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Designer/art director vs artistic director

The differences between designer/art directors and artistic directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a designer/art director and an artistic director. Additionally, a designer/art director has an average salary of $97,448, which is higher than the $72,755 average annual salary of an artistic director.

The top three skills for a designer/art director include photography, graphic design and creative concepts. The most important skills for an artistic director are artistic vision, community outreach, and non-profit organization.

Designer/art director vs artistic director overview

Designer/Art DirectorArtistic Director
Yearly salary$97,448$72,755
Hourly rate$46.85$34.98
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs53,3147,019
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4040
Years of experience66

Designer/art director vs artistic director salary

Designer/art directors and artistic directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Designer/Art DirectorArtistic Director
Average salary$97,448$72,755
Salary rangeBetween $60,000 And $157,000Between $36,000 And $143,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaAlaska
Best paying companyThe Walt Disney CompanyBoston Public Schools
Best paying industryMediaProfessional

Differences between designer/art director and artistic director education

There are a few differences between a designer/art director and an artistic director in terms of educational background:

Designer/Art DirectorArtistic Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorGraphic DesignTheatre
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityDuke University

Designer/art director vs artistic director demographics

Here are the differences between designer/art directors' and artistic directors' demographics:

Designer/Art DirectorArtistic Director
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 59.0% Female, 41.0%Male, 48.3% Female, 51.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 7.3% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between designer/art director and artistic director duties and responsibilities

Designer/art director example responsibilities.

  • Develop strategic project plans managing and maintaining multiple projects from sketch to print, facilitating high-impact presentations to senior leadership.
  • Edit and maintain the film festival s web site content and design, utilizing HTML and CSS coding.
  • Organize and coordinate the conceptual idea of product to the working engineer sketch of product.
  • Lead creative on interactive pharmaceutical presentations and HTML emails working with developers, animators, and programmers.
  • Code web pages utilizing CSS, XHTML, jQuery, in addition to programming languages such as PHP and ASPX.
  • Develop strategic project plans managing and maintaining multiple projects from sketch to print, facilitating high-impact presentations to senior leadership.
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Artistic director example responsibilities.

  • Manage and develop the art & photography school programs along with maintaining the retail art gallery.
  • Manage content effectiveness, ROI, media orders, ad confirmations, production requests and discrepancy notices.
  • Choreograph and produce contemporary dances in NYC and Albany venues.
  • Recruit mid-career and establish artists to curate a collection for the gallery.
  • Plan and coordinate all competitions, public performances, venue, costumes, and ticketing.
  • Serve on ad hoc committee for creation and development of a new cabaret theater space.
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Designer/art director vs artistic director skills

Common designer/art director skills
  • Photography, 9%
  • Graphic Design, 9%
  • Creative Concepts, 7%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 7%
  • Sketch, 6%
  • Product Design, 6%
Common artistic director skills
  • Artistic Vision, 21%
  • Community Outreach, 12%
  • Non-Profit Organization, 8%
  • Press Releases, 6%
  • Public Speaking, 6%
  • Costume Design, 4%

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