Graphic and interior designers
Graphic designers and illustratorsNOC 52120, TEER 2
NOC 52120 (Graphic designers and illustrators) is TEER 2.TEER 2
Occupations that usually require a college diploma, apprenticeship training of 2 or more years, or supervisory occupations
- Express Entry
- IRCC counts TEER 0 to 3 work for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class, so work in NOC 52120 sits inside that range.
- 2026 categories
- IRCC's 2026 category lists do not include NOC 52120.
- Median wage
- $31.25 an hour across Canada, from Job Bank's 2025 wage release (2023-2024 data).
- Provincial programs
- Each province sets which occupations its streams take. From our registry: OINP Ontario Workforce Priority stream, status Open, verified November 12, 2026.
How to read this code
- Broad category
- The first digit is the broad occupational category, the widest grouping in the NOC.
- TEER
- The second digit, 2, is the TEER category: TEER 2.
- Group
- The first four digits, 5212, are the minor group: Graphic and interior designers.
- Occupation
- All five digits, 52120, are the unit group, the occupation itself: Graphic designers and illustrators.
Also called: graphic designer, 3D animation artist, advertising designer, animator - animated films, bank note designer
This page shows the official duties for NOC 52120, where its TEER sits in immigration rules, and the wages Job Bank reports. It describes the rules. It does not decide anyone's case.
What the job involves
Statistics Canada text, quoted word for word. IRCC compares your duties with this description, not your job title.
Lead statement
Graphic designers conceptualize and produce graphic art and visual materials to effectively communicate information for publications, advertising, films, packaging, posters, signs and interactive media such as Web sites and CDs. They are employed by advertising and graphic design firms, by establishments with advertising or communications departments and by multimedia production companies, or they may be self-employed. Graphic designers who are also supervisors, project managers or consultants are included in this unit group. Illustrators conceptualize and create illustrations to represent information through images. They are almost solely self-employed.
Example job titles
- 3D animation artist
- advertising designer
- animator - animated films
- bank note designer
- cartoonist
- commercial artist
- graphic artist
- graphic designer
- graphic designer - multimedia
- illustrator
- layout designer
- medical illustrator
- multimedia illustrator
- scientific illustrator
Main duties: check yours
IRCC's rule for the Federal Skilled Worker Program: you must have performed "the actions in the lead statement" and "most of the main duties listed". Tick the duties you do. The count helps you compare. It is not a decision.
Verify on canada.ca(opens in a new tab)This group covers more than one job. Compare yourself with the duties under the job closest to yours.
Lead statement: not ticked. Main duties ticked: 0 of 17.
The rule asks for the lead statement and most of the main duties. IRCC gives no number for "most", and an officer decides.
Few ticks? Read "Classified elsewhere" below: it names the codes for jobs that sit close to this one.
Your ticks are kept in this browser only, so they are here when you come back. Nothing is sent. "Clear ticks" erases them.
If your duties look different
Statistics Canada names the jobs that belong in a different NOC. If one of these sounds more like your work, open that code and compare.
Classified elsewhere
- 10022Advertising manager (See 10022 Advertising, marketing and public relations managers)
- 52111Graphic arts technicians (See 52111 Graphic arts technicians)
- 52121Interior designers and interior decorators (See 52121 Interior designers and interior decorators)
- 53122Painters, sculptors and other visual artists (See 53122 Painters, sculptors and other visual artists)
Usual employment requirements
- A university degree in visual arts with specialization in graphic design, commercial art, graphic communications or cartooning or completion of a college diploma program in graphic arts is required.
- Experience or training in multimedia design at a post-secondary, college or technical institution may be required.
- In addition to the arts, training in biology, engineering, architecture or a scientific field is usually required for medical, technical and scientific illustrators.
- Creative ability and artistic talent, as demonstrated by a portfolio of work, are required for graphic designers and illustrators.
Where TEER 2 sits in immigration rules
Each row gives the rule, then what it means for this occupation. The programs set many other conditions too, so read the official page before you act.
Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class
The rule: both programs count work experience only in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3.
What this means: NOC 52120 is TEER 2, so work in it is inside that range. The TEER is one condition, not the whole test. Both programs also set how much work you need (at least 1 year, or 1,560 hours), when you did it, and minimum language results.
Federal Skilled Trades Program
The rule: this program goes by NOC group, not by TEER alone. IRPR s. 87.2 lists Major Groups 72 (less Sub-major Group 726), 73, 82, 83, 92 and 93 (less Sub-major Group 932), Minor Group 6320 and Unit Group 62200, other than a restricted occupation.
What this means: NOC 52120 is not in one of the listed groups, so work in it is not skilled trade experience under this program.
Express Entry category-based selection, 2026
The rule: IRCC publishes a closed list of NOC codes for each category. NOC 52120 is not on any 2026 occupation list.
