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Popular careers: Design

Information about the profession of designer in Switzerland: typical jobs, activities, salary and career opportunities .

Designing the products of tomorrow, developing visual ideas, realizing your potential in the design industry and turning your creativity into a career: that is the dream of many graduates. The design industry offers a wide variety of different jobs, each with its own unique characteristics. If you specialize in artistic design, you could become a digital artist or fashion designer, for example. If you focus on technical design, a position as a graphic designer could be of interest to you. With this variety of career fields, the question arises as to what career opportunities are available and how the work is paid. We explain what you can expect in this popular field, how you are paid in different industries and areas and what skills you should have in order to be successful.

This is what you do as a designer

Design is one of the most popular professions, and the industry is colorful and diverse. As a designer, you create and design objects, products, processes, graphics, services or experiences.

The range of possibilities is as diverse as a paint box, and that's why every creative mind will find its calling here. Fashion fanatics who know all the latest trends in the fashion world will find their fulfillment in fashion design. Computer-savvy technology geeks will also get their money's worth in the profession of designer. As a graphic designer, you combine creativity with technical knowledge to create graphic communication tools using images and sound. You help customers and companies to spread their messages in a way that is aesthetic and memorable. As a UX designer, you focus on the experiences a user has with products, services or environments. You research customer needs and develop solutions to improve the customer experience. As a polygrapher, for example, you edit texts, images and graphics for various print and digital media.

As you can see, the field of design is extremely broad. Jean-Paul Gaultier is just as much a designer as Jonathan Ive. One is active in the fashion industry, the other has helped design many of Apple's most popular products. The two professions are practically incomparable, yet they both have the same job title.

Das macht man im Bereich Design

These are the 20 most sought-after design jobs in Switzerland

The job title of designer encompasses everything from designing fashion to developing computer systems. Many people with a creative streak are put off by the myth that only a few designers actually manage to make a living from their job. This may be true for many professions and not all types of design are equally in demand. But there are certainly numerous creative jobs as a designer that offer excellent prospects and are at least as in demand as many other professions.

To give you some clarity and orientation, here you will find a list of the currently most frequently advertised positions in Switzerland.

Job title

Advertised jobs (CH)

User Interface-Designer 

2'662

Digital Artist 

355

Graphic Designer

331

Decorator

255

Webdesigner 

245

Typeface and advertising designer

182

Polygraph

166

Design Engineer

139

Animation designer

116

Art Director 

62

Multimedia-Designer 

47

Layouter 

39

Fashion designer

37

Conceptual designer

34

Usability Product Specialist 

28

Communication Designer

24

Design Manager 

20

Production Designer

18

Gamedesigner 

15

Community Manager

132

Stand der Auswertung: Juli 2022

Are you looking for a job? Here you can find all jobs in Switzerland in the field of design.

Gefragte Jobs im Design

These are exciting employers for design jobs

As already explained, as a designer you can gain a foothold in a wide range of industries and areas, depending on your specialization. Of course, choosing a suitable employer is also part of a smooth start to your professional life. So which companies are worth applying to? We have put together a list of exciting employers in the design sector in Switzerland for you.

You can find many other exciting companies in the design sector with Scrambl's SkillMatcher!

Spannende Arbeitgeber für Design-Jobs in der Schweiz

This is what you need to be able to do as a designer

What knowledge and skills can you use to impress in an interview? And what activities can you expect in this industry? We have analyzed job advertisements from Switzerland and summarized the following selection of skills for you:

