 2.6% by 2031

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031.
Updated projections are due Sep 2023.

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2022, the median annual wage for 'Graphic Designers' was $57,990, or $27.88 per hour

'Graphic Designers' were paid 25.2% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $46,310

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2022 there were 211,890 people employed as Graphic Designers within the United States.

This represents around 0.14% of the employed workforce across the country.

Put another way, around 1 in 697 people are employed as Graphic Designers.

Job description

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.

SOC Code: 27-1024.00

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Comments

Leave a comment

Anonymous (Highly likely) says
Dalle-2, Imagen, etc.
Jun 30, 2022 at 02:42 PM
Comic Guy (Highly likely) says
We've already seen AI start to take over this sector. Flyers, logos, print media, and even comic books in both illustration and coloring are soon to be automated.
Jan 05, 2022 at 05:03 AM
Cinski (Highly likely) says
Things like vector art and symbol-based designs are actually very easily replaceable with AI. Most graphic designers use more simple technical skills rather than something that requires a lot of creativity and freeform drawing skills. That's why, in my opinion, there is a very high risk for graphic designers to be replaced. You can already create some decent-looking logos with some AI generators, and the same goes for all kinds of UI, website layouts, etc.
Dec 21, 2021 at 09:04 PM
T (Highly likely) says
Graphic capability development of AI tools is already rapid and sponsored by tech firms like Nvidia.
Dec 18, 2021 at 06:59 PM
Cristiano Alves (Highly likely) says
There's already some web applications that allow non-designers to produce design related materials. One example is Canva, which is automatizing some low profile works in the Graphic Design field (such as the production of banners, stories, invitations etc.).
Jul 31, 2021 at 12:29 AM
infinite lol (Likely) says
This is my personal opinion on this matter. But seriously, robots can really replace this profession (if you create and train them), because they know how to work with a certain program.
Jul 11, 2021 at 02:05 PM
MMS says
If developers can escape AI, than designers definitely can.
Jul 11, 2021 at 01:55 PM
Alexander Brucki (No chance) says
You need a soul to make art.
Jun 11, 2021 at 01:53 PM
Leonardo says
It will certainly replace mediocre designer work, but like music, there are certain aspects of creativity which require human sensibility, things that a machine is capable of replicate only on human input.
May 24, 2021 at 07:05 PM
Márcio says
I believe that we will not be replaced by robots, because creativity is something very subjective. I believe that AIs will exist to help in our work as designers.
Mar 19, 2021 at 01:33 AM
Joris (Highly likely) says
AI can easily determine basic design. Most designers make very basic design.
Mar 18, 2021 at 11:02 PM
Carola (No chance) says
AI can't be smart enough to understand graphic designer's client requests :D
Mar 09, 2021 at 08:53 AM
Bruno Kreuch (Small chance) says
I believe there is a small chance, but the robots will do the initial work. In graphic design we create new things, but these new things are done through little information we have, the briefing. I believe the robot will be able to do that, create something new through the briefing, and then the designers will just fix some details that didn't fit very well, the famous changes.
Feb 18, 2021 at 10:36 AM
Aria they/them please says
no they can't because you need f*ckin' creativity an emo robot can't do that sh*t (sorry not sorry for cussin')
Dec 31, 2020 at 12:29 AM
A Graphics Designer says
The only main the difference between a human and robot is creativity. Humans strive for creativity while robots simply lack the intellectual capabilities to be creative.

Creativity is the main aspect of Graphics Designing and I don't believe it can ever be replaced by something non-humans. Sure robots can replicate something at much grander and perfected scale than humans but creating something from mere thought process isn't something which I'd expect from a robot.
Dec 27, 2020 at 07:54 PM
moonsungyeon says
I don't think my job will be replaced. Because my job requires creativity, I don't think I can be replaced by a robot. Still, I will try to develop my job by using AI.
Nov 06, 2020 at 08:44 AM
Nadya (Highly likely) says
This has already happened. A Russian design studio has developed an AI designer and, for over a year, have been passing it off as a human. To date, the network has been used successfully in over 20 of the studio’s commercial projects. https://www.artlebedev.com/ironov/
Oct 22, 2020 at 09:27 PM
Mod (Small chance) says
Those designs are terrible.
Apr 07, 2022 at 12:59 PM
Daniel (No chance) says
Highly doubt robots will take over.. Design is subjective and everyone has a different opinion on it, it would be extremely hard to replicate it. Also trends come and go, so it can't just be automated..
Oct 17, 2020 at 03:21 AM
Peter (Highly likely) says
The rise of template based websites are the final nail in the coffin for graphic design.
Oct 06, 2020 at 05:57 PM
PXLWHP says
Why? people who don't want to pay graphic designers will use template-based websites, but people who don't want to pay graphic designers aren't the clients that graphic designers want to have.

