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Studio director vs art director

The differences between studio 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 studio director and an art director. Additionally, a studio director has an average salary of $99,189, which is higher than the $88,367 average annual salary of an art director.

The top three skills for a studio director include business development, studio operations and video production. The most important skills for an art director are graphic design, art direction, and creative concepts.

Studio director vs art director overview

Studio DirectorArt Director
Yearly salary$99,189$88,367
Hourly rate$47.69$42.48
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs9,27711,472
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4040
Years of experience66

What does a studio director do?

A studio director is a multi-disciplined leader with a depth of experience and pragmatic skills. They are responsible for running the studio and work in a 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.

Studio director vs art director salary

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

Studio DirectorArt Director
Average salary$99,189$88,367
Salary rangeBetween $46,000 And $211,000Between $57,000 And $135,000
Highest paying CityPortland, ORSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaWashington
Best paying companySaks Fifth AvenueThe Walt Disney Company
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between studio director and art director education

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

Studio DirectorArt Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorCommunicationGraphic Design
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Studio director vs art director demographics

Here are the differences between studio directors' and art directors' demographics:

Studio DirectorArt Director
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 52.0% Female, 48.0%Male, 57.4% Female, 42.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%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 studio director and art director duties and responsibilities

Studio director example responsibilities.

  • Develop and manage business-to-business PowerPoint presentation service that create new business opportunities and increase revenue for the company.
  • Retouch photos using Photoshop and Lightroom creating special effects in post-production.
  • Provide technical support towards the creation of corporate presentations for conference room environments using Microsoft PowerPoint and digital projection systems.
  • Provide creative copy direction and copywriting for pharmaceutical clients' internal corporate communications programs, training programs and sales force meetings.
  • Collaborate with executive staff to develop content and produce photographic editorials.

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.
  • Show more

Studio director vs art director skills

Common studio director skills
  • Business Development, 17%
  • Studio Operations, 13%
  • Video Production, 12%
  • Lead Generation, 9%
  • Design Studio, 6%
  • Graphic Design, 6%
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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