Art Directors

Summary

Art directors are responsible for the overall design and direct workers who develop art work or layout designs.

Quick Facts: Art Directors
2010 Median Pay	$80,630 per year $38.77 per hour
Entry-Level Education	Bachelor’s degree
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	1 to 5 years
On-the-job Training	None
Number of Jobs, 2010	73,900
Job Outlook, 2010-20	9% (Slower than average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	6,700

What Art Directors Do

Art directors are responsible for the visual style and images in magazines, newspapers, product packaging, and movie and television productions. They create the overall design and direct others who develop artwork or layouts.

Work Environment

About 12 percent of art directors work for advertising and public relations firms. Others work for newspaper and magazine publishers, specialized design services firms, and the motion picture and video industries.

How to Become an Art Director

Art directors need at least a bachelor’s degree in an art or design subject and previous work experience. Depending on the industry, they may have worked as graphic designers, illustrators, copyeditors, or photographers, or in another art or design occupation, before becoming art directors.

Pay

The median annual wage of art directors was $80,630 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of art directors is expected to increase 9 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. Art directors will continue to be needed to oversee the work of graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, and others who design in artwork or layouts.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of art directors with similar occupations.

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Contacts for More Information

Learn more about art directors by contacting these additional resources.

What Art Directors Do About this section

Art directors determine which photographs, art, or other design elements to use.

Art directors are responsible for the visual style and images in magazines, newspapers, product packaging, and movie and television productions. They create the overall design and direct others who develop artwork or layouts.

Duties

Art directors typically do the following: 

• Determine how best to represent a concept visually
• Determine which photographs, art, or other design elements to use
• Develop the overall look or style of a publication, an advertising campaign, or a theater, television, or film set
• Supervise design staff
• Review and approve designs, artwork, photography, and graphics developed by staff members 
• Talk to clients to develop an artistic approach and style
• Coordinate activities with other artistic or creative departments
• Develop detailed budgets and timelines
• Present designs to clients for approval

Art directors typically oversee the work of other designers and artists who produce images for television, film, live performances, advertisements, or video games. They determine the overall style or tone desired for each project and articulate their vision to artists who submit images, such as illustrations, graphics, photographs, charts and graphs, or stage and movie sets.

Art directors work with art and design staffs in advertising agencies, public relations firms, and book, magazine, or newspaper publishers to create designs and layouts. They also work with producers and directors of theater, television, or movie productions to oversee set designs. Their work requires them to understand the design elements of projects, inspire other creative workers, and keep projects on budget and on time. Sometimes, they are responsible for developing the budgets and timelines. 

Art directors work in a variety of industries, and the type of work they do varies somewhat with the industry. However, almost all art directors set the overall artistic style and visual image to be created for each project, and oversee a staff of designers, artists, photographers, writers, or editors who are responsible for creating the individual works that collectively make up a completed product.

The following are some specifics of what art directors do in different industries:

In publishing, art directors typically oversee the page layout of newspapers and magazines. They also choose the cover art for books and periodicals. Often, this work includes Web publications.

In advertising and public relations, art directors ensure that their clients’ desired message and image is conveyed to consumers. Art directors are responsible for the overall visual aspects of an advertising or media campaign and may coordinate the work of other artistic or design staff, such as graphic designers.

In movie production, art directors collaborate with directors to determine what sets will be needed for the film and what style or look the sets should have. They hire and supervise a staff of assistant art directors or set designers to complete designs.

Work Environment About this section

Art directors determine how best to represent a concept visually.

Art directors held about 73,900 jobs in May 2010. About 12 percent of art directors worked for advertising and public relations firms. Others worked for newspaper and magazine publishers, specialized design services firms, and the motion picture and video industries. The following table shows the industries that employed the most art directors in 2010: 

About 59 percent of art directors were self-employed in 2010.

Work Schedules

Most art directors work full time.

How to Become an Art Director About this section

Many art directors start out as graphic designers or in another art occupation, such as fine artists or photographers.

Art directors need at least a bachelor’s degree in an art or design subject and previous work experience. Depending on the industry, they may have worked as graphic designers, illustrators, copyeditors, or photographers, or in another art or design occupation, before becoming art directors. 

Education

Many art directors start out as graphic, industrial, or set designers or in another art occupation, such as fine artists or photographers. They gain the appropriate education for that occupation, usually earning a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. For more information, see the profiles for graphic designers, craft and fine artists, or photographers.

To supplement their work experience in those occupations and show their ability to take on a more creative or a more managerial role, some complete a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree or a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.

Work Experience

Art directors often work for 3 to 5 years in another occupation before being selected for positions as art directors. Depending upon the industry, they may work as graphic designers, illustrators, copyeditors, photographers, or in another art or design occupation, before becoming art directors.

For many artists, including art directors, developing a portfolio—a collection of an artist’s work that demonstrates his or her styles and abilities—is essential. Managers, clients, and others look at an artist’s portfolio when they are deciding whether to hire the person or contract for his or her work.

Important Qualities

Communication skills. Art directors must be able to listen to and speak with staff and clients to ensure that they understand employees’ ideas and clients’ desires for advertisements, publications, or movie sets.

Creativity. Art directors must be able to come up with interesting and innovative ideas to develop advertising campaigns, set designs, or layout options.

Leadership skills. Art directors must be able to organize, direct, and motivate other artists. They need to articulate their visions to artists and oversee their production.

Time management skills. Balancing competing priorities and multiple projects while meeting strict deadlines is critical for art directors.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage for art directors was $80,630 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $42,840, and the top 10 percent earned more than $163,430. In May 2010, the wages of art directors in the industries employing the most art directors were as follows:

Most art directors work full time.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of art directors is expected to increase 9 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. Art directors will continue to be needed to oversee the work of graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, and others engaged in artwork or layout design.

Employment of art directors is expected to experience little to no change in the publishing industry from 2010 to 2020. Although job opportunities may decline as traditional print publications lose ground to other media forms, new opportunities are expected to arise as the number of electronic magazines and Internet-based publications grows. Rather than focusing on the print layout of photographs and text, art directors for newspapers and magazines will design Web pages that incorporate a variety of photographs, illustrations, graphic designs, and text images.

The most new jobs are expected in the advertising, public relations, and related services and specialized design services industries. Advertising, public relations, and related services is expected to add 2,600 art director jobs from 2010 to 2020. Specialized design services is projected to add 700 art director jobs over the same period.

From 2010 to 2020, of the numeric change of art directors in the industries employing the most art directors is projected to be as follows:

Job Prospects

Strong competition for jobs is expected as many talented designers and artists seek to move into these positions.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information about art directors in advertising, public relations, or publishing, visit

Art Directors Club

For more information about art directors in film and television, visit

Art Directors Guild