What does a designer/art director do?
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. They work with producers and directors of theatres, television, and movie productions to oversee set designs. Being an art director also includes critiquing people's work, working to reach deadlines while still following the budget allocated for a certain project, and (on occasion) disciplining designers who are slacking off on the job.
Designer/art director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real designer/art director resumes:
- 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.
- Involve theme development, detail research, copywriting and production.
- Create line sheets for buyers in multiple formats such as PowerPoint presentations and print catalogs.
- Gain experience authoring web pages for compatibility in modern browsers for content and SEO standards.
- Implement relevant graphics, and optimize the client's presence among their target market through SEO and social media marketing.
- Assist with necessary copywriting and proofreading.
- Commission conceptual art and work closely with editorial department.
Designer/art director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Designer/Art Directors are proficient in Photography, Graphic Design, and Creative Concepts. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Designer/Art Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Photography, 9%
Assigned and supervised photography, illustrations and designs for editorial layouts and magazine advertisements.
- Graphic Design, 9%
Collaborated and managed a team of graphic designers to enhance brand identity and continuity.
- Creative Concepts, 7%
Executed creative concepts and visual design for interactive media presentations.
- Adobe Photoshop, 7%
Created corporate identities, collateral, including brochures, flyers and direct mail using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.
- Sketch, 6%
Work on Adobe Illustrator to sketch silhouettes, hardware and create linesheets.
- Product Design, 6%
Identify target audience and demographic for each product and maintain consistency and integrity throughout product design.
"photography," "graphic design," and "creative concepts" are among the most common skills that designer/art directors use at work. You can find even more designer/art director responsibilities below, including:
Leadership skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a designer/art director to have is leadership skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "art directors must be able to organize, direct, and motivate other artists." Designer/art directors often use leadership skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "developed strategic project plans managing and maintaining multiple projects from sketch to print, facilitating high-impact presentations to senior leadership. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform designer/art director duties is communication skills. Designer/art directors responsibilities require that "art directors must be able to listen to and speak with staff and clients to ensure that they understand employees’ ideas and clients’ desires for advertisements, publications, or movie sets." Designer/art directors also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "key achievements: repeat delivery of creative communication strategy, marketing promotional materials, logo designs and website design and content. "
Creativity. designer/art directors are also known for creativity, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to designer/art director responsibilities, because "art directors must be able to come up with interesting and innovative ideas to develop advertising campaigns, set designs, or layout options." A designer/art director resume example shows how creativity is used in the workplace: "lead the creative vision for various internal teams including those responsible for annual fundraising campaigns and digital user experience. "
Time-management skills. For certain designer/art director responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "time-management skills." The day-to-day duties of a designer/art director rely on this skill, as "balancing competing priorities and multiple projects while meeting strict deadlines is critical for art directors." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what designer/art directors do: "conceptualized and designed client branding messages while successfully overseeing design projects under tight deadlines. "
The three companies that hire the most designer/art directors are:
- Paramount6 designer/art directors jobs
- Apple4 designer/art directors jobs
- Ancestry US Holdings Inc3 designer/art directors jobs
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Compare different designer/art directors
Designer/art director vs. Senior graphic designer
A senior graphic designer oversees all of the designing operations in a company, from conceptualization to production. One of their primary responsibilities is to ensure that all designs produced are according to a client's preference and brand. They also encourage fresh ideas from the team, communicate with clients or representatives, and manage the schedules to meet all deadlines. Furthermore, as a senior graphic designer, they are responsible for leading and mentoring a team of graphic designers, all in the joint effort to reach project goals.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, designer/art director responsibilities require skills like "photography," "product design," "design projects," and "multimedia." Meanwhile a typical senior graphic designer has skills in areas such as "html css," "art direction," "digital marketing," and "project management." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Senior graphic designers earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $78,796. On the other hand, designer/art directors are paid more in the media industry with an average salary of $100,319.The education levels that senior graphic designers earn slightly differ from designer/art directors. In particular, senior graphic designers are 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a designer/art director. Additionally, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Designer/art director vs. 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. Furthermore, as a graphic design manager, it is essential to lead and encourage teams to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real designer/art director resumes. While designer/art director responsibilities can utilize skills like "photography," "creative concepts," "sketch," and "product design," graphic design managers use skills like "project management," "customer service," "product photography," and "flyers."
Graphic design managers earn a lower average salary than designer/art directors. But graphic design managers earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $82,776. Additionally, designer/art directors earn the highest salaries in the media with average pay of $100,319 annually.In general, graphic design managers achieve similar levels of education than designer/art directors. They're 2.8% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for designer/art directors in the next 3-5 years?
Michelle Lockwood
Associate Professor, Graphic Design Art, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
Designer/art director vs. Lead graphic designer
A lead graphic designer is responsible for creating, designing, and updating the company's visual aspects. The lead graphic designer works closely with the branding department alongside the advertising and marketing team. It is essential for the lead graphic designer must be creative, willing to think outside the box, and brave to dare novel ideas. The lead graphic designer is also responsible for leading the creative department in accomplishing assigned tasks from management.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, designer/art directors are more likely to have skills like "photography," "creative concepts," "product design," and "content marketing." But a lead graphic designer is more likely to have skills like "project management," "product photography," "adobe indesign," and "art direction."
Lead graphic designers earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $85,443. Comparatively, designer/art directors have the highest earning potential in the media industry, with an average salary of $100,319.lead graphic designers typically earn similar educational levels compared to designer/art directors. Specifically, they're 2.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Designer/art director vs. Web graphic designer
A web graphic designer specializes in the aesthetics and functionality of a web platform, software, and other applications. They are primarily responsible for building a platform that adheres to the subject's purpose and the client's preferred theme while prioritizing an easy-to-use and navigate interface. They must conduct regular testing and maintenance on the platform to ensure its efficiency and significance to the brand involved. Furthermore, a web graphic designer may work independently or work for a company, usually within a team setting.
Types of designer/art director
Updated January 8, 2025
