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Group creative director vs art director

The differences between group creative directors and art 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 group creative director and an art director. Additionally, a group creative director has an average salary of $237,604, which is higher than the $88,367 average annual salary of an art director.

The top three skills for a group creative director include client relationships, creative direction and business development. The most important skills for an art director are graphic design, art direction, and creative concepts.

Group creative director vs art director overview

Group Creative DirectorArt Director
Yearly salary$237,604$88,367
Hourly rate$114.23$42.48
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs17,92711,472
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 84%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4040
Years of experience66

What does a group creative director do?

Group Creative Directors are responsible for leading the creative vision of a product or service for an organization. Their duties include creating promotional or advertising campaigns, conducting creative strategy presentations to management, liaising, participating in client needs negotiation, and developing creative storyboards. They are responsible for assessing project content, overseeing brand visuals, and monitoring project progress. Group Creative Directors also supervise writing scripts, direct TV and photoshoots, and facilitate external supplier engagements. They help in the recruitment process of the creative team.

What does an art director do?

An art director's duty will vary depending on the line of industry involved. However, most of the responsibilities will revolve in taking charge of the artistic direction and decisions in a project or campaign. Most of the time, it is an art director's call to conceptualize and bring a vision to completion and take the lead in coordinating with various artists and creative staff. Furthermore, an art director must oversee the progress of workflow and workforce, develop plans and strategies, and approve or provide suggestions in every creative output from staff.

Group creative director vs art director salary

Group creative directors and art directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Group Creative DirectorArt Director
Average salary$237,604$88,367
Salary rangeBetween $130,000 And $433,000Between $57,000 And $135,000
Highest paying CityChicago, ILSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateIllinoisWashington
Best paying companyGolinThe Walt Disney Company
Best paying industryMediaTechnology

Differences between group creative director and art director education

There are a few differences between a group creative director and an art director in terms of educational background:

Group Creative DirectorArt Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 84%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Group creative director vs art director demographics

Here are the differences between group creative directors' and art directors' demographics:

Group Creative DirectorArt Director
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 78.4% Female, 21.6%Male, 57.4% Female, 42.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between group creative director and art director duties and responsibilities

Group creative director example responsibilities.

  • Direct and manage talent including, directors, directors of photography, editors, graphic artists, and composers.
  • Lead and supervise creative teams and create award-winning advertising campaigns and programs that target physicians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.
  • Develop the GUI / UX for presenting and categorizing the video content.
  • Recruit and retain a high-performance team of strategists, designers, UX architects, and account managers.
  • Slash company-wide expenses and improve production by bringing photography and pre-press design services in-house.
  • Collaborate on the strategic development, design, copywriting and production of marketing communications programs for multiple clients.
  • Show more

Art director example responsibilities.

  • Manage a small group of graphic artists for PC/Mac catalog.
  • Lead the conception, design and execution of cross channel initiatives for healthcare and pharmaceutical clients.
  • Monitor the day-to-day activities on projects working with editorial, design and technical teams to execute and achieve project goals.
  • Collaborate on marketing strategies and concept creation for sketch presentations, and photo shoots with talent.
  • Utilize working knowledge of HTML, CSS and PHP in the creation of web sites and social media campaigns.
  • Perform vast typesetting and paste-up duties.
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Group creative director vs art director skills

Common group creative director skills
  • Client Relationships, 13%
  • Creative Direction, 8%
  • Business Development, 6%
  • Digital Marketing, 5%
  • Graphic Design, 5%
  • Creative Solutions, 4%
Common art director skills
  • Graphic Design, 11%
  • Art Direction, 7%
  • Creative Concepts, 7%
  • Sketch, 7%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 5%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 5%

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