If you’re a perfectionist with meticulous attention-to-detail, the role of an Artworker is broad and widely sought-after. You may work on high volume projects which will mean you’ll need to work at pace without losing your detail orientated approach.

As an Artworker, you may be working on a broad range of media, including POS (point of sale), brochures, editorial, packaging, catalogues, print marketing collateral, digital assets, promotional merchandise and trade show or events collateral.

What exactly you will be doing is dependent on the specific client or business requirements, if you’re agency-side you can be sure that you’ll be working closely with the Client Services and Creative teams to ensure work is on brief and to the client requirements. If you’re working in-house/client side you’ll be with the marketing or creative team working on the business’s creative requirements.

Regardless of your level of seniority, you’ll need an eye for detail as you’ll be one of the last people within the studio to work on a brief before it goes to print, or goes live. You’ll be making amends to design work that is passed over from elsewhere in the studio. In some studios the Artworker or Creative Artworker (CAW) exists in its own right, in other studios (often smaller teams) the Designer will artwork their own projects.

In some teams, you’ll act as a brand guardian, ensuring all work is on brief and within the existing brand guidelines. In print focused artwork positions, it’ll be your responsibility to ensure files are ready to go out to print/press and you’ll need to typeset documents and files where necessary.

Creative Artworker
Visual Image Developer
Communication Designer
Assistant Artworker
Technical Artworker

Head of Artwork

We’ve outlined the latest salary benchmarks for Artworker roles in the guides below:

Design Salary Guide South West

You’ll be well versed in the Adobe Creative Suite and a dab hand with all the usual suspects including Photoshop, Illustrator InDesign. It’ll be your responsibility to ensure the brands’ consistency, accuracy and legibility across all work that you produce.

You will usually need a foundation degree or diploma within a relevant subject. These include graphic design, graphic communication, illustration and art.

Salary:

£20k – £25k

What They Do:

Supports the design team by preparing final artwork files for print and digital. Checks for errors, ensures brand consistency, and assists with simple design tasks.

Skills Needed:

• Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) basics
• Understanding of print production processes
• Strong attention to detail and proofing skills
• Ability to follow brand guidelines precisely
• Time management and eagerness to learn

Salary:

£25k – £32k

What They Do:

Executes artwork production for a variety of projects including packaging, print, digital, and POS. Collaborates with designers and suppliers to ensure quality.

Skills Needed:

• Advanced artwork creation and file setup
• Colour management and print specification knowledge
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to adapt layouts for different formats and platforms
• Communication skills for working with printers and vendors

Salary:

£32k – £40k

What They Do:

Leads the production of complex artwork projects, mentors junior artworkers, and ensures technical accuracy and brand compliance.

Skills Needed:

• Deep understanding of artwork production and pre-press
• Strong knowledge of packaging and multi-channel artwork
• Problem-solving skills for complex layouts and print challenges
• Quality control and proofing expertise
• Mentoring and workflow management

Salary:

£40k – £50k

What They Do:

Oversees a studio or artwork team, managing workflow, deadlines, and supplier relationships. Works closely with designers and account managers.

Skills Needed:

• Team leadership and scheduling
• Budget and resource planning
• Strong vendor negotiation and relationship management
• Workflow optimisation
• Excellent organisation and delegation

Salary:

£50k – £60k

What They Do:

Leads the artwork or production department, ensuring efficient delivery of all creative outputs. Aligns artwork and production with business objectives.

Skills Needed:

• Department leadership and strategy
• Extensive knowledge of artwork, print, and production
• Client and stakeholder management
• Budget ownership and reporting
• Driving efficiency and maintaining quality standards