Typical activities and knowledge for careers in the field of design

Das musst du als Design können

Top skills for user interface designers

  • Optimize website layouts

  • Designing user interfaces

  • Create wireframes

  • Create mockups

  • Create prototypes

  • Develop design guidelines

  • Conduct user analyses

  • Conduct requirements analysis

  • Conduct usability tests

  • Create storyboards

  • Create user flows

  • Scrum

  • Adobe Creative Suite

  • OmniGraffle

  • CSS

  • HTML

  • Balsamic

  • UXPin

  • Vector design

  • Graphic design

  • Adobe XD

  • Figma

Top skills for digital artists

  • Perform 3D modelling

  • After Effects

  • Adobe Premiere

  • Adobe

  • illustrator

  • Developing characters

  • Creating game worlds

  • Create web layouts

  • Usability

  • Cinema 4D

  • Ocatane Renderer

  • rendering

  • Design and create 2D animations

  • Design and create 3D animations

  • Edit videos

Top skills for graphic designers

  • Create design templates

  • Create print templates

  • Develop product designs

  • Implementing product designs

  • Designing brochures

  • Design newsletters

  • Image composition

  • Create company logos

  • Design packaging designs

  • Designing online media

  • Designing print media

  • Develop advertising material layouts

  • Developing corporate design

Top skills for decorators

  • Conceptualize window display design

  • Conceptualize sales room design

  • Create photomontages

  • Create models

  • Develop decoration concepts

  • Design sales promotions

  • Implementing visual concepts

  • Responsible for product presentation

  • Support store redesigns

  • Adobe Photoshop

  • Adobe Illustrator

Top skills for web designers

  • Design websites

  • Optimize websites

  • Create mockups

  • Create storyboards

  • Designing web solutions

  • Designing applications

  • Design banners

  • Ensure usability

  • Create site maps

  • Create wireframes

  • Create design ideas

  • Scrum

  • Adobe Photoshop

  • Adobe Creative Suite

  • Adobe Illustrator

  • CSS

  • HTML

  • JavaScript

Top skills for type and advertising designers

  • Designing labels

  • Produce labels

  • Designing advertisements

  • Coating materials

  • Digital printing

  • Operating the cutting plotter

  • Produce labels

  • Labeling exhibition stands

Top skills for polygraphers

  • Edit layouts

  • Edit texts

  • Create graphics

  • Conceptualize media projects

  • Implement image adjustments

  • Create corporate design guidelines

  • Adobe Illustrator

  • Adobe InDesign

  • Adobe Photoshop

  • Designing online media

  • Designing print media

  • Develop visual concepts

  • Develop content ideas

  • Manage online shops

  • Design video files

Top skills for design engineers

  • Lead design projects

  • Develop assemblies

  • Develop systems

  • Create 3D drawings

  • Create 3D drawings

  • Create 2D visualizations

  • CAD

  • AutoCAD

  • Solidworks

  • Create drawing documentation

  • Create models

  • Analyze prototypes

  • Exploring product ideas

  • Conduct product tests

  • Analyze materials

  • Carry out certifications

  • Create 2D configuration drawings

  • Create 3D configuration drawings

Top skills for animation designers

  • Implementing game ideas

  • Modeling objects

  • Modelling figures

  • Animating models

  • Animation software

  • Adobe Creative Suite

  • Motion Capture

  • Unity

  • Camera animation

  • UnrealEngine

  • 3D Studio Max

Top skills for multimedia designers

  • Design websites

  • Designing computer-animated cartoons

  • Designing screen interface layouts

  • Motion Design

  • Develop storyboards

  • Define technical requirements

  • Figma

  • sketch

  • Adobe Creative Suite

  • Video production

  • Audio production

  • Photo editing

  • Develop campaign short films

  • Develop product videos

  • 3D rendering software

Top skills for layout designers

  • Create graphic concepts

  • Coordinate projects

  • Create layouts

  • Implement layouts

  • Design websites

  • Designing books

  • Edit photos

  • Integrate images

  • Design posters

  • Select color

  • Using layout software

Top skills for fashion designers

  • Designing fashion products

  • Designing fashion collections

  • Designing fashion shows

  • Making garments

  • Designing models

  • Drawing patterns

  • Sewing fabric pieces together

  • To take measurements

  • Fashion

  • Make model sketches

  • Designing clothes

  • Designing accessories

  • Operating sewing machines

  • Create material calculations

Top skills for Usability Product Specialist

  • Organize usability tests

  • Organize usability evaluations

  • Record test results

  • Develop suggestions for improvement

  • Designing user interfaces

  • Conduct user analyses

  • Develop software UI concepts

  • Accompany test case creation

  • Create operating concepts

  • Analyze user journeys

  • Create UX concepts

  • Create wireframes

  • Balsamic

  • Create storyboards

  • Create click dummies

  • Developing UX research concepts

Top-Skills für Kommunikations-Designer 

  • Develop communication strategies

  • Implementing communication strategies

  • Expand brand strategies

  • Designing communication activities

  • Plan communication activities

  • Designing communication tools

  • Create media information

  • Plan marketing resources

  • Plan online marketing activities

  • Plan marketing campaigns

  • Leading communication projects

  • Designing printed materials

  • Responsible for Corporate Identity

  • Designing brochures

Top skills for design managers

  • Creating a corporate design strategy

  • Evaluate corporate design strategy

  • Develop design concepts

  • Set advertising goals

  • Specify media types

  • Design advertising campaigns

  • Designing digital campaigns

  • Leading creative sessions

  • Developing creative strategies

  • Planning design projects

  • Brand Management

  • B2B Marketing

  • B2C marketing

Top skills for product designers

  • Create design drafts

  • create drawings

  • 3D CAD

  • Support project designers

  • Plan production orders

  • Monitor planning runs

  • SAP APO

  • Maintain product data

  • Constructing machines

  • Designing systems

  • Create prototypes

  • Create computer simulations

  • Create production documents

  • AutoCAD

  • Solidworks

Top skills for art directors

  • Develop video concepts

  • Develop design concepts

  • Set advertising goals

  • Specify media types

  • Design advertising campaigns

  • Designing digital campaigns

  • Designing brand pages

  • Online CI

  • After Effects

  • Motion Graphics

  • Planning creative projects

  • Plan video content

  • Brand Design

  • Create layouts

(The skills listed were extracted from open positions in 2021 and 2022 - you can find all skills in the Scrambl. SkillMatcher.)

Do you have some of these skills and would like to know which positions require them?
With Scrambl. SkillMatcher you can quickly and easily discover which jobs best suit your skills.

