How to hire a creative director

How to hire a creative director, step by step

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

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

What does a creative director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a creative director, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a creative director to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a creative director that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of creative directors.

   Type of Creative Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Creative 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.	$39-109
   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
   Designer/Art Director	An art director collaborates with the design and art staff for books, public relations firms, advertising agencies, or newspaper publishers. Art directors create designs and layouts that embody the organization and send the message they want the audience to get... Show more	$28-75

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Graphic Design
   • Creative Concepts
   • Creative Direction
   • Video Production
   • Photography
   • Digital Marketing
   • Sketch
   • Creative Strategy
   • Art Direction
   • Adobe Creative Suite
   • Project Management
   • Adobe Photoshop
   • User Experience
   • Creative Process

   Check all skills

   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.

   More creative director duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, creative directors' average salary in alabama is 51% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level creative directors 64% less than senior-level creative directors.
   • Certifications. A creative 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 a creative director's salary.

   Average creative director salary

   $137,779yearly

   $66.24 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level creative director salary

   $82,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 31, 2025

   Average creative director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$184,999	$89
   2	Washington	$151,616	$73
   3	New York	$151,007	$73
   4	Maine	$138,984	$67
   5	Illinois	$127,849	$61
   6	Nevada	$127,456	$61
   7	Oregon	$123,240	$59
   8	North Carolina	$122,919	$59
   9	Michigan	$116,376	$56
   10	Georgia	$116,256	$56
   11	Massachusetts	$116,037	$56
   12	District of Columbia	$115,027	$55
   13	Minnesota	$114,737	$55
   14	Pennsylvania	$110,169	$53
   15	Texas	$105,950	$51
   16	Virginia	$103,776	$50
   17	Ohio	$101,519	$49
   18	Utah	$99,758	$48
   19	Arizona	$97,221	$47
   20	Colorado	$96,752	$47

   Average creative director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$226,183	$108.74	11
   2	Meta	$221,411	$106.45	27
   3	Airbnb	$219,354	$105.46
   4	Ropes & Gray	$213,434	$102.61
   5	Google	$213,076	$102.44	7
   6	Bloomberg	$212,522	$102.17
   7	The Howard Hughes	$209,110	$100.53	1
   8	Okta	$208,829	$100.40
   9	Zoox	$208,229	$100.11
   10	THINX	$204,718	$98.42
   11	Trailer Park	$197,552	$94.98
   12	Netflix	$197,116	$94.77	6
   13	Amazon	$196,284	$94.37	23
   14	Fullscreen	$196,170	$94.31
   15	Citi	$193,996	$93.27	1
   16	Riot Games	$193,954	$93.25	2
   17	Blurb	$193,408	$92.98
   18	BBDO Detroit	$190,671	$91.67
   19	Mayo Clinic	$190,366	$91.52
   20	Trion Worlds	$190,144	$91.42

4. Writing a creative director job description

   A job description for a creative director role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a creative director job description:

   Creative director job description example

   The Hill, a division of Nexstar Media Group, seeks a creative director to refresh and elevate our brand across multiple channels, from print and digital to video and events. This is a remote, work-from-home position. You need not live in the Washington, D.C., area.
   About the role
   
   The Hill's creative director will be proficient with brand identity and hands-on development across multiple channels. This person will be key in spearheading a bold redesign of The Hill's print publication, a widely read Washington, D.C. newspaper published multiple times per week.
   
   They will also work on sharing that visual refresh throughout our digital operation and suite of video offerings. TheHill.com reaches more than 30 million users each month and will be undergoing a refresh in 2023, and our Hill TV unit is poised for digital growth.
   
   Beyond work on a brand refresh across multiple channels, the creative director will work throughout the newsroom on increasing digital sophistication in daily and project journalism, including training the staff on infographics and different approaches to presenting content. They'll also work with video producers to improve and unify style as well as launch new motion graphics explainers. They'll act as a functional peer to our marketing operation in developing strong materials for Hill events.
   
   Skills and qualifications
   
   The creative director should have significant experience in visual media and a proven track record of content focused product redesigns. Be prepared to show before and after versions, along with your training and implementation approaches. Candidates should understand the importance of creating a brand approach with longevity and bring experience developing training materials and style guides that reflect usage across multiple channels. A previous track record of leadership is important, too; we're looking for a cultural creativity leader as well as a talented designer.
   
   Skills should include top-tier proficiency with Adobe Creative suite, an understanding of print design, pagination and prepress operations. The best candidates will have working knowledge of HTML and CSS, a background in video production and familiarity with Adobe After Effects or similar motion graphics tools. Compensation ranges from $90-$120k per year + commensurate with experience and skill level.Benefits include medical, dental, vision, Life Insurance, and 401K with company match.
   
   About the Hill
   
   Established in 1994, The Hill is the country's definitive digital source for non-partisan political news and information. Inside the Beltway, it's known as an essential, agenda-setting read for lawmakers and influencers. Beyond the Capitol, The Hill's trusted content is shared more often on social media than any other political news brand in America.
   
   Our properties include TheHill.com, reaching a monthly audience of 41M; Hill.TV, the largest independent video platform within the Beltway with 1.4B annual views; The Hill's print edition, one of the most influential sources for law and policy makers; Elevate Studios, creating breakthrough branded content offerings for leading marketers; and The Hill Events, which hosted 70 virtual events last year, featuring 92 Members of Congress and 88 industry leaders in meaningful policy discussions.

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right creative director for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your creative director job on Zippia to find and attract quality creative director candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit creative directors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   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 creative director

   Once you've selected the best creative 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.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

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 a creative director?