Designer job description templates: general, graphic, UI/UX, interior, production artist, and small-business, with FLSA and IP notes. Download as DOCX.
6 free designer templates, general, graphic, UI/UX, interior, production artist, and first-design-hire, with the FLSA exempt-versus-non-exempt and IP-assignment guidance generic templates skip. Download as DOCX.
Designer is one of the broadest titles you can put in a job posting, and that is exactly the problem. A graphic designer, a UI/UX designer, an interior designer, and a production artist are different jobs with different skills, portfolios, tools, and pay bands, and a generic designer posting attracts a flood of mismatched applicants. The fix is to name the specific designer you need, then handle two things competitors ignore: the FLSA classification and the ownership of the work the designer creates.
At FirstHR, we build for small businesses without HR departments, which is exactly who makes a first design hire: an owner writing the posting and reviewing portfolios between everything else. The six templates below, a general designer plus graphic, UI/UX, interior, production artist, and first-design-hire versions, are ready to use, each with the FLSA and IP notes that generic templates skip.
Designer is an umbrella title covering graphic, UI/UX, interior, industrial, and production roles, each with different skills and pay, from a graphic designer median near $61,300 to a digital product designer near $98,090. Most salaried creative designers are exempt under the FLSA creative-professional exemption, but routine production roles are often non-exempt. Name the specific role, require a portfolio, and assign IP. Six templates, downloadable as DOCX.
What a Designer Does
A designer creates the visual or functional work that supports a company's brand, marketing, or product, but the day-to-day depends entirely on the type. The common thread is taking a project from brief to finished, on-brand work, managing deadlines, and iterating on feedback.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics splits designers across several occupations: graphic designers (SOC 27-1024), interior, industrial, and fashion designers, plus web and digital interface designers for digital product roles. Because the title is an umbrella spanning all of these, a strong job description names the specific kind of designer you need, the tools, and the portfolio that go with it, rather than posting a generic role.
Designer Responsibilities
Designer responsibilities cluster into four areas: concept and design, brand and consistency, production and delivery, and collaboration. A strong job description picks the specific responsibilities from each area that match the type of designer you are hiring, rather than listing every possible task.
Concept and design
Take projects from brief to finished design
Develop concepts and visual solutions
Apply creativity within brand and constraints
Brand and consistency
Keep brand and visual standards consistent
Build templates and reusable assets
Apply style guides accurately
Production and delivery
Prepare files for print, web, or production
Resize and adapt designs across formats
Check quality and meet deadlines
Collaboration
Take direction and feedback and iterate
Work with marketing, product, or the owner
Manage multiple projects at once
The weighting shifts by type: a graphic designer leans into brand and marketing output, a product designer into research and interfaces, a production artist into file prep and delivery. For a structured way to scope the role, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Types of Designer and Pay
The designer title covers several distinct occupations, each with its own skills, tools, and pay band. Use this comparison to decide which designer you actually need before you pick a template, since the differences in pay and skills are large.
Type
Focus
Federal median (May 2024)
Typical tools
Graphic designer
Brand, marketing, print
$61,300
Adobe Creative Suite
Interior designer
Physical spaces
$63,490
AutoCAD, SketchUp
Industrial designer
Physical products
$79,450
CAD, 3D modeling
Fashion designer
Apparel and accessories
$80,690
Illustrator, patternmaking
UI/UX / product designer
Digital interfaces
$98,090
Figma, Sketch
For a small business, a graphic designer is the most common and most affordable creative hire, while a UI/UX or product designer is a higher-paid, tech-leaning role. Match the title and the template to the design problem you are solving, and reserve the specialist titles for when the work genuinely calls for them.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by the type of designer you are hiring. The core structure is the same across all six, but each emphasizes the responsibilities, tools, and classification that fit a specific kind of design role. Use this guide to choose the closest fit, then adjust.
Designer (General)
Any design role
The universal version: brief-to-final visual work across the formats you need, with brand consistency and an FLSA note built in. The starting point if the role spans several types of design.
Graphic Designer
Brand, marketing, print
The most common SMB design hire: social, ads, email, print collateral, and brand work in Adobe Creative Suite. The default for a marketing or brand design role.
UI/UX / Product Designer
Digital product
For a product or app: research, flows, prototypes, visual UI, and the design system in Figma, with an IP-assignment note. For tech and SaaS hires.
