How To Become An Art Director Internship: What It Is and Career Path

What is an art director internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Cynthia Tovar

An art director intern shadows an art director in order to learn more about the world of design or fine art. An art director internship often involves lots of administrative work such as filing papers and making copies, just like any other internship. However, interns often get the opportunity to get hands on with art direction. They work with a team to develop a cohesive brand strategy and lookbook. They come up with concepts for designs, photoshoots, and layouts, execute them, and edit them. Art director interns not only have a vision for art direction, they also have a grasp of the technical tools used in the world of design such as InDesign and Photoshop.

Most art director interns are working towards a bachelor's or master's degree in graphic design or a related field. Since this is an entry-level position, interns don't need a lot of previous experience, although it helps to have some design work under their belt.

Although the average art director internship salary is $62,740, this can vary widely. Many internships are unpaid, but interns gain valuable experience and course credit.

What general advice would you give to an art director internship?

Cynthia Tovar

Board Member, Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Due to the pandemic, it is unfortunate that there are limited job openings for new graduates entering the workforce; however, there are a number of ways that a young professional can continue to network and gain experience, including virtual internships and entering into an official mentorship or training program (such as the ARCS Mentorship Program, The Museum Leadership, Polaris mentorship program, the Broad Diversity Apprenticeship Program, or The Registrar Hour, Intern Hour). Emerging professionals that join ARCS as an individual or student member, will have access to job listings, networking opportunities, funding opportunities for conferences and the mentor program among other benefits.

For those that do enter the workforce, many institutions' staff are still working remotely or operating in a hybrid model. There will be a need for new staff to communicate effectively with their supervisors, while working remotely, over video meetings. They might also be expected to learn new software or technology such as DocuSign to facilitate remote working and or be expected to serve as a virtual courier using video technology and digital condition reporting techniques. Museums can benefit from a fresh viewpoint that advocates for efficiencies and new ways of operating in these challenging times.

ScoreArt Director InternshipUS Average

Salary

6.3

Avg. Salary $80,576

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.63%

Asian 7.66%

Black or African American 4.33%

Hispanic or Latino 14.21%

Unknown 5.56%

White 67.60%

Gender

female 53.92%

male 46.08%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.0

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an art director internship

Explore art director internship education requirements

Most common art director internship degrees

Bachelor's

83.0 %

Associate

8.4 %

Master's

3.7 %

Start to develop specific art director internship skills

Skills	Percentages
Art Direction	13.39%
Graphic Design	13.32%
Adobe Creative Suite	7.36%
Brainstorming	7.33%
Creative Concepts	6.91%

Complete relevant art director internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New art director interns learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an art director internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real art director internship resumes.

Research art director internship duties and responsibilities

Monitor the day-to-day activities on projects working with editorial, design and technical teams to execute and achieve project goals.
Design ads for print, POS and collateral publications.
Create a whole TV commercial campaign from idea development, storyboard making to copywriting for C.P.
Design logos, brochures, print pages, posters, leaflets, packaging and contents for Facebook pages.

Apply for art director internship jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an art director internship job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams