Graphic design is essential for anything between online and street marketing. To emphasize its importance, graphic design statistics reveal that 94% of users will most probably leave a website just because it’s poorly designed. Read on to find out more about the power of great graphic design and current trends in the industry!
Top 10 Graphic Design Statistics and Facts
There are 135,355 graphic design businesses in the US.
In 2023, the global market size of graphic design is expected to increase by 3.8%.
55% of businesses use graphic design for customer communication.
32% of businesses allocate between $5,000 and $10,000 for graphic design services.
50% of businesses declared the demand for visuals during and after COVID-19.
A solid 41% of businesses use in-house graphic designers for their graphic design assets.
50.2% of graphic designers are women.
Nearly 40% of graphic designers are over 40 years old.
At 68%, the most common degree for graphic designers is a bachelor's degree.
At 34% black is the most used color in logo design.
Graphic Design Industry Statistics
The revenue of graphic design services in the US is set to reach $11.3 billion by 2024.
In 2022, the revenue generated from graphic design services in America jumped to $10.59 billion from $10.15 billion in 2021. Moreover, the industry’s revenue has been growing exponentially since 2012, when it stood at $7.55 billion.
Forecasts for 2023 are also optimistic, setting revenue growth from graphic design services at a staggering $11.12 billion, up by a little over half a billion US dollars.
(Statista)
There are 135,355 graphic design businesses in the US.
The graphic design industry growth is further confirmed by the number of new businesses established every year. Data reveals that in 2023, the number of newly established businesses providing graphic design services increased by 1.4%. On the other hand, the annual growth rate of the number of businesses in the past five years (2018-2023) was 0.1%.
Currently, the number of graphic design businesses in the US is highest in the following states:
California – 22,136
New York – 13,590
Florida – 10,045
(IBISWorld)
A total of 177,812 people are working as graphic designers in the US.
Another data indicating that the graphic design industry in America is experiencing steady growth is the fact that the employment rate has been growing for the past five years at an average of 0.6% per year.
Moreover, the most recent data reveals that the employment growth rate jumped to 1.9% in 2023. This shows that the industry is currently employing more people than it did five years ago. In 2022, the number of graphic design workers was just below 175,000.
(IBISWorld)
The wages paid to graphic design employees are expected to reach $4.9 billion in 2023.
According to Payscale, the average graphic designer salary is $48,964 a year. Other sources say the base hourly salary of these workers is $20.25.
The salaries paid to graphic designers are projected to increase by around 2% in 2023. And while this figure may not be high, it does point to a more favorable forecast compared to the average salary growth between 2018 and 2023, at 0.4%.
(Payscale, Indeed, IBISWorld)
The global market size of graphic design is expected to increase by 3.8% in 2023.
Moreover, the industry has a market size of $43.35 billion as of 2022 and, as such, is ranked the 9th largest global business activity by market size.
Even though the graphic design market size noted solid growth at a global level, if we look at the average growth over a longer period, the rate is only 0.8%. However, this figure is mainly due to the drop in market size from $44.27 billion in 2019 to $39.76 billion in 2020.
And considering the time frame, this drop is most probably due to the economic effects of the pandemic. On the upside, the market is currently on route to recovery and is set to reach $45 billion by the end of 2023.
(IBISWorld)
Graphic Design Facts and Statistics
55% of businesses use graphic design for customer communication.
Communication is the key reason why graphic design has become the ultimate tool for brands and businesses to reach their customers. But usage extends to more than just marketing.
In fact, reports show that 24% of businesses rely on graphic design to drive social media engagement and 19% use it to communicate internally. Studies also found that businesses can benefit from graphic design when it comes to lead generation, increasing brand awareness, and overall website traffic.
(Piktochart)
At 47%, social media are the most popular platforms for businesses to share visuals and graphic design assets.
Graphic design industry trends reveal Facebook is the number-one platform, with 32% of businesses using it to share their visual content assets. Instagram ranks second with 31%, and YouTube third with 16%. Other channels used for sharing graphic design assets are LinkedIn and Twitter, with 12% and 9%, respectively.
Data further shows businesses use other platforms to share graphic design assets, such as emails which is the second most preferred option with 18%, and print, used by 13% of businesses. In addition, 12% of businesses use blog posts, 7% rely on newsletters, and other media like websites and discussion boards are used by 3%.
(Piktochart)
32% of businesses allocate between $5,000 and $10,000 for graphic design services.
