Job Role Description

Design > Art Director

Salary National Average

Low Medium High
92300.0000 115820.0000 139240.0000

Change from Previous Year:

+4%

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Candidate Supply: 936 Job Openings: 14,914

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Short Description:

An Art Director is responsible for overseeing the visual style and creative direction of visual projects, such as advertising campaigns, publications, or digital media. They collaborate with creative teams, including graphic designers, illustrators, and photographers, to ensure that the artistic elements align with the overall vision and goals of a project. Art Directors conceptualize and implement creative ideas, provide feedback to team members, and often play a key role in decision-making related to visual aesthetics. Strong leadership, creative thinking, and excellent communication skills are essential for success in this role, as Art Directors guide and inspire the artistic direction of visual projects.

Duties / Responsibilities:

  • Formulate a basic layout design or presentation approach and specify material details, such as style and size of type, photographs, graphics, animation, video, and sound.
  • Manage own accounts and projects, working within budget and scheduling requirements.
  • Confer with creative, art, copywriting, or production department heads to discuss client requirements and presentation concepts and coordinate creative activities.
  • Present final layouts to clients for approval.
  • Review and approve art materials, copy materials, and proofs of printed copy developed by staff members.
  • Work with creative directors to develop design solutions.
  • Create custom illustrations or other graphic elements.
  • Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, presentation approaches, styles, and techniques.
  • Review illustrative material to determine if it conforms to standards and specifications.
  • Negotiate with printers and estimators to determine what services will be performed.
  • Attend photo shoots and printing sessions to ensure that the products needed are obtained.
  • Research current trends and new technology, such as printing production techniques, computer software, and design trends.
  • Hire, train, and direct staff members who develop design concepts into art layouts or prepare layouts for printing.
  • Mark up, paste, complete layouts, and write typography instructions to prepare materials for printing.
  • Conceptualize and help design interfaces for multimedia games, products, and devices.
  • Prepare detailed storyboards showing the sequence and timing of story development for production.

Skills / Requirements / Qualifications

  • Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
  • Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Coordination: Adjusting actions concerning others' actions.
  • Active Learning: Understanding new information's implications for current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  • Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Monitoring: Monitoring/assessing the performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the audience's needs.
  • Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
  • Learning Strategies: Select appropriate training/instructional methods and procedures when learning or teaching new things.
  • Management of Financial Resources: Determining how budgets will be spent to complete the work and account for these expenditures.
  • Negotiation: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Operations Analysis: Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
  • Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

Job Zones

  • Title: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
  • Education: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. 
  • Related Experience: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. 
  • Job Training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
  • Job Zone Examples: Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. 
  • Specific Vocational Preparation in years: 2-4 years preparation (7.0 to < 8.0)

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