# Graphic Designers

US SOC code 27-1024. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/27-1024

Also called: Visual designer, Brand designer, Print designer, Marketing designer, Creative designer.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **197,830** US graphic designers, with median pay of **$62,960** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **217,810**, in May 2018. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_graphic_design) of **10,000** from 1920, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for graphic designers: Adobe Firefly, 2023 to 2024.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 1.7% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=27-1024&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **41.1%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)
- **0.082** estimated probability that the whole occupation could be computerised, over an unspecified number of years. Not a forecast of job losses. [Frey and Osborne, 2013](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf)

### Since the 2013 prediction

In 2013, Frey and Osborne put this job's probability of computerisation at 0.082. BLS counted **194,360** of these jobs in May 2013 and **197,830** in May 2025 (+2%, a change derived by Future History).

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Graphic Designers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1890
- Latest US employment: 197,830 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $62,960 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Outlook: -1.7% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [29]

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1920 | 10,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [1] |
| 1940 | 30,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [1] |
| 1970 | 80,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Britannica [2] |
| 1985 | 120,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [3] |
| 2000 | 190,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Bureau of Labor Statistics [4] |
| 2003 | 151,950 | $36,630 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 159,720 | $38,030 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 178,530 | $38,390 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 190,880 | $39,900 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 201,080 | $41,280 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 209,290 | $42,400 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 200,870 | $43,180 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 192,240 | $43,500 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 191,550 | $44,010 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 191,440 | $44,150 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 194,360 | $44,830 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 197,540 | $45,900 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 204,850 | $46,900 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 210,710 | $47,640 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 217,170 | $48,700 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 217,810 | $50,370 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 215,930 | $52,110 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 201,440 | $53,380 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 204,040 | $50,710 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 211,890 | $57,990 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 212,720 | $58,910 | BLS OEWS May 2023 (employment) [5]; BLS OEWS May 2023 (pay) [7] |
| 2024 | 214,260 | $61,300 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 197,830 | $62,960 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (94)

### Employment series

1. [Wikipedia — History of graphic design (profession emergence)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_graphic_design), Wikipedia
2. [Britannica — Graphic design in the 20th century (postwar expansion)](https://www.britannica.com/art/graphic-design/Graphic-design-in-the-20th-century), Encyclopaedia Britannica
3. [Wikipedia — Desktop publishing (history and origins)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_publishing), Wikipedia
4. [BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2000 — introduction of 27-1024](https://www.bls.gov/soc/), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
7. [BLS OEWS May 2023 — National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (27-1024)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes271024.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
8. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

9. [Wikipedia — History of graphic design](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_graphic_design), Wikipedia
10. [Web Directions — "Years of Transformation: 1985, Desktop Publishing"](https://webdirections.org/blog/years-that-transform-1985/), Web Directions
11. [Printweek — "40 years of Macintosh: a creative explosion" (2024)](https://www.printweek.com/content/news/40-years-of-macintosh-a-creative-explosion), Printweek
12. [Wikipedia — Desktop publishing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_publishing), Wikipedia
13. [MacDailyNews — "How Steve Jobs' Apple launched the desktop publishing revolution" (2015)](https://macdailynews.com/2015/02/12/how-steve-jobs-apple-launched-the-desktop-publishing-revolution/), MacDailyNews
14. [Novedge — "Design Software History: Aldus PageMaker"](https://novedge.com/blogs/design-news/design-software-history-aldus-pagemaker-revolutionizing-design-with-desktop-publishing-in-the-1980s), Novedge
15. [Wikipedia — Adobe Illustrator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Illustrator), Wikipedia
16. [Wikipedia — Adobe Photoshop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Photoshop), Wikipedia
17. [Wikipedia — Adobe Creative Suite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Creative_Suite), Wikipedia
18. [Ramp "Payrolls to Prompts" study (February 2026) — historical freelance spend baseline](https://www.engineerscodex.com/ramp-ai-replacing-freelancers), Ramp / Engineers Codex
19. [Diginomica — "Why democratizing design is key to new Canva updates"](https://diginomica.com/why-democratizing-design-key-new-canva-updates), Diginomica
20. [IdeaPlan — "How Figma Won the Design Tool Market"](https://www.ideaplan.io/blog/how-figma-won-the-design-tool-market), IdeaPlan
21. [LogRocket — "Adobe won't acquire Figma: What does this mean for users?"](https://blog.logrocket.com/ux-design/adobe-wont-acquire-figma/), LogRocket
22. [Wikipedia — Midjourney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midjourney), Wikipedia
23. [Vice — "Artists Are Revolting Against AI Art on ArtStation" (December 2022)](https://www.vice.com/en/article/artists-are-revolt-against-ai-art-on-artstation/), Vice
24. [We and the Color — "The Collapse of the Mid-Level Freelance Market Due to AI"](https://weandthecolor.com/freelance-designers-cant-compete-with-a-20-month-ai-subscription-heres-what-actually-works-now/209620), We and the Color
25. [Adobe Blog — "The future is Firefly" (October 2023, Adobe MAX)](https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2023/10/10/future-is-firefly-adobe-max), Adobe
26. [Adobe News — "Adobe Releases New Firefly Generative AI Models" (September 2023)](https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2023/adobe-releases-new-firefly-generative-ai-models-and-web-app-integrates-firefly-into-creative-cloud-and-adobe-express), Adobe
27. [NBC News — "Coca-Cola causes controversy with AI-generated ad" (November 2024)](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/coca-cola-causes-controversy-ai-made-ad-rcna180665), NBC News
28. [Kaptur — "The Silent Collapse: Generative AI's Erosion of Photo Licensing Revenue"](https://kaptur.co/the-silent-collapse-generative-ais-erosion-of-photo-licensing-revenue/), Kaptur

### Forecasts and exposure studies

29. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 27-1024 Graphic designers (2025: 253.1 thousand; 2035: 248.8 thousand; -1.7%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=27-1024&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
30. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 27-1024 Graphic Designers: probability 0.082, rank 161 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford
31. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 27-1024.00, human-rated β 0.411)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

32. [Wikipedia — American Institute of Graphic Arts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Institute_of_Graphic_Arts), Wikipedia
33. [Wikipedia — William Addison Dwiggins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Addison_Dwiggins), Wikipedia
34. [Printweek — "40 years of Macintosh: a creative explosion" (2024)](https://www.printweek.com/content/news/40-years-of-macintosh-a-creative-explosion), Printweek
35. [MacDailyNews — "How Steve Jobs' Apple launched the desktop publishing revolution" (2015)](https://macdailynews.com/2015/02/12/how-steve-jobs-apple-launched-the-desktop-publishing-revolution/), MacDailyNews
36. [Wikipedia — Adobe Creative Suite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Creative_Suite), Wikipedia
37. [Smithsonian Magazine — "Art Made With Artificial Intelligence Wins at State Fair" (September 2022)](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/artificial-intelligence-art-wins-colorado-state-fair-180980703/), Smithsonian Magazine
38. [Vice — "Artists Are Revolting Against AI Art on ArtStation" (December 2022)](https://www.vice.com/en/article/artists-are-revolt-against-ai-art-on-artstation/), Vice
39. [Adobe Blog — "The future is Firefly" (Adobe MAX, October 2023)](https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2023/10/10/future-is-firefly-adobe-max), Adobe
40. [Engineers Codex — "New Study: Businesses Are Replacing Freelancers with AI at a 97% Cost Savings" (citing Ramp study, February 2026)](https://www.engineerscodex.com/ramp-ai-replacing-freelancers), Ramp / Engineers Codex

### Predecessors & successors

41. [Wikipedia — History of graphic design (profession emergence)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_graphic_design), Wikipedia
42. [Wikipedia — Desktop publishing (impact on typesetting)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_publishing), Wikipedia
43. [Web Directions — "Years of Transformation: 1985, Desktop Publishing"](https://webdirections.org/blog/years-that-transform-1985/), Web Directions

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Graphic Designers (27-1024.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-1024.00), accessed 2026-05-23
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Graphic Designers](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-design/graphic-designers.htm), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Colorlib — 85+ Graphic Design Statistics & Trends (2026 Edition)](https://colorlib.com/wp/graphic-design-statistics/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Clutch — State of the Graphic Design Industry 2026](https://clutch.co/resources/graphic-design-industry-2026), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Canva Magic Studio Review 2026: Speed, Brand Control, Limits](https://aiflowreview.com/canva-magic-studio-review/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Adobe — Image editing just got smarter with AI in Photoshop and Firefly (Mar 2026)](https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2026/03/10/image-editing-just-got-smarter-with-ai-photoshop-firefly), accessed 2026-05-23
- [House of GAI — MidJourney V8 for Designers: What's Real, What's Hype (2026)](https://www.houseofgai.com/blog/midjourney-v8-big-rebuild-claims-was-i-wowed), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Midjourney V8.1 Review — felloai.com (2026)](https://felloai.com/midjourney-v8-1-review/), accessed 2026-05-23

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.