Post job

Art director vs junior art director

The differences between art directors and junior art directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an art director and a junior art director. Additionally, an art director has an average salary of $88,367, which is higher than the $86,890 average annual salary of a junior art director.

The top three skills for an art director include graphic design, art direction and creative concepts. The most important skills for a junior art director are graphic design, adobe creative suite, and creative concepts.

Art director vs junior art director overview

Art DirectorJunior Art Director
Yearly salary$88,367$86,890
Hourly rate$42.48$41.77
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs11,47220,105
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age4040
Years of experience66

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.

What does a junior art director do?

The job of a junior art director is to plan, assist, and execute the design and creative projects, including websites, emails, magazines, and ad campaigns. Duties may vary but typically include creating presentations and layouts, working closely with other departments on current projects, and organizing and conducting training on branding and design concepts. Additionally, you will be responsible for creating logos, brand standards, and corporate marketing. You are also responsible for creating graphic standards and communication guidelines.

Art director vs junior art director salary

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

Art DirectorJunior Art Director
Average salary$88,367$86,890
Salary rangeBetween $57,000 And $135,000Between $50,000 And $148,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonOregon
Best paying companyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company
Best paying industryTechnologyProfessional

Differences between art director and junior art director education

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

Art DirectorJunior Art Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Art director vs junior art director demographics

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

Art DirectorJunior Art Director
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 57.4% Female, 42.6%Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 7.7% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between art director and junior art director duties and responsibilities

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.
  • Show more

Junior art director example responsibilities.

  • Direct and manage all photography including composition, talent acquisition and photo manipulation.
  • Lead the interactive team from concept, UX and design to implementation.
  • Key player responsible for the creation and maintenance of SEO ready web pages.
  • Develop portions of the corporate website relative to design, layout and HTML content.
  • Assist in planning and merchandising photographic shoots for large catalog projects and POS displays.
  • Provide clients with top SEO rankings and help them succeed with top-notch designs and online marketing campaigns.
  • Show more

Art director vs junior art director skills

Common art director skills
  • Graphic Design, 11%
  • Art Direction, 7%
  • Creative Concepts, 7%
  • Sketch, 7%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 5%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 5%
Common junior art director skills
  • Graphic Design, 16%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 12%
  • Creative Concepts, 11%
  • Visual Design, 8%
  • Art Direction, 5%
  • Mac, 4%

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs