Job Descriptions / Graphic Designer
Graphic Designer Job Description Template
A ready-to-customize job description for hiring a graphic designer at an agency. Copy, adapt to your brand voice, and publish. Built from what actually works across dozens of agency hiring loops.
What does a graphic designer do at an agency?
An agency graphic designer is the craft engine behind everything a client sees. They turn strategy and copy into brand identity, social creative, pitch decks, print collateral, and campaign assets, often juggling three to six accounts at once. Their job is not just to make things look good, it's to make sure every asset that leaves the agency reinforces the client's brand and business goals.
Unlike in-house designers who go deep on one brand, agency graphic designers need range. They switch between a playful DTC beverage client in the morning and a B2B SaaS deck in the afternoon without losing craft. The best ones own files end-to-end, ship on tight deadlines, and defend their decisions with clear rationale.
Job Description Template
Job title
Graphic Designer
Summary
We're hiring a Graphic Designer to join our creative team and produce high-craft design work for a portfolio of agency clients. You'll work across brand identity, marketing collateral, and digital creative, collaborating closely with art directors, copywriters, and account managers. If you love switching between brand systems and shipping strong work under real deadlines, you'll feel at home here.
Responsibilities
- Design brand identity assets, marketing collateral, social creative, and presentation templates across multiple concurrent client accounts.
- Translate creative briefs into design concepts, iterate based on art director and client feedback, and deliver production-ready files on deadline.
- Build and maintain client brand guidelines, logo suites, and asset libraries so internal teams stay on-brand across every touchpoint.
- Collaborate with copywriters, strategists, and motion designers to ensure visual storytelling aligns with campaign messaging.
- Prepare print-ready and digital-optimized files, including proper color profiles, bleeds, export specs, and vendor handoff documentation.
- Participate in internal critiques, present work to clients when needed, and defend design decisions with clear rationale.
- Track time accurately against project budgets and flag scope drift early so account managers can act.
- Mentor junior designers through feedback, pairing, and shared resource libraries.
- Stay current on design trends, typography, motion, and tooling so the agency's output keeps improving.
- Contribute to agency marketing by designing case studies, pitch decks, and social content when capacity allows.
Required qualifications
- 3+ years of professional graphic design experience, ideally inside an agency or in-house creative team.
- A portfolio demonstrating strong typography, layout, color, and brand systems across print and digital.
- Expert-level proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign) and Figma.
- Ability to interpret a creative brief, ask clarifying questions, and deliver on-brief concepts without excessive back-and-forth.
- Experience preparing files for print vendors and digital production pipelines.
- Strong written and verbal communication so you can explain design rationale to non-designers.
- Comfort managing multiple concurrent projects with competing deadlines.
Preferred qualifications
- Motion design or basic After Effects skills for social and web deliverables.
- Experience with illustration, iconography, or custom type.
- Familiarity with a project management tool like AgencyPro, Asana, or Notion.
- Exposure to a specific vertical (SaaS, DTC, B2B, healthcare) the agency serves.
- A bachelor's degree in design, fine arts, or a related field.
Salary range (2026)
United States
$65,000 to $130,000 base
Junior: $50k to $70k. Mid: $65k to $95k. Senior: $95k to $130k. Higher bands in NYC, SF, and LA.
Global
$18,000 to $85,000 base
LATAM and Eastern Europe: $18k to $45k. Western Europe: $30k to $65k. UK and Australia: $40k to $85k.
Top skills to look for
- Typography systems and hierarchy
- Brand identity and visual systems thinking
- Layout and grid discipline
- Color theory across digital and print
- File preparation and vendor handoff
- Figma component and variant mastery
- Adobe Creative Suite speed
- Feedback literacy and iteration discipline
Red flags
- Portfolio shows a single aesthetic applied to every brand with no range.
- Cannot explain why they made specific design choices when pressed.
- Files are disorganized, unlabeled, or missing production specs.
- Pushes back on every piece of feedback instead of iterating.
- No examples of work shipped on tight deadlines or under budget pressure.
Interview process structure
Stage 1
Portfolio screen (30 min)
Recruiter or hiring manager walks through two or three portfolio projects with the candidate. Focus on range, process, and ownership claims.
Stage 2
Craft interview with art director (60 min)
Deep dive on typography, layout decisions, brand systems, and how they handle feedback. Ask them to critique a live design and defend their take.
Stage 3
Paid design exercise (2–4 hours)
A small, realistic brief with clear scope. Pay for the time. Evaluate concept, craft, and how they communicate rationale in a short writeup.
Stage 4
Team and culture fit (45 min)
Conversation with 2–3 future collaborators including a copywriter and account manager. Test communication, pushback skills, and how they handle ambiguity.
Frequently asked questions
What should a graphic designer earn at an agency in 2026?
In the US, mid-level agency graphic designers typically earn $65,000 to $95,000 base, with senior designers reaching $95,000 to $130,000 in major markets. Globally, ranges drop to $18,000–$45,000 in LATAM and Eastern Europe, and $30,000–$65,000 in Western Europe.
How much experience should a mid-level graphic designer have?
Most agencies treat 3–5 years as mid-level, with the last 2 years ideally in an agency or fast-paced environment where they've owned work end-to-end.
Should I ask for a design test?
Yes, but keep it small (2–4 hours), realistic, and paid. Unpaid day-long tests are a red flag for candidates and filter out the strongest talent.
What's the difference between a graphic designer and a visual designer?
Graphic designer typically emphasizes brand, print, and marketing collateral. Visual designer leans more toward digital product surfaces. There's significant overlap, so read the portfolio rather than the title.
Do I need to hire in-house or can I contract?
For agencies with steady retainer work, an in-house designer gives you speed, brand consistency, and team chemistry. Use contractors for overflow or specialized work like illustration. Capacity planning helps you decide.
Hire with capacity in mind
The best job description in the world won't save you if you hire before your pipeline justifies it, or too late and burn out your team. AgencyPro gives you the capacity signal to time hiring decisions.