Art Director Jobs

Art Director Jobs Information - Job description and information on how to become an art director.

Art directors use their sense of design to create visually compelling projects that communicate a specific message to the audience/consumer.

Art Director Job Description

Art directors typically coordinate a creative team to work on each project that they are responsible for.

These jobs vary widely depending upon the type of media an art director work with.

What is an Art Director?
The responsibilities of an art director can include:

• Creating design concepts
  
• Directing, hiring and training staff, and reviewing and approving art and copy materials developed by staff
  
• Designing layout and writing copy for visual media
  
• Managing accounts and projects including managing budget and scheduling requirements and presenting final layouts to clients
  
• Collaborating with clients to determine objectives, budget etc.

• magazines
  
• movies
  
• television shows
  
• live theatre productions
  
• advertisements
  
• newspapers

Skills and Knowledge Required

Art director jobs require knowledge of design techniques and tools used within the profession.

Fluency with computer software commonly used on the job is essential.

Art directors must be able to work effectively with clients to communicate ideas in a way that is clear and persuasive.

This job requires an understanding of the communications and media industry as well as understanding of the theories and techniques used in a variety of fine art media.

Art directors require creativity, originality of thought and fluency of ideas in order to develop unique and clever strategies within their projects.

Personality Traits

People in art director jobs are generally artistic, enterprising and social. People who are artistic seek self expression in their work. They are open to experience, innovative, and prefer jobs that do not require following routines and conformity to a clear set of rules. Individuals who are enterprising enjoy work that involves persuading or directing others. They value accomplishment and have sales and persuasive abilities. People who are social enjoy helping through personal interaction.

Job Opportunities and Earning Potential

Average growth is expected for art director jobs in the United States through to 2018. Competition for both salaried and freelance jobs will likely be strong as the number of people seeking art director jobs will exceed the number of jobs available. A high percentage of individuals in this field are self employed as compared with other types of work. ^{Source: United States Bureau of Labour}

Artists who are not self employed typically work within the following industries:

• advertising and related services
• print media publishers
• software publishers
• film industry
• specialized design services
• computer systems design

Growth in this field will be driven by an increasing demand for work on digital or multimedia projects. Declining opportunities in publishing may hold down job growth for art directors. As many magazines move to an online only format, art directors will be used less often in this industry.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor notes that in 2008, annual wages for art directors ranged from approximately $42,000 to $160,000, with the median wage being $78,580. Reported wages in the motion picture and video industries were higher than reported wages in the advertising industry. ^{Source: United States Bureau of Labour}

Education

Most employers require art directors to have a four year degree combined with related experience. Typically art directors will have a degree in some type of visual communication related subject such as visual arts, graphic design or general design.

Completing a related certificate or college diploma may be enough to enter the field; however, individuals who have complete a four year degree will have more career options available.

For tips on how to complete your own research on art jobs not featured here, or for tips on how to find art director career information for countries not included here, please see the article Art Career - How to Research Art Careers.