Graphic Designers
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.
197,830 people do this job in the US. $62,960 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 97%
- 1%
- 2%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 40%. Today's estimate: 51%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 19 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create designs, concepts, and sample layouts, based on knowledge of layout principles and esthetic design concepts.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 17% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 1.3 work days | 32%Half by Jan 2027 | |
| Develop graphics and layouts for product illustrations, company logos, and Web sites.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 17% | 5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | 15%Half by Jun 2027 | |
| Use computer software to generate new images.Done several times a day by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 12% | 1.7 h25 min to 6.7 h | 43%Half by Nov 2026 | |
| Determine size and arrangement of illustrative material and copy, and select style and size of type.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 12% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 77%Half by now | |
| Draw and print charts, graphs, illustrations, and other artwork, using computer.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | 66%Half by now | |
| Research the target audience of projects.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 2.5 h50 min to 1 work day | 40%Half by Dec 2026 | |
| Key information into computer equipment to create layouts for client or supervisor.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | 98%Half by now | |
| Prepare illustrations or rough sketches of material, discussing them with clients or supervisors and making necessary changes.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | 66%Half by now | |
| Study illustrations and photographs to plan presentation of materials, products, or services.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.1 h25 min to 3.3 h | 83%Half by now | |
| Maintain archive of images, photos, or previous work products.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Prepare digital files for printing.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Review final layouts and suggest improvements, as needed.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 95%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Special Effects Artists and Animators7% now, 91% by 2028
- Art Directors27% now, 78% by 2028
- Web and Digital Interface Designers17% now, 79% by 2028
- Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators8% now, 40% by 2028
- Desktop Publishers51% now, 91% by 2028
- Video Game Designers11% now, 78% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).