If you're chasing work by being as cheap as possible you'll never make it as a graphic designer. We are like fine wine & need to charge accordingly.
Jul 29, 2021 at 05:46 AM
ivan says
Doing a job like this need a lot of creativity and knowledge. This is something a robot can do but it can't be creative because it is programmed to certain things which makes it not creative in any way.
Sep 09, 2020 at 06:00 PM
Watson says
Most people who deny it here have no idea about the true capability of AI, cuz creativity is just child's play. With enough data to train and learn, AI can be far more creative than human, and it's already happening. There're plenty of AI nowadays that can create literatures, songs, videos, and draw pictures from scratch. People who are not in the field think AIs are programmed so they can't be creative, but in fact they're not, they LEARN.
Feb 14, 2021 at 03:11 PM
isaac (No chance) says
most (if not all) creative jobs can be replaced by AI, as creativity is a human function that requires gathering inspiration from the world around us, applying the aesthetics to create a functioning design
Sep 04, 2020 at 12:52 PM
AnDrew (Highly likely) says
Not only are more people gaining skills like this due to automated services and an increase of simple interfaces, but there was a robot in the news recently who did a job like a human would.
Aug 17, 2020 at 04:17 PM
Ben (Could go either way) says
A lot of what graphic designers do could be replaced by AI. We already see this in how much easier it is to design anything (DIY interfaces)
Aug 14, 2020 at 04:43 PM
helen (Likely) says
(Likely)
I think AI will be able to foresee possible designs. It can take a previous design and alter it the way customer likes to. For example there are already some websites that automatically make you a logo when you choose a few criteria. Maybe if you are in your mid forties you'll be safe but for people who are currently in high school, you need to either work in a developing or 3rd world country (which the the salary of someone in the art field is really low) or your job could be possibly taken :(
Aug 12, 2020 at 12:29 AM
Lily (Small chance) says
I just don't believe a creative industry can be fully taken over by something not human
Aug 02, 2020 at 05:09 AM
abhi says
I don't think so that any mechanical stuff runs the creative world of ours. I mean robots are designed to do things and AI build to do the same.. but the creativity level humans have robots never matched that desired level.. Hope so future is safe for the creative field persons
Dec 08, 2020 at 04:48 AM
Mohammad Raza (Highly likely) says
the current AI GAN models are already very capable, combined with something like GPT3 that understands english and context. Soon, all the designing tasks will be automated easily from logo designing, brochure designing, or even app UI designing.
Jul 23, 2020 at 06:54 PM
NeMy (Likely) says
Probably won't be replaced entirely soon, but automation will come quickly with AI, and many process of wireframe & UI will be automated. UX will probably still be needed in every case
Jul 20, 2020 at 10:01 AM
Radiant Graphics (Small chance) says
Graphic Design is based on your creativity not some mathematical calculations. It is unique to a person.
May 12, 2020 at 03:00 PM
charlie (Highly likely) says
online AI sites
Mar 19, 2020 at 03:36 AM
no-one keep scrolling says
WHO THE HELL IS Al?????
Jun 15, 2020 at 04:11 AM
Sunny says
AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. AI is a robot brain basically.
Sep 04, 2020 at 08:48 PM
sonder (Likely) says
Deep learning has been improving fast to the point that it could transfer styles from an image source to a target image now.
Mar 14, 2020 at 04:43 PM
Ramon (Small chance) says
well robots aren't creative, and at the time, they can't, but i still wouldn't dismiss it, because we have seen things like AI and machine learning where computers could create their own pieces.
Mar 09, 2020 at 03:03 AM
Kate (Highly likely) says
AI is already generating beautiful imagery. Wix.com uses AI to create the best layouts for websites already. I think this role is under threat.
Jan 30, 2020 at 07:23 PM
Anthony (Highly likely) says
Over the last two decades there have been developments into creating "artistic" forms of artificial intelligence. Although these have been somewhat behind human graphic designers, the result needn't be beyond or even equal to that of humans; it merely needs to be good enough.

