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Art supervisor vs creative director

The differences between art supervisors and creative 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 a creative director. Additionally, a creative director has an average salary of $137,779, 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 a creative director are graphic design, creative concepts, and creative direction.

Art supervisor vs creative director overview

Art SupervisorCreative Director
Yearly salary$66,352$137,779
Hourly rate$31.90$66.24
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs5,00011,610
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
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 a creative director do?

A creative director is an individual who creates and maintains a vision for a company's products and branding through digital, print, and film installations. Creative directors supervise and innovative staff team such as graphic designers and artists to discuss and plan the vision's layout and visuals. They also meet with clients or marketing and advertising departments to create designs and make the necessary changes to the systems. Most creative directors must have a bachelor's degree in fine arts and should build work portfolios while starting their careers as graphic designers or photographers.

Art supervisor vs creative director salary

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

Art SupervisorCreative Director
Average salary$66,352$137,779
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $111,000Between $82,000 And $228,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYMenlo Park, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyRiot GamesApple
Best paying industryMediaTechnology

Differences between art supervisor and creative director education

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

Art SupervisorCreative Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Art supervisor vs creative director demographics

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

Art SupervisorCreative Director
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 51.0% Female, 49.0%Male, 64.7% Female, 35.3%
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, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between art supervisor and creative 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.

Creative director example responsibilities.

  • Manage designers and lead entire in-house healthcare creative department.
  • Manage all social media outlets and create Youtube channel.
  • Create, direct, and produce engaging videos and manage Instagram page.
  • Manage staff including designers, producers, HTML designers, creative writers, and developers; interview and select candidates.
  • Manage multiple social media profiles (corporate twitter accounts and blogs) to strategically increase readership and draw website traffic.
  • Develop and manage business-to-business PowerPoint presentation service that create new business opportunities and increase revenue for the company.
  • Show more

Art supervisor vs creative director skills

Common art supervisor skills
  • Visualization, 26%
  • Brainstorming, 23%
  • User Experience, 12%
  • Concept Development, 11%
  • Art Direction, 7%
  • Creative Concepts, 6%
Common creative director skills
  • Graphic Design, 6%
  • Creative Concepts, 6%
  • Creative Direction, 6%
  • Video Production, 5%
  • Photography, 5%
  • Digital Marketing, 4%

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