Interior Designer
Spaces and interiors
For design and architecture firms or retailers: space planning, materials, drawings, and project management, with a note on state licensing.
Production Artist / Junior
Hourly, production work
For routine, template-driven execution: file prep, resizing, and retouching. Honest that this hands-on role is often non-exempt and paid hourly.
First Design Hire
Small business / startup
Plain-language generalist scope for a first dedicated designer working with the owner, honest about FLSA classification and the IP assignment a first hire needs.
Match the Template to the Role
A role spanning several design types: the General version. Brand and marketing: Graphic Designer. A digital product: UI/UX / Product Designer. Physical spaces: Interior Designer. Routine file prep and execution: Production Artist / Junior (hourly, often non-exempt). Your first dedicated designer at a small company: First Design Hire. When in doubt at a small business, start with the General or Graphic Designer version.
6 Free Designer Job Description Templates
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: company and job summary, key responsibilities, required and preferred qualifications, an FLSA note, compensation, and how to apply with a portfolio request, plus an equal opportunity statement. Fill in the brackets and post.
Download All 6 Job Description Templates
General, graphic, UI/UX, interior, production artist, and first design hire. All in one DOCX.
Template 1: Designer (General)
The universal version: brief-to-final visual work across the formats you need, with brand consistency and an FLSA note built in. The starting point if the role spans several types of design.
Designer Job Description (General)
DESIGNER JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State] / Remote)
Reports to: __ (Marketing Lead / Creative Lead / Owner)
FLSA status: Confirm exempt or non-exempt by actual duties and salary (see note)
Salary range: $_____ to $_____ per [year / hour]
ABOUT [COMPANY NAME]
[One or two sentences about your company and the design, marketing, or product
work the designer will support. Note whether the role is remote, hybrid, or
on-site, and what kind of design you need most.]
JOB SUMMARY
[Company Name] is hiring a Designer to create the visual work that supports our
brand, marketing, and product. You will take projects from brief to finished
design, work across the formats we need, and keep our look consistent. A
creative, organized designer with a strong portfolio is ideal for this role.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Design visual assets from brief to final delivery
•Keep brand and visual standards consistent across work
•Take direction and feedback and iterate quickly
•Manage multiple projects and deadlines
•Prepare files and assets for print, web, or production
•Maintain organized design files and version control
•Collaborate with marketing, product, or the owner
•Build and maintain reusable templates and assets
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[2+] years of design experience [or a strong portfolio]
•A portfolio showing relevant, finished work
•Proficiency in [Adobe Creative Suite / Figma / Canva]
•Strong visual sense and attention to detail
•Ability to manage deadlines and take feedback
PREFERRED (NICE TO HAVE)
•Experience in [your industry or type of design]
•Familiarity with [print production / web / motion]
FLSA NOTE (read before posting)
Designers are usually exempt under the FLSA creative professional exemption if
paid a salary or fee basis of at least $684/week and the primary duty is
original, creative work. But routine production work (template execution, photo
retouching, simple resizing) may be non-exempt and overtime-eligible, and hourly
or junior production roles often are. Job titles do not decide it; classify by
actual duties. This is general information, not legal advice.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Salary range: $_____ to $_____ per [year / hour] [+ benefits]
To apply, send your resume and a portfolio link to __.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 2: Graphic Designer
The most common SMB design hire: social, ads, email, print collateral, and brand work in Adobe Creative Suite. The default for a marketing or brand design role.
Graphic Designer Job Description
GRAPHIC DESIGNER JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State] / Remote)
Reports to: Marketing Lead / Creative Lead / Owner
Template 5: Production Artist / Junior Designer (Hourly)
For routine, template-driven execution: file prep, resizing, and retouching. Honest that this hands-on role is often non-exempt and paid hourly.