Furthermore, what's being neglected here is that businesses are being consolidated. Even if a smaller company were to have some outstanding graphics design in their products and this would help them turn a profit, the result would either be getting bought out by a corporate entity or being kept from other necessary resources via less-than-honest means. (For argument's sake, shipping necessary materials to a small shoemaking business in oversized boxes, if they're even still sold)

Even if A.I. doesn't take this job, much fewer people will be able to make a living this way. With the steady creep of consolidation, people will eventually have no choice in what they buy. This is the age of the megafactory; the time where businesses control every aspect of their employees' lives from work to product to consumption to sleep-schedule. There is no need to concern oneself with how a product looks in such an environment and such frivolities can be easily handed to less-than-gifted A.I. if deemed desirable.

I can hardly speak from authority, but I think that (keeping A.I. and all other things in mind) anyone who worries about being an unemployed graphics designer or other such artist is right to be afraid.
Jan 10, 2020 at 03:51 AM
abbisent says
wow anthony try hard much...
Jun 15, 2020 at 03:53 AM
Mauricio Franco (Highly likely) says
AI and decision algorithms already deal with image generation that is suited to commercial production work, specially when paired with current market research methodologies that are easily scalable and automatable, like A-B testing.
Jan 04, 2020 at 07:02 PM
Karen3 (Likely) says
I was just watching my daughter play Fortnite, and really looking at the graphics, and I asked her if humans or robots had designed the new Christmas theme. She had no idea, so I find myself here. Not being a graphic designer, I shouldn't have a vote that counts, just an opinion.
Dec 25, 2019 at 03:03 PM
yeet (Highly likely) says
robots would make the images perfect
Nov 19, 2019 at 08:24 PM
Yes (Highly likely) says
Small steps in this direction have been already set, only for it to accelerate at a faster rate: https://algorithms.design/
Oct 18, 2019 at 10:39 AM
Nick van Breda (Highly likely) says
as Google is able to let AI make paintings already Graphic design is just an easy task to do for an AI, just blending drawing techniques into outcomes. I don't think that people who are running project-based companies would really need a graphic designer any longer as tools as Canva makes the task so simple and scalable that the Graphic designer of the future is a nichemarket or only part of big corporates that have to deal with IP/scarcity mindset.
Sep 25, 2019 at 11:54 AM
Mauricio Franco says
This is precisely the thinking that create terrible and non viable design. While I do think that AI can replace graphic designers with the correct training, graphic design ISN'T about tools like canva or Photoshop, it is about the way you interpret needs to craft messages through graphic representation (not exclusively visual). Don't ever start a B2C company with this thinking, you'll lose a lot of money
Jan 04, 2020 at 07:07 PM
Peter K Kristensen (Likely) says
As a designer, most work I do is based on rules and methods which can be feed into an AI.
I don't see them as take over completely, but making the basic design from information they are feed, and then I take over, so I will be more of digital assistant, that will speed up my work.
I will be more productive, and there will be less work for designers, as one designer can do more in shorter time.
Sep 25, 2019 at 06:08 AM
EBZ says
I run a small game studio, as soon as I can replace your ass, I will.
Nov 24, 2019 at 09:23 PM
Dr Philip Ely (Likely) says
The emergence of artificial intelligence engines in current design production tools is currently benefiting designer workflows. Purely visual designers in the future are likely to see more and more of their work (including design decision-making, origination and production) taken over by AI engines giving non-designers their work. The only saving grace for designers of the future will be that design as we know it will not be distinguished by 'craft' disciplines (e.g. graphic, digital, fashion) but along other lines - for example service designers or social designers. Designers will (hopefully) be taking on more strategic thinking roles, still requiring creativity and intuition but perhaps 'art directing' or 'design process planning' machines to solve human problems.
Sep 09, 2019 at 11:49 PM
Peter K Kristensen says
The AI will be a companion or assistant in the future.
But as design is based on rules and methods, most great design comes from bending or breaking those rules slightly... A skill an AI is capable of doing just yet, and the non-designer isn't competent enough to do in an esthetic way.
Sep 25, 2019 at 06:11 AM
Stephanie says
Humans sure love to have their process automated and then look on helplessly as they suddenly are out of jobs. Well, I have hope as I am a graphic designer extending my skillset beyond just plain design.
Sep 09, 2019 at 10:51 AM
Wary (Highly likely) says
Check out recent developments in neural networks. A large majority of graphic design done is low-level B2C or B2B communications - this can already be automated with designed templates and asset packages. It would be routine to create a ruleset to crank out different design packages with minor input - and thats before you get to any sort of 'artificial intelligence'. Feed a neural network a training set of Fortune 100 company logos in black and white, with words removed, and it can come up with similar abstract shapes that follow certain design ratios with ease.
Aug 16, 2019 at 05:49 PM
Jotta Fernandes (Highly likely) says
It's already happening.
Jul 08, 2019 at 02:45 PM
earthstorm (Small chance) says
it needs artistic sensitiveness and "knowing the sense of beauty" not only following some "Gestalt" or "Golden ratio" or Typographic rules
Jul 02, 2019 at 01:31 PM
Marinella (Small chance) says
We're starting to see automation in design where templates are readily available. Businesses such as Canva have created tools where non-designer folks would no longer need a graphic designer to do the work, but then again there are still designers at Canva designing these said templates, yet jobs are still being replaced.
Jun 27, 2019 at 01:05 AM
interested says
But Canva makes some really "cookie cutter" work. It's okay for my small mom-and-pop bake shop that wouldn't be able to afford anything else anyway, but a bigger corporation would need better design and visuals to succeed in a competitive marketplace. Likely, it would make pretty design more common but innovative and good design would need a human to work.
Feb 28, 2020 at 09:34 AM
JN (Could go either way) says
That's life. There's no telling. I'm not going to panic though. I'm part of the 10% of the world talented enough to stay employed and in demand if I so wish.
Jun 12, 2019 at 11:55 PM
Anon says
Low chance because they might not be able to show creativity, but they can imitate it and combine different works to make something different.
Jun 03, 2019 at 07:49 AM
Davide Pugliese (Likely) says
As other says there are already some AI driven tools.

