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Assistant art director skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

6 min read

Quoted experts

Scott Foster,

Brian Pirman

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical assistant art director skills. We ranked the top skills for assistant art directors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 13.0% of assistant art director resumes contained adobe photoshop as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an assistant art director needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 assistant art director skills for your resume and career

1. Adobe Photoshop

Here's how assistant art directors use adobe photoshop:

Worked in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Quark Designed sheet music and music books Created manual illustrations
Selected and color-corrected artwork leveraging expertise with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

2. Graphic Design

Graphic design is the art of making visual content to communicate messages. Designers apply different page layout methods and visual hierarchy by using letters and pictures to meet the need of end-users. Most companies use graphic design to sell their product or services and to convey complicated information by using infographics.

Here's how assistant art directors use graphic design:

Produced brochures and packaging for the veterinary industry, initially as mechanical paste-up then transitioned to PC-based graphic design software.
Selected and edited photos using graphic design tools

3. Photo Shoots

A photoshoot is a series of photographs that a photographer takes of someone, usually of a model or a famous person, to be used in a newspaper or a magazine. The goal of a photoshoot is to achieve a predetermined visual objective. Later, these images can be used for editing or post-production..

Here's how assistant art directors use photo shoots:

Directed photo shoots and commissioned original artwork.
Team member accountable for brainstorming sessions, attending client meetings and presentations and all aspects of numerous West Coast photo shoots.

4. Art Direction

Art direction is an essential job in the activities related to theatre, advertising, fashion, publishing as well the film industry. All of these fields have a direct or indirect connection with art and therefore require direction and supervision regarding this very aspect of the job. The art director is responsible for how a product turns out visually..

Here's how assistant art directors use art direction:

Provided art direction and styling to photography studio for accurate product representation.
Assisted in art direction, management of design team and freelance consultants, job placement and hiring.

5. Concept Development

Concept development refers to the process of developing activities or ideas about a product or procedure in order to solve design issues or operational challenges. This is typically seen early in a design or engineering process in order to smooth out any details regarding the product's form and that all needs will be met by the current design.

Here's how assistant art directors use concept development:

Engage with the Creative Director on concept development and storyboard for TVC shooting.
Gained experience in design, production and concept development.

6. Adobe Illustrator

Here's how assistant art directors use adobe illustrator:

Maintain continued education to be proficient in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Quark Express systems.
Create custom design specifications for fabricated items to meet customer's needs in Adobe Illustrator.

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7. Mac

A media access control or simply MAC is a network policy that identifies or determines how the data is being transferred in two particular servers through a network cable. The purpose of a MAC protocol is to prevent network or technical issues and simplify transferring the information or data.

Here's how assistant art directors use mac:

Download and review all ad materials received through e-mail on Mac using Quark, Photoshop.
Trained personnel on Mac programs including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Freehand.

8. Adobe Creative Suite

Here's how assistant art directors use adobe creative suite:

Used Adobe Creative Suite and mu knowledge of design gained from University training.
Increased knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite through extensive training.

9. Fine Arts

Here's how assistant art directors use fine arts:

Coordinated and lead extracurricular Fine Arts activities.
Helped run media and fine arts department.

10. Editorial Layouts

Here's how assistant art directors use editorial layouts:

Created editorial layout and art under supervision of art director Produced technical art, charts and graphs
Manage production, design editorial layouts and advisement for clients.

11. Adobe Indesign

Here's how assistant art directors use adobe indesign:

Developed and organized the layout, theme, and design of the student magazine produced bi-monthly using Adobe InDesign.
Retrained graphic designers from using QuarkExpress to Adobe InDesign, therefore helping the department become more efficient in production.

12. Design Concepts

Here's how assistant art directors use design concepts:

Assisted the art director assigning specific work in order to develop design concepts in accordance with size and client specifications.
Hosted strategy meetings with artists to discuss the development of scripts, design concepts, and rehearsal schedule.

13. Event Planning

Here's how assistant art directors use event planning:

Oversee the management, marketing, event planning and leasing of 80 senior apartments.

14. Web Design

Here's how assistant art directors use web design:

Web design/development and print communications.
Brainstormed for client commercials, Design logo and branding assets, Web design and blog set-up

15. Layout Design

Here's how assistant art directors use layout design:

Directed the illustrators, typographers, and layout design for weekly and monthly print ads.
Critiqued and assisted junior designers with layout designs.

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What skills help Assistant Art Directors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What assistant art director skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Scott Foster

Associate Professor of Studio Art, Chair of Creative Arts Department, Siena College

Working on a team. The exact project might not matter much, although it's better if it dovetails with your interests or career goals. This could be as simple as volunteering at a non-profit to revamp a website or build an app to measure outcomes.

What type of skills will young assistant art directors need?

Brian Pirman

Associate Professor, St. Norbert College

For someone who is contemplating a career in graphic design, I recommend several things. One would be to develop a portfolio that shows a diverse skill-set. This may include expertise in design and layout, photography, illustration, typography as well as animation and video. If you have a more varied skill set, you are more likely to either gain employment or able to do freelance work. The other thing is internships, internships, internships. Having a portfolio of applied work (versus school projects), as long as it's good, will separate you from the competition.

Do you want to know more?

List of assistant art director skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for an assistant art director resume and required skills for an assistant art director to have include:

Adobe Photoshop
Graphic Design
Photo Shoots
Art Direction
Concept Development
Adobe Illustrator
Mac
Adobe Creative Suite
Fine Arts
Editorial Layouts
Adobe Indesign
Design Concepts
Event Planning
Web Design
Layout Design
Promotional Materials
Print ADS

Typesetting
Color Correction
Production Schedules
Creative Concepts
Press Checks
Design Solutions
Real Estate
Sketch
Design Projects
Collateral Materials
Web Site
Package Design
Style Guides
HTML
Quark
Fiction
Copywriting

Print Production
Trade Shows
Business Cards
Editorials
PowerPoint
Art Projects
Account Executives
Corporate Identity
Creative Solutions
Facebook
Print Advertisements
Pre-Press Production
Logo Design
Press Runs
QuarkXPress
Client Presentations

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Assistant Art Director Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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