Production Artist / Junior Designer Job Description (Hourly)
PRODUCTION ARTIST / JUNIOR DESIGNER JOB DESCRIPTION (HOURLY)
Company: __ ([City, State] / Remote)
Reports to: Senior Designer / Creative Lead
Employment type: [ ] Full-time [ ] Part-time
FLSA status: Often NON-EXEMPT (hourly); confirm by duties (see note)
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per hour
JOB SUMMARY
[Company Name] is hiring a Production Artist / Junior Designer to execute and
finalize design work under the direction of our senior designers. You will
prepare files for production, resize and adapt designs across formats, apply
brand templates, and keep our assets organized. This is a hands-on, detail-heavy
role, ideal for an early-career designer building toward a creative role.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Prepare and finalize files for print, web, and production
•Resize and adapt designs across formats and channels
•Apply brand templates and style guides accurately
•Retouch and prep images to spec
•Check files for production errors and quality
•Keep the asset library organized and version-controlled
•Support senior designers on larger projects
•Meet production deadlines reliably
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[0-2] years of design or production experience
•Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
•Strong attention to detail and accuracy
•Ability to follow specs and brand guidelines precisely
•Reliable and deadline-driven
FLSA NOTE (read before posting)
Production artists and junior designers doing routine, template-driven work are
frequently NON-EXEMPT and owed overtime, because routine production is not
"creative" work under the exemption (the rules specifically exclude copyists,
retouchers, and routine production). Pay hourly and track overtime unless the
role clearly meets the creative professional test. This is general information,
not legal advice.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per hour [+ benefits]
To apply, send your resume and a portfolio link to __.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 6: Small Business / First Design Hire
Plain-language generalist scope for a first dedicated designer working with the owner, honest about FLSA classification and the IP assignment a first hire needs.
Small Business / First Design Hire Job Description
SMALL BUSINESS / FIRST DESIGN HIRE JOB DESCRIPTION
FLSA status: Likely exempt if salaried creative work; confirm by duties (see note)
Salary range: $_____ to $_____ per [year / hour]
ABOUT US
We are a small, growing business hiring our first dedicated designer. This is a
generalist role: you will own design across our brand, marketing, and maybe our
product, work directly with the owner, and have real ownership of how things
look. Right for a designer who likes variety, wears many hats, and wants to
build something.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
•Own design across brand, marketing, and collateral
•Create social, web, print, and ad assets
•Build and maintain our visual identity and templates
•Take projects from idea to finished design
•Work directly with the owner and any team
•Keep design files organized and reusable
•Help wherever design can move the business forward
•Set the design foundation as we grow
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
•[2+] years of design experience [or a strong portfolio]
•A portfolio showing real, finished work
•Proficiency in [Adobe Creative Suite / Figma / Canva]
•Comfortable being the only designer and owning decisions
•Organized, reliable, and good with deadlines
FLSA AND IP NOTE (read before posting)
A salaried designer doing original, creative work is usually exempt if paid at
least $684/week and the duties test is met; an hourly production role is often
non-exempt. If you hire a contractor, classify carefully and use a clear
contract. Either way, have the designer sign an IP assignment so your company
owns the brand and design assets they create. This is general information, not
legal advice.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Salary range: $_____ to $_____ per [year / hour] [+ benefits]
To apply, send your resume and a portfolio link to __.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
FLSA, IP, and Pay Transparency
This is the part the generic templates skip, and for a designer it is where the real risk lives: the FLSA classification is mostly exempt but not always, the IP assignment determines who owns the work, and pay-transparency laws may require a range. Here is what to get right.
FLSA: most designers are exempt, but routine production work is not
Designer is one of the trickier roles to classify, because most creative designers are exempt while a real subset is not, and the title never decides it. A salaried designer paid at least $684 a week whose primary duty is original, creative work in a recognized field such as the graphic arts usually qualifies for the creative professional exemption, so most full-time graphic and product designers are exempt. The catch is that routine production work is specifically excluded: the rules name copyists, photo retouchers, and routine animators as not creative in character. A production artist, a junior designer doing template execution, or an hourly role doing low-originality work is frequently non-exempt and owed overtime. Classify by what the person actually does, and when the work is mostly routine production, treat the role as non-exempt and pay hourly. This is general information, not legal advice.
There is no single designer role, so name the one you need
Designer is an umbrella term covering very different jobs, and using the generic title attracts a flood of mismatched applicants. A graphic designer handles brand, marketing, and print. A UI/UX or product designer handles digital product interfaces. An interior designer plans physical spaces. A production artist executes and finalizes files. Each needs different skills, tools, and a different portfolio, and each maps to a different pay band, from a graphic designer median near sixty-one thousand to a digital product designer median near ninety-eight thousand. Decide which design problem you are actually hiring to solve, use the specific title and the matching template, and name the tools and portfolio you want. A precise title is the single most effective filter for a design hire. This is general information, not legal advice.
Get an IP assignment, especially for product and brand work
A designer creates assets the company depends on, your logo, brand system, product interface, and marketing library, and an IP assignment makes sure the company owns that work rather than the designer. Without a signed intellectual property or invention assignment, ownership can be unclear, which is a serious risk for a contractor or a first hire building your brand or product from scratch. Have the designer sign an IP assignment, usually alongside the offer, that assigns all work product to the company, paired with a confidentiality agreement. This matters more for design hires than for most roles because the output is a core company asset, and it is the step generic templates never mention. Build it into the offer and onboarding rather than handling it after work begins. This is general information, not legal advice.
Pay-transparency laws may require a salary range in the posting
A growing number of states require employers to include a pay range in job postings, and the small-employer thresholds frequently catch businesses in the five-to-fifty range. States with pay-range-in-posting rules include California, Colorado, New York, Washington, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, Hawaii, Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Massachusetts, with more taking effect soon. Thresholds vary and often start low, for example New York at four or more employees and Vermont at five or more, so many small employers are covered. Even where it is not required, posting a range attracts more qualified candidates and reduces back-and-forth. Check your state's rule and include a realistic range, with any commission or bonus, in the posting. This is general information, not legal advice.
Mostly Exempt, But Not Always, Plus IP
Salaried creative designers are usually exempt under the FLSA creative-professional exemption, which needs a salary or fee basis of at least $684/week plus a primary duty of original creative work in a recognized field like the graphic arts (DOL Fact Sheet 17D). Routine production work, such as a copyist or retoucher, is non-exempt. Separately, have design hires sign an IP assignment so the company owns the brand and product work.
For the underlying rules, the exempt versus non-exempt guide and the Fair Labor Standards Act overview explain the duties tests and overtime. The practical rule: treat a salaried, genuinely creative role as exempt and a routine production role as non-exempt, confirm by actual duties, get the IP assignment signed, and post a range where your state requires one.
Skills and Tools to Include
Designer requirements center on creative skill, the right tools, and a portfolio, scaled to the type of designer. Naming your tools and requiring a relevant portfolio are the two most effective screens for any design hire.
Requirement
What to look for
Experience
2+ years in the relevant design field (or a strong portfolio)
Portfolio
A link showing the kind of work the role requires
Tools
Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, or CAD, by design type
Craft
Strong visual sense, typography, and attention to detail
Delivery
Ability to manage deadlines and take feedback
Classification
Confirm by duties; production or hourly roles often non-exempt
Keep every requirement job-related and neutral, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on a protected characteristic, and the SHRM guide covers the standard sections of a job description.
Designer Pay
Designer pay varies widely by type, with a graphic designer the most affordable common hire and a product designer the highest-paid. Anchor to the federal occupation for the specific type, then adjust for seniority and your market.
From $61,300 for Graphic to $98,090 for Digital (BLS)
By federal data for May 2024, graphic designers had a median annual wage of $61,300 (10th under $37,600, 90th over $103,030, employment about 265,900), interior designers $63,490, industrial designers $79,450, fashion designers $80,690, and web and digital interface designers $98,090.
Graphic design employment is projected to grow about 2 percent through 2034, with roughly 20,000 openings a year, while digital design grows faster. Entry-level and small-company roles sit toward the lower end, and senior designers in major metros sit well above the median. Set your range using current data for the specific type of designer, the seniority, and your market, and post a range where your state requires one.
Hiring a Designer for a Small Business
A designer is one of the most common first creative hires at a small business, made by the owner with no HR and no creative team yet. The most common version of the role, the graphic designer, and the digital version, the UI/UX designer, share the same hiring reality. Here is what that means for the posting.
A designer is often a small business's first creative hire, brought in by the owner
A designer is one of the most common early in-house hires at a small business, brought on to own marketing, brand, social, and print so the work stops being outsourced or done by the owner at midnight. At that scale there is no HR department and often no creative team yet; the owner writes the posting, reviews portfolios, and onboards the new hire directly. The generic designer templates assume a mid-size company with a creative department and HR support, and they blur the role into a vague list of duties. The six versions here, especially the General, Graphic Designer, and First Design Hire versions, are written for that reality: ready to fill in by the kind of design you need, honest about scope, and built around how a small business actually makes its first design hire.
