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Art supervisor vs associate art director

The differences between art supervisors and associate 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 supervisor and an associate art director. Additionally, an associate art director has an average salary of $82,664, which is higher than the $66,352 average annual salary of an art supervisor.

The top three skills for an art supervisor include visualization, brainstorming and user experience. The most important skills for an associate art director are graphic design, photography, and adobe creative suite.

Art supervisor vs associate art director overview

Art SupervisorAssociate Art Director
Yearly salary$66,352$82,664
Hourly rate$31.90$39.74
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs5,0008,646
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4040
Years of experience66

What does an art supervisor do?

An art supervisor focuses on designing a commissioned project or a creative marketing campaign focused on graphics and artistic visuals. The art supervisor determines the course of action and an innovative plan that will fit the customer's requirements. Experience is essential for an art supervisor. This person will base decisions on both previous artistic successes and test new concepts and ideas that will maximize the reach to people and improve the visibility of the customer's business or the supervisor's studio.

What does an associate art director do?

Associate art directors are professionals who assist art directors in performing creative-driven tasks such as producing graphic design for brands, layouts, and advertisements. These associate art directors are required to stay updated on the latest techniques using computer-aided design software such as PhotoShop, AutoCAD, and After Effects. They must organize photoshoots and work with PR managers and agents to coordinate the schedules of their models. Associate art directors must also establish a graphic design studio team and provide training for their designers and interns.

Art supervisor vs associate art director salary

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

Art SupervisorAssociate Art Director
Average salary$66,352$82,664
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $111,000Between $49,000 And $139,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSanta Rosa, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyRiot GamesLevi Strauss & Co.
Best paying industryMediaMedia

Differences between art supervisor and associate art director education

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

Art SupervisorAssociate Art Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Art supervisor vs associate art director demographics

Here are the differences between art supervisors' and associate art directors' demographics:

Art SupervisorAssociate Art Director
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 51.0% Female, 49.0%Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 68.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between art supervisor and associate art director duties and responsibilities

Art supervisor example responsibilities.

  • Lead 4 brands in Alcon's eye care portfolio and supervise digital and print for ECPs and consumers.
  • Manage art assistant, including scheduling and quality control of art photography and certificates of authenticity.
  • Brand development, and stewardship.Multiple new business pitches, including multiple sclerosis, diabetes, hepatitis.
  • Conceptualize and successfully develop numerous creative visual concepts for online sites, print materials, and PowerPoint presentations.
  • Collaborate with CEO on product definition and execution of social 3D chat application for Facebook.
  • Manage translation and localization for Facebook game into Spanish and Portuguese.

Associate art director example responsibilities.

  • Design ads, uploading print PDFs to vendor s printing website, manage print approval process and create HTML email blasts.
  • Assist in html with Dreamweaver.
  • Design and develop animation for RFPs.
  • Produce and maintain new-product marketing templates to establish a solid foundation for brand email campaigns using inline CSS.
  • Design Powerpoint decks for presentations.
  • Coordinate and direct fashion photography shoots for on-figure and tabletop merchandise.
  • Show more

Art supervisor vs associate art director skills

Common art supervisor skills
  • Visualization, 26%
  • Brainstorming, 23%
  • User Experience, 12%
  • Concept Development, 11%
  • Art Direction, 7%
  • Creative Concepts, 6%
Common associate art director skills
  • Graphic Design, 12%
  • Photography, 10%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 10%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 7%
  • Sketch, 7%
  • Art Direction, 6%

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