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Studio director vs associate art director

The differences between studio directors and associate 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 associate art director. Additionally, a studio director has an average salary of $99,189, which is higher than the $82,664 average annual salary of an associate art director.

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

Studio director vs associate art director overview

Studio DirectorAssociate Art Director
Yearly salary$99,189$82,664
Hourly rate$47.69$39.74
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs9,2778,646
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
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 associate art director do?

Associate art directors are professionals who assist art directors in performing creative-driven tasks such as producing graphic design for brands, layouts, and advertisements. These associate art directors are required to stay updated on the latest techniques using computer-aided design software such as PhotoShop, AutoCAD, and After Effects. They must organize photoshoots and work with PR managers and agents to coordinate the schedules of their models. Associate art directors must also establish a graphic design studio team and provide training for their designers and interns.

Studio director vs associate art director salary

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

Studio DirectorAssociate Art Director
Average salary$99,189$82,664
Salary rangeBetween $46,000 And $211,000Between $49,000 And $139,000
Highest paying CityPortland, ORSanta Rosa, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaCalifornia
Best paying companySaks Fifth AvenueLevi Strauss & Co.
Best paying industry-Media

Differences between studio director and associate art director education

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

Studio DirectorAssociate Art Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorCommunicationGraphic Design
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Studio director vs associate art director demographics

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

Studio DirectorAssociate Art Director
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 52.0% Female, 48.0%Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3%
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, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between studio director and associate 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.

Associate art director example responsibilities.

  • Design ads, uploading print PDFs to vendor s printing website, manage print approval process and create HTML email blasts.
  • Assist in html with Dreamweaver.
  • Design and develop animation for RFPs.
  • Produce and maintain new-product marketing templates to establish a solid foundation for brand email campaigns using inline CSS.
  • Design Powerpoint decks for presentations.
  • Coordinate and direct fashion photography shoots for on-figure and tabletop merchandise.
  • Show more

Studio director vs associate 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 associate art director skills
  • Graphic Design, 12%
  • Photography, 10%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 10%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 7%
  • Sketch, 7%
  • Art Direction, 6%

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