Classification, the right title, and IP are where small businesses get exposed
Three things trip up small businesses on a design hire, and none appear in the generic templates. First, classification: most salaried creative designers are exempt, but a production artist or hourly junior role is often non-exempt and owed overtime, so confirm by duties. Second, the title: hiring a generic designer when you need a graphic designer, a product designer, or a production artist attracts the wrong applicants and the wrong pay expectations. Third, IP: a designer creates your brand and product assets, so a signed IP assignment is essential, especially for a contractor or first hire. The templates here build the FLSA note, the role split, and the IP-assignment requirement in, so a small business starts from a posting that handles all three.
Hiring the designer is the moment to set up onboarding, tools, and the IP agreement
A designer needs tools, file access, and brand context from day one, and the company needs the IP and confidentiality agreements signed before work begins. After the offer, the work is consistent: a signed offer with the correct classification, the IP and confidentiality assignment, Form I-9 and tax forms, access to design tools and the brand library, and a first-week plan. FirstHR fits this for a small business: e-signature for the offer and the IP and confidentiality agreements, an AI onboarding wizard to turn the role into a first-week and 30-60-90 plan, training modules for tools and brand onboarding, task workflows for the hiring checklist, and document management for the signed offer, IP assignment, and portfolio. To be clear about scope, FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a design tool, so pair it with your creative stack; it also does not run payroll or administer benefits. Applicant tracking is coming soon.
From Hiring to Onboarding
The job description is step one. Once a candidate accepts, the same document becomes the basis for the offer and onboarding, and a designer is a hire where the IP step matters: they create your brand and product assets, so the IP and confidentiality assignment needs to be signed before work begins.
Send the offer
Confirm the role, the kind of design, pay, and the exempt or non-exempt classification in writing, based on actual duties. An offer letter template makes this fast.
Sign the IP assignment
Have the designer sign an IP and confidentiality assignment so the company owns the brand and design work, signed before work begins.
Set up tools and context
Design-tool access, the brand library, and a first-week plan so the designer can produce on-brand work quickly.
Store the records
Keep the signed offer, IP assignment, classification basis, and portfolio organized in one place for compliance and reference.
Once your offer is ready, the offer letter template handles the next step, and a 30-60-90 day plan template gives the new designer a structured runway. FirstHR connects the offer, the IP and confidentiality agreements, paperwork, e-signatures, tool and brand onboarding, and the workflow in one place so a small business can run the full process from one system, with the classification and signed IP assignment recorded from day one. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a design tool, so pair it with your creative stack; it does not run payroll or administer benefits, so connect those separately. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Key Takeaways
Designer is an umbrella title; graphic, UI/UX, interior, industrial, and production designers are different jobs with different skills and pay.
Use the template that matches the type: general, graphic, UI/UX, interior, production artist, or first design hire.
Pay varies widely, from a graphic designer median near $61,300 to a digital product designer near $98,090; match the range to the type.
Most salaried creative designers are exempt under the FLSA creative-professional exemption, but routine production and hourly roles are often non-exempt.
Have design hires sign an IP assignment so the company owns the brand and product work, especially for a first hire or contractor.
Require a portfolio, name the tools, and post a salary range where your state's pay-transparency law requires one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a designer do?
A designer creates visual or functional work that supports a company's brand, marketing, or product, but the day-to-day depends heavily on the type of designer. A graphic designer creates brand, marketing, and print materials such as social graphics, ads, and brochures. A UI/UX or product designer researches user needs and designs digital interfaces and flows. An interior designer plans and furnishes physical spaces. A production artist executes and finalizes files for production. Across all of them, the common thread is taking a project from brief to finished, on-brand work, managing deadlines, and iterating on feedback. Because the title is an umbrella, a strong job description names the specific kind of designer you need and the portfolio and tools that go with it. This is general information, not legal advice.
What are the different types of designer?