What this means: People in this occupation can still be invited in general or program-specific rounds. French-language proficiency is a separate category: it depends on test results (NCLC 7 in all 4 abilities), not on the occupation.
IRCC page modified October 16, 2026, checked November 12, 2026.
Atlantic Immigration Program
The rule: the program takes job offers in TEER 0 to 4 from designated employers in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The job must be full-time and non-seasonal.
What this means: A TEER 2 offer must last at least 1 year from the day the person becomes a permanent resident.
Provincial Nominee Programs
The rule: each province and territory sets its own requirements and streams, including which occupations and TEER levels a stream takes.
What this means: Check the stream's own page for this NOC code. One example from our program status registry:
Program status: OINP Ontario Workforce Priority stream: Open
The stream has launched and the expression of interest portal opened on August 4, 2026. It covers skilled workers with a qualifying job offer in any NOC occupation, plus self-employed physicians.
Verified November 12, 2026 · Official source
Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
The rule: an employer, not a worker, applies for an LMIA, and ESDC assesses each job offer. The wage offered, compared with the provincial or territorial threshold, puts the job in the high-wage or low-wage stream.
What this means: Service Canada refuses to process low-wage applications for jobs in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is 6% or higher. Some sectors are exempt, such as primary agriculture, construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, and nursing and residential care. ESDC updates the list of areas each quarter. When this page was checked (September 26, 2026), the ESDC page showed the list for July 10 to October 8, 2026; open the ESDC page for the list in force today. A separate pause covers low-wage jobs in Montréal and Laval.
Wages in Canada
The wages Job Bank publishes for NOC 52120, for Canada as a whole and for each province and territory.
- Low
- $20.00
- per hour
- Median
- $31.25
- per hour
- High
- $52.88
- per hour
What this means: half of the people in this occupation earn less than the median and half earn more. Pay changes with the province, the employer and your experience.
Median by province or territory
| Province or territory | Median (per hour) |
|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $25.00 |
| Prince Edward Island | $26.39 |
| Nova Scotia | $28.85 |
| New Brunswick | $27.77 |
| Quebec | $30.00 |
| Ontario | $32.69 |
| Manitoba | $25.64 |
| Saskatchewan | $23.00 |
| Alberta | $26.30 |
| British Columbia | $35.00 |
| Yukon | Not published |
| Northwest Territories | Not published |
| Nunavut | Not published |
Reference period 2023-2024. Data source: Labour Force Survey. ESDC Job Bank wages, release revised 2025-11-19. (opens in a new tab)
Search jobs for NOC 52120 on Job Bank(opens in a new tab)ClearToEnter is not affiliated with Job Bank or ESDC.
Related occupations
Codes in the same NOC group as 52120, the closest first.
- 52121Interior designerInterior designers and interior decoratorsTEER 2
- 52119Other technical and coordinating occupations in motion pictures, broadcasting and the performing artsTEER 2
- 52114AnnouncerAnnouncers and other broadcastersTEER 2
- 52113Video editorAudio and video recording techniciansTEER 2
- 52112Broadcast techniciansTEER 2
- 52111Graphic arts techniciansTEER 2
Questions about this code
What is the TEER of NOC 52120?
NOC 52120 (Graphic designers and illustrators) is TEER 2: occupations that usually require a college diploma, apprenticeship training of 2 or more years, or supervisory occupations. In NOC 2021, the second digit of a code is its TEER: in 52120, it is 2. Every job title in this unit group, such as graphic designer, shares that TEER.
Is NOC 52120 eligible for Express Entry?
IRCC counts work experience in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class. NOC 52120 is TEER 2, so work in it sits inside that range. IRCC's 2026 category lists do not include NOC 52120. People in this occupation can still be invited in general or program-specific rounds. IRCC decides each case.
What is the median wage for NOC 52120?
Job Bank reports a median wage of $31.25 an hour for NOC 52120 across Canada. The low figure is $20.00 and the high is $52.88. Medians by province and territory run from $23.00 in Saskatchewan to $35.00 in British Columbia. The figures come from Job Bank's 2025 wage release (Labour Force Survey, 2023-2024).
What job titles are under NOC 52120?
Statistics Canada lists 14 example job titles for NOC 52120, including graphic designer, 3D animation artist, advertising designer, animator - animated films and bank note designer. The title alone does not set the code: IRCC compares your duties with the lead statement and main duties on this page.
Can an employer hire for NOC 52120 through an LMIA?
An employer, not a worker, applies for an LMIA, and ESDC assesses each job offer, including the wage. For low-wage jobs, Service Canada refuses to process applications in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is 6% or higher, with some exemptions.
Next steps
Read the rules behind this page, then compare pathways.
Guides
The law
Compare pathways for this occupation
The Pathway Explorer lists each major program and its published criteria. Take NOC 52120 and its TEER with you.
NOC 2021 Version 1.0: Statistics Canada and ESDC.