How to hire an art director

How to hire an art director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step art director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an art director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new art director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an art director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The art director hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

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   Hiring the perfect art director also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of art directors.

   Type of Art Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Art Director	Art directors are responsible for the visual style and images in magazines, newspapers, product packaging, and movie and television productions. They create the overall design of a project and direct others who develop artwork and layouts.	$27-64
   Graphic Design Manager	A graphic design manager is primarily in charge of leading and overseeing the efforts of a graphic design team, ensuring adherence to goals and deadlines. It is their duty to learn and analyze the purpose of design, coordinate staff, liaise with internal and external parties, set goals and objectives, manage schedules, and conceptualize plans... Show more	$23-43
   Visual Designer	A visual designer is someone who creates designs for a variety of platforms such as Internet and intranet sites, games, and wearables. The duties of visual designers depend on the specific project or industry in which they are working... Show more	$24-68

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Graphic Design
   • Art Direction
   • Creative Concepts
   • Sketch
   • Adobe Creative Suite
   • Adobe Photoshop
   • Product Photography
   • Photo Shoots
   • Adobe Illustrator
   • Website Design
   • Creative Direction
   • PowerPoint
   • Brochures
   • Creative Solutions

   Check all skills

   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.

   More art director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your art director job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An art director can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, art directors' average salary in south carolina is 56% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level art directors 58% less than senior-level art directors.
   • Certifications. An art director with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an art director's salary.

   Average art director salary

   $88,367yearly

   $42.48 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level art director salary

   $57,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average art director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$123,660	$59
   2	Washington	$118,286	$57
   3	Oregon	$108,195	$52
   4	New York	$95,947	$46
   5	Minnesota	$88,412	$43
   6	Massachusetts	$87,565	$42
   7	Nevada	$82,414	$40
   8	Illinois	$80,365	$39
   9	North Carolina	$77,626	$37
   10	Ohio	$75,733	$36
   11	District of Columbia	$74,708	$36
   12	Hawaii	$72,997	$35
   13	Georgia	$71,867	$35
   14	Texas	$66,141	$32
   15	Colorado	$65,929	$32
   16	Missouri	$65,566	$32
   17	Utah	$65,164	$31
   18	Pennsylvania	$64,726	$31
   19	Florida	$61,122	$29
   20	Oklahoma	$58,223	$28

   Average art director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	The Walt Disney Company	$175,293	$84.28	11
   2	Penske Media	$172,066	$82.72	1
   3	Meta	$169,812	$81.64	37
   4	ViacomCBS	$161,613	$77.70
   5	Zoox	$158,880	$76.38
   6	Apple	$156,923	$75.44	10
   7	Secret Level	$156,354	$75.17	1
   8	Nike	$154,426	$74.24	40
   9	THINX	$153,382	$73.74
   10	Microsoft	$152,638	$73.38	9
   11	Amazon	$151,107	$72.65	40
   12	Vox Media	$146,737	$70.55
   13	Pace University	$145,808	$70.10	1
   14	Square	$144,483	$69.46
   15	Okta	$143,394	$68.94
   16	DreamWorks Animation	$143,155	$68.82
   17	Calvin Klein	$143,030	$68.76
   18	Riot Games	$142,863	$68.68	1
   19	NBCUniversal	$142,395	$68.46	16
   20	LinkedIn	$142,287	$68.41	9

4. Writing an art director job description

   An art director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of an art director job description:

   Art director job description example

   Responsible for the design and creative development of WFM marketing materials. Leads creative development for graphic Team Members at the national, regional, and store level. Develops graphic design production and distributes communication pieces for organization-wide use. Advises diverse teams and locations about creative strategy, technology, methods, and standards. Ensures effective and consistent graphic design and production for internal and external communication materials.
   Art Director
   
   We're searching for an Art Director to join our Amazon Fresh creative team. As an Art Director, you'll execute the visual brand tone for Amazon Fresh and report to the Creative Director, Art Direction. You'll collaborate daily with your counterparts in Design, Copy and Packaging to create an ownable, memorable and cohesive visual aesthetic.
   
   To be successful in this role, the Art Director is skilled at creating strategic campaigns across multi-channels: physical stores, web, email, social, paid media (video, digital, traditional). You have experience in directing photo shoots, design, and conceptual problem solving. You are comfortable with both visual and verbal skills, and you partner naturally with writers to create campaign ideas.
   
   This role is based in Austin TX, within the Whole Foods Market corporate offices. We are a nurturing culture and big egos don't work out here. We thrive on collaboration, are laid-back but hard-working. You'll be joining a creative department that believes “we're all teachers and students.”, so come with the energy to teach and the humility to learn.
   
   Responsibilities
   Work with Copywriters and Designers to create in-store and digital campaigns Own and co-create Amazon Fresh brand guidelines with CD of Design and CopyDrive campaign creative concepting from digital to traditional media Oversee photo and video shoots for seasonal/promotional campaigns as well as evergreen Execute campaigns across multiple media channels and platforms
   
   Skills
   Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, proficiency with Google Sketch and FigmaAgility and adaptability in learning new tools and design platforms Expert skills in directing photo and video shoots (food photography and styling a big plus) Excellent presentation skills Proven ability to operate among ambiguity and fast-changing business goals Proven ability to juggle multiple projects while maintaining a clear sense of priorities
   
   Qualifications
   4+ years of ad/design agency or in-house brand experienceA strong working knowledge of visual design, brand, user-centered experience design and the creative process Food and retail experience a plus
   
   At Whole Foods Market, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all Team Members and candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. Whole Foods Market hires and promotes individuals solely based on qualifications for the position to be filled and business needs.

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5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find art directors for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   To find art director candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting art directors requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new art director

   Once you've selected the best art director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new art director first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire an art director?