Photoshop’s flexibility is a fundamental skill for Web Designers. They use it to manipulate images to fit into their website’s design, create assets like icons and buttons, and build layouts for developers. Photoshop is one of the main three tools that Web Designers use on a daily basis.
Photoshop is a crucial skill for designers of any medium. Graphic Designers and Digital Designers use Photoshop for creative functions like combining images, applying effects, and adding text. Learning Photoshop alone is not enough to become a professional Designer, but it’s the best place to start.
Higher-level design jobs like Design Director rely on Photoshop heavily too. They use it to produce media that conveys a company’s vision, marketability, and connect with a target audience. The graphics that a Design Director creates make a big impact which makes Photoshop one of their most valuable requisite skills.
Photoshop is a useful tool for both 3D Animators and 2D Animators to create frame by frame animations, gifs, and vectors. But it’s not the main software they’ll be using for their work. However, it’s essential knowledge for any visual creative in the digital age.
Photoshop is often used in combination with other applications, especially other Adobe applications, to achieve a Designer’s desired results. It’s also used by Photographers, Production Artists, and Marketers.
Photoshop Career Options
Here are a few career paths for which you’ll likely need Photoshop skills in order to succeed. We also include additional info about their average salaries, their day-to-day responsibilities, and a link to learn more about each career.
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Graphic Designer
Indeed.com Avg. Salary
$61K / year
Glassdoor Avg. Salary
$57K / year
Graphic designers work with both digital and physical media to create art that communicates and inspires. Using graphics, text, colors, and animations, graphic designers develop media assets for branding, advertising, and messaging. Graphic designers can work for agencies or independently. They create a wide variety of design elements such as brochures, infographics, marketing materials, and design elements for print, video, or web use.
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Designer
Indeed.com Avg. Salary
$79K / year
Glassdoor Avg. Salary
$77K / year
Designers work in a wide variety of industries and specialize in just as many media. Most designers create digital assets, but some designers work with hand-drawn sketches and illustrations. They start with an understanding of the best design principles and functional aesthetics. Common fields for designers include web, apps, print, fashion, animation, advertising, and UX design.
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UX Researcher
Indeed.com Avg. Salary
$122K / year
Glassdoor Avg. Salary
$92K / year
User experience researchers analyze customer and client data to improve interactions. They design and lead focus groups to collect usability data, and then report their findings to inform future development and iterations. With a focus on improving brand loyalty and user satisfaction, user experience researchers share their insights with user experience developers to assist with future design efforts.
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2D Animator
Indeed.com Avg. Salary
$72K / year
Glassdoor Avg. Salary
$56K / year
2D animators develop storyboards, characters, and backgrounds to bring stories to life in 2D. Working with software such as Adobe After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, and 2D animators provide creative support to art directors in a variety of industries. 2D animators can work for studios or design firms, or as freelance independent contractors.
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3D Animator
Indeed.com Avg. Salary
$90K / year
Glassdoor Avg. Salary
$88K / year
3D animators take ideas and turn them into three-dimensional images and animations. Using their understanding of human and animal movement, 3D animators can create rich, realistic experiences. 3D animators work on movies and games, as well as some websites and online media. 3D animators create amusement park experiences such as those at Walt Disney World or Universal Studios.
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Digital Designer
Indeed.com Avg. Salary
$105K / year
Glassdoor Avg. Salary
$75K / year
Digital Designers make graphics, animations, and other visual effects. Depending on their preference, a Digital Designer might choose to niche down to work exclusively on pre-print, web, or digital marketing. These niches that the Digital Designer is designing websites, applications, advertisements, or publications.
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Design Director
Indeed.com Avg. Salary
$151K / year
Glassdoor Avg. Salary
$149K / year
A Design Director leads a team of creative professionals who curate the look and feel of a product or project through the production of visual strategies. They work on projects like magazines, movies, advertisements, video games, or websites. Design Directors can work in industries such as interior design, retail, marketing, architecture, and entertainment.
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Web Designer
Indeed.com Avg. Salary
$55K / year
Glassdoor Avg. Salary
$66K / year
Web designers design the appearance and functionality of a website. They use their understanding of both visual and technical design principles to create functional web layouts. Some web designers work from home and enjoy the flexibility of freelance work, while others work for agencies or businesses. Good web designers have the foresight to anticipate the end-user experience and design for ease of use and navigation.
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Interior Designer
Indeed.com Avg. Salary
$70K / year
Glassdoor Avg. Salary
$62K / year
Interior designers are responsible for designing the furnishing and layout of the interior of a room, building or structure.