The main types of designer map to different fields and pay bands. A graphic designer handles brand, marketing, and print and is the most common small-business design hire, with a federal median around $61,300. A UI/UX or product designer handles digital interfaces, flows, and design systems, and falls under web and digital interface designers with a median near $98,090. An interior designer plans physical spaces, with a median around $63,490. An industrial designer designs products, with a median near $79,450, and a fashion designer designs apparel, with a median around $80,690. There are also production artists, who execute and finalize files, and specialist titles like brand, motion, and set designers. Pick the type that matches the work you need, since each requires different skills, tools, and portfolios. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is a designer exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
Most salaried creative designers are exempt, but a real subset is non-exempt, and the title never decides it. A designer paid on a salary or fee basis of at least $684 a week whose primary duty is original, creative work in a recognized field such as the graphic arts usually qualifies for the FLSA creative professional exemption, so most full-time graphic and product designers are exempt. However, the rules specifically exclude routine production work, naming copyists, photo retouchers, and routine animators as not creative in character. A production artist, a junior designer doing template execution, or an hourly low-originality role is frequently non-exempt and owed overtime. Classify by the actual duties and salary, not the title, and when the work is mostly routine production, treat the role as non-exempt and pay overtime. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does a designer make?
Designer pay varies widely by type, experience, and location. Using federal data from May 2024, graphic designers had a median annual wage of $61,300, interior designers $63,490, industrial designers $79,450, and fashion designers $80,690, while web and digital interface designers, which covers UX, UI, and digital product designers, had a median of $98,090. Within each, entry-level and small-company roles sit toward the lower end and senior designers in major metros sit well above the median. For a small business, a graphic designer is the most common and most affordable creative hire, while a product or UX designer is a higher-paid, tech-leaning role. Set your range using current data for the specific type of designer, the seniority, and your market, and post a range where your state requires one. This is general information, not legal advice.
What is the difference between a graphic designer and a UX or product designer?
They are different jobs that both carry the designer title. A graphic designer works on brand, marketing, and print, creating visual assets like logos, social graphics, ads, and collateral in tools like the Adobe Creative Suite, and is the typical first in-house creative hire at a small business. A UX or product designer works on digital products, researching user needs, designing flows and interfaces, and maintaining a design system in tools like Figma, and is more common at tech companies and startups. The pay reflects the difference: graphic designers have a federal median near $61,300, while web and digital interface designers, which captures UX and product roles, sit near $98,090. If you need marketing and brand work, hire a graphic designer; if you need product interface work, hire a UX or product designer. This is general information, not legal advice.
Should I require a portfolio for a designer role?
Yes. Design is a portfolio-first field, and requiring a portfolio link in the application is the single most effective way to screen designers, far more useful than years of experience alone. Ask for a portfolio that shows the kind of work you need: brand and marketing samples for a graphic designer, product and interface work for a UX or product designer, completed spaces for an interior designer, or clean production files for a production artist. A portfolio tells you whether the designer's style, quality, and range fit your needs in a way a resume cannot. Name the requirement clearly in the posting and the apply instructions, and ask candidates to highlight the work most relevant to your role. For a small business making its first design hire, the portfolio is the most important part of the evaluation. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do I need to include a salary range in a designer job posting?
In a growing number of states, yes. Pay-transparency laws now require employers to include a salary range in job postings in states including California, Colorado, New York, Washington, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, Hawaii, Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Massachusetts, with more taking effect soon. The small-employer thresholds often start low, for example four or more employees in New York and five or more in Vermont, so many five-to-fifty-person businesses are covered. Even where it is not required, including a realistic range attracts more qualified candidates and cuts down on mismatched applications. Check your state's specific rule and threshold, then include a range that reflects the type of designer, the seniority, and your market, along with any bonus or commission. This is general information, not legal advice.
What should a designer job description include?
A strong designer job description names the specific type of designer up front, whether graphic, UI/UX or product, interior, production artist, or a generalist, since that shapes the duties, tools, and pay. Include a short company summary, a job summary that frames the scope, and responsibilities grouped into concept and design, brand and consistency, production and delivery, and collaboration. List the required experience, the specific design tools, and a portfolio request, and separate must-have from nice-to-have skills. The most valuable additions that generic templates skip are the FLSA classification with the creative-professional and non-exempt-production caveats, the IP-assignment requirement for brand and product work, and a salary range where your state's pay-transparency law requires one. Close with an equal opportunity statement and clear apply instructions including the portfolio. This is general information, not legal advice.
