Art Directors
Arts, Audio/Video Technology and CommunicationsO*NET 27-1011.00United States
Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media, such as print, broadcasting, video, and film. Direct workers engaged in artwork or layout design.
- Median annual earnings
- $77,672
- Projected change
- +13%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 100.08K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
71.5% of the workforce
Growing to 113.06K by 2035
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The work
What art directors do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Work with creative directors to develop design solutions.
- Present final layouts to clients for approval.
- 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 to coordinate creative activities.
- Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques.
- Formulate basic layout design or presentation approach and specify material details, such as style and size of type, photographs, graphics, animation, video, and sound.
- Review and approve art materials, copy materials, and proofs of printed copy developed by staff members.
- Create custom illustrations or other graphic elements.
- Attend photo shoots and printing sessions to ensure that the products needed are obtained.
- Review illustrative material to determine if it conforms to standards and specifications.
- Hire, train, and direct staff members who develop design concepts into art layouts or who prepare layouts for printing.
- Research current trends and new technology, such as printing production techniques, computer software, and design trends.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $36,199
- 25th percentile
- $50,620
- 50th percentile
- $77,672
- 75th percentile
- $121,203
- 90th percentile
- $187,342
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $77,672 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+13%faster than average
2025100,081 jobs
2035 projected113,060 jobs
12,979 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 71.5%
- High school diploma or less
- 9.7%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 7.7%
- Some college
- 5.7%
- Associate degree
- 5.4%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Art Directors1,169 postings
- 02Creative Directors1,024 postings
- 03Associate Creative Directors780 postings
- 04Manager Creative Directors176 postings
- 05Directors of Creative Strategy173 postings
- 06Brand Designers147 postings
- 07Experience Directors126 postings
- 08Group Creative Directors118 postings
- 09Executive Creative Directors112 postings
- 10Directors of Design105 postings
- 11Creative Directors/Brand Managers100 postings
- 12Directors of Creative Services89 postings
- 13Brand Creative Directors83 postings
- 14Associate Art Directors81 postings
- 15Creative Directors/Copywriters74 postings
- 16Designers65 postings
- 17Creative Services Managers62 postings
- 18Creative Managers59 postings
- 19Creative Leads55 postings
- 20Heads of Creative55 postings
Top employers
- 01Accenture195 postings
- 02Publicis Groupe154 postings
- 03Nike143 postings
- 04Capital One115 postings
- 05System One111 postings
- 06Robert Half103 postings
- 07Vml102 postings
- 08Amazon83 postings
- 09Apple75 postings
- 10Skill62 postings
- 11Hilton54 postings
- 12Under Armour54 postings
- 13Shi International Ltd53 postings
- 14Cardinal Health51 postings
- 15Monks49 postings
- 1624 Seven48 postings
- 17FranklinCovey47 postings
- 18Mediamonks44 postings
- 19Crain Communications42 postings
- 20Meta40 postings
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