Another figure indicating that the graphic design market has huge potential is the fact that nearly 20% of businesses spend more than $10,000 on it. Moreover, 32% of businesses say they have an annual graphic design budget between $1,000 and $5,000. The percentage of businesses that spend less than $1,000 is the lowest, at 17%.
In addition, 50% of businesses said they increased their budget for graphic design projects and tools, while 29% said they maintained it at the same level in 2021 as they did the year before. Only 21% of businesses were forced to make cuts on this item, but this is most probably due to COVID.
(Piktochart)
50% of businesses declared the demand for visuals during and after COVID-19.
Graphic design stats show that despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, the number of visuals created during and after this period increased for the majority of businesses. Moreover, 31% of businesses said the demand for graphic design services remained the same as it was before the pandemic, while only 19% reported they created less than what they did before.
(Piktochart)
A solid 41% of businesses use in-house graphic designers for their graphic design assets.
The latest graphic design statistics reveal that another 35% of businesses take the DIY route when it comes to creating and editing their visuals. In addition, 24% said they outsource their digital design needs.
Data shows that when it comes to outsourcing and spending money on visuals, the computer software industry has the highest annual budget of over $10,000.
When it comes to managing the creation and edits of their brand’s visuals, 49% of businesses said that despite the fact that team coordination takes up most of their time, they still manage to go through the graphic design process smoothly. In addition, 34% said graphic design workflows are a breeze, while 17% struggle and find the entire process extremely time-consuming.
(Piktochart)
At 42.58%, Adobe Photoshop is the most used graphic design software solution.
Facts about graphic design reveal that Adobe is the preferred choice of most graphic designers and has been on the top as the most suitable software solution since its creation.
Adobe InDesign, which is considered the industry standard software for laying out long-form multipage documents, is used by 28.42%, and Adobe Illustrator is used by 13.55%. Australian Canva holds 4.55% of the market share, while Sketch Up which is a 3D modeling program owns 3.89% of the market share.
(Datanyze)
At 34%, black is the most used color in logo design.
According to design statistics, color is not only key but it impacts the initial assessment by 62% to 90%. It also helps boost brand recognition by up to 80%. Moreover, given that logo creation is a huge part of graphic design, here’s how many logos include certain colors:
30% blue
30% red
9% yellow
7% green
6% gray/silver
5% orange
2% brown.
(Research Gate, Reboot Online)
Graphic Design Demographics
50.2% of graphic designers are women.
In the matter of women in the workplace, they slightly outnumber men in the industry of graphic design, whose portion stands at 49.8%. However, even though women occupy more jobs as graphic designers, there still is a gender pay gap that needs to be filled.
In fact, the average income of male graphic designers is $52,649, while that of females is $49,963. To put this figure in perspective, for every dollar male graphic designers earn, female ones earn 95¢.
(Zippia)
A whopping 76.1% of graphic designers are White.
Even though White people dominate the graphic designer industry, Asian graphic designers, who make up only 7.6% of the total, are the best-paid, with an average annual wage reaching a little over $55,000.
Hispanic or Latino designers, who are the second most represented ethnic group (10.2%), have an annual income of $49,697, while Black or African American who make up the fourth largest ethnic group (3.5%) receive the lowest income at $48,191.
The average annual salary of White graphic designers is the second highest at $50,021. Other ethnic groups in the industry are American Indian and Alaska Native, represented by 0.3%, while the remaining 2.3% are unknown.
(Zippia)
Nearly 40% of graphic designers are over 40 years old.
Graphic designer facts reveal that the second largest age group represented with 34% are designers aged between 30 and 40. The youngest group, designers aged 20 to 30, is also the least represented, with only 27%.
The average age among White graphic designers is 38 for men and 35 for women, and 36.5 for Black men and 36 for Black women. The majority of Asian female graphic designers are 35, while male Asian designers are 38. Hispanic or Latinos are the youngest graphic designers, with an average age of 34 for men and 33 for women.
(Zippia)
At 68%, the most common degree for graphic designers is a bachelor's degree.
Graphic design statistics further show 23% of industry professionals have associate degrees, and equal 3% portions have master’s, a high-school diploma, or other degrees.
Data also indicates that designers of different educational backgrounds earn different salaries. In that sense, graphic designers with master’s degrees are paid the highest or an average of $53,731. Graphic designers with bachelor’s degrees earn an annual income of $49,963, while those with college or associate degrees are paid the lowest, or $46,544.
(Zippia)
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