Graphic designing sometimes needs also stuff like cutting objects from pictures, etc, and now there are tools for this task as well.

There are are also tools that generate palette templates automatically.

This means that lots of the tasks that took a long time due to the fact that decisions were taken "emotionally", until that "Eureka" moment, now are taken by an algorithm that can generate in a short time span many of the color palettes or take other design decisions that would have taken probably a couple of days to us to get to them.
May 10, 2019 at 10:26 AM
tom (Highly likely) says
there are already commercial graphic design AI, they're not great, but they could come a long way in 20 years
Apr 29, 2019 at 10:41 AM
he he says
that comment was posted on my birthday, oi my guy im a graphic designer and have created games (55% cod)
Jun 18, 2019 at 09:21 AM
Kyle says
I foresee a situation in that cheaply produced designs and especially layouts can be done through automation, and they will be cheap. The same being produced by a skilled designer will be original, but much more expensive. Therefore, most designs will be produced with automation due to cost, and few will be the product of humans.

Both will exist, but automation will drive all but a few very talented and connected designers out of the business.
Apr 24, 2019 at 03:51 PM
Anthony M says
It's entirely possible thanks to the large amount of widely available data. (data being creative works of graphic design individuals). Machine learning algorithms can replicate works of art in a way that will satisfy clients.

Granted, I don't think it will replace 100% of graphic designers. More-so, I think it would be closer to around 50-60%, while the top 50-40% will retain their jobs.

Same thing can be said about programmers and software developers.
Apr 24, 2019 at 03:48 PM
David (No chance) says
A computer can't replace human creativity.
Apr 13, 2019 at 02:44 AM
BigBoi says
AI's have already started to make songs and also movie trailers. It's just a matter of time until they can start doing it on a large scale. Here's the link of the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSHZ_b05W7o
Jun 17, 2019 at 08:55 AM
Luis Torres (No chance) says
It needs a lot of creativity and being original, something that robots are not really good at.
Apr 12, 2019 at 12:47 AM
John (Could go either way) says
I'm a graphic designer. Everything tends to look the same.
Apr 05, 2019 at 09:16 PM
Dana says
Subjective matters cannot be automated.
Apr 04, 2019 at 06:47 AM
Jonathan Ziegler says
The mainstay of designers, web sites, is largely automated. My other work, photo retouching, is already automating itself!
Mar 30, 2019 at 02:23 PM

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