Set and Exhibit Designers
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Reads scripts and studies the period or place a story needs, then turns that into floor plans, scenery drawings, and material lists that a shop can build. Exhibit work starts the same way: meetings on theme, space, timeline, and budget, followed by renderings that cover layout, construction, lighting, and effects. Plans go in for approval and get revised when money or fabrication limits get in the way. Rehearsals and production meetings are part of the job so the set still works once actors and crew are in it. Suits people who like research-heavy visual planning, tight budgets, and revising drawings until they can be built.
Typical education: Bachelor’s Degree (4-year)
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$75'240
Median Wage Market Position
$75'240
What you might do
- Read scripts to learn what the set must show
- Research architectural styles for the period depicted
- Sketch set designs from scripts, budgets, and locations
- Draw scale plans of scenery, floors, and props
- Draft exhibit layouts with materials and lighting notes
- Attend rehearsals and meetings to refine the design
Skills that matter
- Reading scripts for setting and period
- Drawing scale plans of floors and scenery
- Comparing notes in rehearsals and meetings
- Revising sets to fit budget and fabrication
- Looking up architecture for the era shown
- Specifying construction, layout, and lighting
AI & the future of this role
Script-driven concepts and visual references are areas design tools could take over more of. Collaboration with directors and physical build constraints still matter, though early ideation looks increasingly automatable.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details