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Art coordinator vs art director

The differences between art coordinators and art directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an art coordinator, becoming an art director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an art director has an average salary of $88,367, which is higher than the $50,508 average annual salary of an art coordinator.

The top three skills for an art coordinator include fine arts, arts curriculum and graphic design. The most important skills for an art director are graphic design, art direction, and creative concepts.

Art coordinator vs art director overview

Art CoordinatorArt Director
Yearly salary$50,508$88,367
Hourly rate$24.28$42.48
Growth rate12%4%
Number of jobs18,09911,472
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4640
Years of experience26

What does an art coordinator do?

An Art Coordinator oversees art programs to ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Their duties include setting objectives and guidelines, conceptualizing plans, liaising with internal and external parties, delegating tasks among staff, and arranging various activities. They also produce progress reports, coordinate with artists, and resolve conflicts should any arise. When it comes to employment, an Art Coordinator may work at galleries, museums, art studios, learning institutions, and private companies.

What does an art director do?

An art director's duty will vary depending on the line of industry involved. However, most of the responsibilities will revolve in taking charge of the artistic direction and decisions in a project or campaign. Most of the time, it is an art director's call to conceptualize and bring a vision to completion and take the lead in coordinating with various artists and creative staff. Furthermore, an art director must oversee the progress of workflow and workforce, develop plans and strategies, and approve or provide suggestions in every creative output from staff.

Art coordinator vs art director salary

Art coordinators and art directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Art CoordinatorArt Director
Average salary$50,508$88,367
Salary rangeBetween $34,000 And $73,000Between $57,000 And $135,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaWashington
Best paying companyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe Walt Disney Company
Best paying industryMediaTechnology

Differences between art coordinator and art director education

There are a few differences between an art coordinator and an art director in terms of educational background:

Art CoordinatorArt Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorFine ArtsGraphic Design
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityHarvard University

Art coordinator vs art director demographics

Here are the differences between art coordinators' and art directors' demographics:

Art CoordinatorArt Director
Average age4640
Gender ratioMale, 29.3% Female, 70.7%Male, 57.4% Female, 42.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 11.2% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage16%11%

Differences between art coordinator and art director duties and responsibilities

Art coordinator example responsibilities.

  • Manage direction, choreography, vocal music preparation, set design, lights, costumes, and lobby display.
  • Manage graphic arts department and camera and typesetting departments.
  • Manage art assistant, including scheduling and quality control of art photography and certificates of authenticity.
  • Supervise product launches, initiate vision for client branding by participating in creative team planning committees and brainstorming sessions.
  • Create and maintain all websites for the animation program.
  • Create all props, costumes, set designs and lighting designs on a very limit and strict budget.
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Art director example responsibilities.

  • Manage a small group of graphic artists for PC/Mac catalog.
  • Lead the conception, design and execution of cross channel initiatives for healthcare and pharmaceutical clients.
  • Monitor the day-to-day activities on projects working with editorial, design and technical teams to execute and achieve project goals.
  • Collaborate on marketing strategies and concept creation for sketch presentations, and photo shoots with talent.
  • Utilize working knowledge of HTML, CSS and PHP in the creation of web sites and social media campaigns.
  • Perform vast typesetting and paste-up duties.
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Art coordinator vs art director skills

Common art coordinator skills
  • Fine Arts, 14%
  • Arts Curriculum, 8%
  • Graphic Design, 6%
  • Drama, 5%
  • Art Program, 5%
  • Art Therapy, 4%
Common art director skills
  • Graphic Design, 11%
  • Art Direction, 7%
  • Creative Concepts, 7%
  • Sketch, 7%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 5%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 5%

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