These are the soft skills you should have in the field of design

To be a successful designer, you obviously need to be creative. But did you know that in addition to technical design skills, such as color theory, composition and software knowledge, you need something called "soft skills"? Soft skills relate to your personality and are at least as important as your Photoshop skills.

Soft skills are an important component for your professional success. The personality of individual employees has an enormous influence on teamwork and ultimately on the success of a company. You should highlight your social skills in your application to round off your profile. Soft skills give your application an individual touch - they help you stand out from the flood of applicants. We have summarized some key skills for you so that you can get an idea of what is expected of you:

  • creativity

  • communication

  • Time management

  • Teamwork

  • Conflict management skills

Always make sure that you only use skills in your application that represent your actual personality. At the interview, HR managers will be suspicious if you present yourself as extremely self-confident but constantly stutter during the conversation. Consciously avoid choosing skills that you know are not among your strengths.

Diese Soft Skills solltest du im Bereich Design mitbringen

This is what you earn in design in Switzerland

Your professional experience and the industry are important factors that influence your salary. You can find out here what starting salary you can expect for some of the most sought-after designer jobs and what employees in the various positions earn on average.

Job title

Starting salary

Average salary

User Interface-Designer 

CHF 74'400

CHF 89'300

Digital-Artist

CHF 72'000

CHF 83'000

Graphic Designer

CHF 64'200

CHF 69'500

Decorator

CHF 52'300

CHF 60'000

Webdesigner 

CHF 61'900

CHF 67'400

Typeface and advertising designer

CHF 53'900

CHF 60'100

Polygraph

CHF 62'700

CHF 67'900

Design Engineer

CHF 72'000

CHF 83'700

Animation Designer

CHF 71'500

CHF 76'000

Art Director 

CHF 80'100

CHF 90'200

Multimedia-Designer 

CHF 64’200

CHF 76'300

Desktop-Publisher 

CHF 67'000

CHF 79'800

Layouter 

CHF 68'300

CHF 74'200

Fashion designer

CHF 58'500

CHF 66'400

Usability Product Specialist 

CHF 89'700

CHF 103'500

Communication Designer

CHF 64’250

CHF 75'900

Design Manager 

CHF 100’000

CHF 114’800

Production Designer

CHF 65'800

CHF 74'800

Gamedesigner 

CHF 60'000

CHF 65'400

Above all, the industry in which you work as a designer has a huge influence on pay. The size of a company, the customer base and the location are also decisive factors. In general, however, it is clear that you usually earn very well in the design industry - the larger and more diverse your portfolio is, the higher your salary will be in the end. Do you cover many different areas? Is your style unique? As your professional experience increases, the number of completed projects you have managed naturally also increases. Especially as a freelancer, but also as an employee, the portfolio is your calling card in the design world.

Das verdient man im Design in der Schweiz

These are your career opportunities in design in Switzerland

With a completed design degree, you can usually get started in a wide variety of areas, because design studies are usually very general. But even with a completed vocational training or as a career changer, many doors in the design industry are open to you.

After their training or studies, design graduates usually find themselves working in agencies and companies or decide to become self-employed. You don't necessarily have to have studied to work as a designer. A degree is not a mandatory requirement, especially in the design industry. However, jobs in the creative field are extremely popular among applicants. This naturally means that you not only have to expect great competition when applying, but there is also competition between designers on the job market. If you have a lot of ambition, perseverance and, above all, passion, you still have a real chance of having a successful career. If you have been working on your portfolio for years and are passionate about designing and creating in your free time, you can also establish yourself in the profession as a career changer.

No matter which path is ultimately best for you, the career opportunities are endless. For this reason, it is important that you specialize early on in order to set yourself apart from other applicants. Practical experience in different areas and industries gives you the opportunity to find out which career path you want to take.

Would you like to gain practical experience to prepare yourself for entering professional life? Here you can find all currently advertised positions for internships and working student jobs in Switzerland.

Das sind deine Karrieremöglichkeiten im Bereich Design in der Schweiz

Self-employed in the field of design: In these areas you can work as a design freelancer in Switzerland

It has never been easier to start your own business. Today's technology allows you to work from home, share a coworking space with other freelancers or sit in a villa in Bali - and still reach customers from all over the world. Are you wondering in which areas you can become self-employed as a designer? We have selected some of the most popular freelance jobs in the design sector for you:

  • Graphic Designer

  • UX Designer

  • Game designer

  • Animation designer

  • Web designer

 

Anyone who is at home in the design genre can inspire and motivate people with their skills. So it's no wonder that many companies are looking for creative minds to achieve this effect on customers. The market is booming, and many agencies rely on freelance designers and graphic artists to keep bringing fresh, new ideas into their own company. Designers act more emotionally than rationally. Hardly any designer enjoys paperwork. So before you take the leap into self-employment, there are a few facts to clarify. What type of business do I need? What does the tax office want to know? What does the market look like in which I want to establish myself? All of this and much more is an integral part of self-employment.

Design Freelance
Berufsbild Design

Here you can find all the exciting design jobs in Switzerland.

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