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Associate art director skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Scott Foster,

Brian Pirman

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical associate art director skills. We ranked the top skills for associate art directors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 12.2% of associate art director resumes contained graphic design as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an associate art director needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 associate art director skills for your resume and career

1. 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 associate art directors use graphic design:

Provided art direction, responsive web and mobile design, publication design, graphic design, illustration, and multimedia management.
Supervised 2 graphic designers to produce a men's lifestyle magazine (116 pages, 10 issues/yr).

2. Photography

Here's how associate art directors use photography:

Worked closely with photographers, stylists and Art Directors in implementing conceptual photography for specialized programs and campaigns.
Researched, obtained and assigned illustration and photography within budget including selection and direction of freelancers.

3. Adobe Creative Suite

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

Utilized Adobe Creative Suite family, notably InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator.
Illustrated and designed magazine and book covers using programs in the Adobe Creative Suite 3 along with the Creative Suite 2.

4. Adobe Photoshop

Here's how associate art directors use adobe photoshop:

Earned Award of Excellence in Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator Forklift Certificate, AAA Forklift, Riverside, CA Sept 2010
Selected and color-corrected artwork leveraging expertise with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

5. Sketch

Here's how associate art directors use sketch:

Developed strategic project plans managing and maintaining multiple projects from sketch to print, facilitating high-impact presentations to senior leadership.
Demonstrated a strong ability to quickly design and sketch new ideas for client projects.

6. 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 associate art directors use art direction:

Commissioned illustrators, assigned photographers and assisted with art direction for photo shoots.
Project components included art direction, brand identity and naming, package design, video production, PR and advertising.

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7. Animation

Here's how associate art directors use animation:

Led team of artists(concept, production, animation) to produce test level of Demons of Mercy.
Managed font, asset, and SAN animation server systems for 20 designer workstations.

8. 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 associate art directors use photo shoots:

Directed photo shoots and commissioned illustrations.
Included photo shoots and commissioning illustrations, as well as working with PR managers and agents to coordinate talent schedules.

9. HTML

Here's how associate art directors use html:

Designed ads, uploading print PDFs to vendor s printing website, managed print approval process and created HTML email blasts.
Coded HTML webpages for the Lifesaver's Candystand website.

10. Web Design

Here's how associate art directors use web design:

Web design/development and print communications.
Worked with digital team on presentation and oversaw web design for landing pages.

11. Web Banners

A web banner is used on websites as a form of advertisement to showcase products and services via images situated at strategic positions on the web page. They are mostly rectangular and can be situated at the bottom, top, right, middle or left part of any given web page or online content. A web banner is a popular form of online advertising and doesn't obstruct the viewing process of web visitors like pop-up ads.

Here's how associate art directors use web banners:

Created feature page layouts, toning/color correcting of photographs, creating infographics and designing web banners, newsletters and white papers.
Create and code dynamic web banners and front page take-over ads for rich media marketing campaign.

12. CSS

Here's how associate art directors use css:

Coded company websites with Wordpress and Responsive acquisition emails with HTML5, CSS, Javascript.
Designed and coded website using CSS and integrated database content from external sources.

13. GPA

GPA, known as the cumulative grade point aggregate is an indicator of how much dedication, and effort was put into your academic years in college or high school.

Here's how associate art directors use gpa:

Graduated top 1% of class with 3.9 GPA - Graduated actively on The President's List
Recruited to Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society with a 3.8 GPA.

14. Color Correction

Color correction is a technical process that solves color problems and makes the footage look as natural as possible. Color correction helps adjust black and white levels, exposure, contrast, and white balance. The idea is essential to correct the underlying problems in the image by balancing the colors, making the white appear as white and the black as black, and making sure that everything is real as the human eye would see it in the real world.

Here's how associate art directors use color correction:

Supervised commercial shoots as the agency producer, bid out jobs, supervised edit, color correction and sound mixes.
Supervised on-line edit, color correction, sound mix, voice over record, special effects.

15. Adobe Indesign

Here's how associate 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.

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What skills help Associate Art Directors find jobs?

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

What associate 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 associate 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 associate art director skills to add to your resume

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

Graphic Design
Photography
Adobe Creative Suite
Adobe Photoshop
Sketch
Art Direction
Animation
Photo Shoots
HTML
Web Design
Web Banners
CSS
GPA
Color Correction
Adobe Indesign

Creative Direction
Creative Solutions
Mac
Fine Arts
Design Direction
CMS
Print Production
Promotional Materials
Coursework
Feature Stories
Scholarship
Fiction
Press Checks
Photo Research
PowerPoint

Copywriting
Brand Development
Business Administration
Rebranding
Healthcare
Environmental Design
Print ADS
Editorial Content
Logo Design
Web Site
Web Graphics
Account Executives
Typesetting
QuarkXPress

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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Associate Art Director Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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