A designer/art director develops art concepts and design for projects and ad and marketing campaigns. They must create compelling visuals for various projects, often to be further developed and hosted on digital platforms. They are the ones who create and direct the flow of the visuals and the face of the brand, including creating and maintaining the brand's standards and kit, all for the use of in public relations and marketing. All of this is built up based on market research, which the designer/art director also conducts and manages.
A person hoping to work in this position will likely need to have at least a bachelor's degree in fine arts, design, or a related subject. They will also need a few years of experience in a similar position and working with creative design and in a media or related company. A good creative portfolio and proficiency with design software is also necessary.
How to Become a Designer/Art Director
What is a Designer/Art Director
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Designer/Art Director. For example, did you know that they make an average of $40.27 an hour? That's $83,757 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 900 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Designer/Art Director Do
There are certain skills that many Designer/Art Directors have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Leadership skills, Communication skills and Creativity.
How To Become a Designer/Art Director
If you're interested in becoming a Designer/Art Director, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 74.4% of Designer/Art Directors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.1% of Designer/Art Directors have master's degrees. Even though most Designer/Art Directors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Designer/Art Director. When we researched the most common majors for a Designer/Art Director, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Designer/Art Director resumes include Master's Degree degrees or High School Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Designer/Art Director. In fact, many Designer/Art Director jobs require experience in a role such as Graphic Designer. Meanwhile, many Designer/Art Directors also have previous career experience in roles such as Art Director or Designer.
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Designer/Art Director Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a Designer/Art Director can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as Creative Director, progress to a title such as Senior Art Director and then eventually end up with the title Senior Art Director.
Designer/Art Director Jobs You Might Like
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Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Designer/Art Director
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5 Designer/Art Director Resume Examples
Build a professional designer/art director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 5+ resume templates to create your designer/art director resume.
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Christine Long Designer/Art Director |
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Christine Long Designer/Art Director Experience Designer/Art Director2011 - Present Giant Eagle•Pittsburgh, PA
Senior Graphic Designer2006 - 2011 Giant Eagle•Pittsburgh, PA
Art Teacher2005 - 2006 Mckeesport Area School District•Pittsburgh, PA
Graphic Design Teacher2002 - 2004 KinderCare•Alexandria, VA
Skills PhotoshopArt DirectionGraphic DesignInstagramClassroom ManagementArt ProgramArt ClassroomWeb BannersStaff MembersProduct Development Education Master's Degree Graphic Design2004 - 2005 The Art Institute of Pittsburgh•Pittsburgh, PA Bachelor's Degree Graphic Design1999 - 2002 Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising-San Francisco•San Francisco, CA |
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Learn How To Write a Designer/Art Director Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Designer/Art Director resumes and compiled some information about how to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Designer/Art Director Resume Examples And TemplatesAnd if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Choose From 10+ Customizable Designer/Art Director Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Designer/Art Director templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Designer/Art Director resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Designer/Art Director Demographics
Designer/Art Director Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among Designer/Art Directors, 41.0% of them are women, while 59.0% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among Designer/Art Directors is White, which makes up 72.9% of all Designer/Art Directors.
- The most common foreign language among Designer/Art Directors is Spanish at 48.0%.
Find the best Designer/Art Director job for you
Designer/Art Director Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Designer/Art Director Jobs - $128K and Up
- Work From Home Designer/Art Director Jobs
- Entry Level Designer/Art Director Jobs
- Part Time Designer/Art Director Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Designer/Art Director Jobs
Top Colleges for Designer/Art Directors
1. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
2. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
4. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
5. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
6. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
7. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
8. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
9. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
10. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Find the best Designer/Art Director job for you
Designer/Art Director Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Designer/Art Director Jobs - $128K and Up
- Work From Home Designer/Art Director Jobs
- Entry Level Designer/Art Director Jobs
- Part Time Designer/Art Director Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Designer/Art Director Jobs
Online Courses For Designer/Art Director That You May Like
Graphic design for beginners including Graphic Design Theories, Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, CC & Creative Thinking...
The Ultimate Graphic Design Course Which Covers Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Design Theory, Branding and Logo Design...
Follows the FULL Graphic Design Process for A Company: Logo, Ad, Social Media, T-Shirt, Package, Website Design & More!...
Top Skills For a Designer/Art Director
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.5% of Designer/Art Directors listed Graphic Design on their resume, but soft skills such as Leadership skills and Communication skills are important as well.
1. California
$105,550
Avg. Salary
2. Oregon
$92,394
Avg. Salary
3. New York
$93,605
Avg. Salary
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