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Art Director
Overview » Industry Pathways » Visual Arts 
Check out this video featuring Cartoon Network's Creative Director, Ed Murietta. He discusses what it's like being an art director, what you can be doing now to prepare for a similar career, and much more!
Art directors formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual communications media. They work closely with artists who use their imagination and create art to communicate ideas, thoughts, or feelings.
These workers love creativity and prefer to mix their creativeness with a splash of organization and administrative tasks. They design concepts and review material that is to appear in periodicals, newspapers, and other printed or digital media. They decide how to best present information visually, so that it is eye catching, appealing, and organized.
Art directors decide which photographs or artwork to use and oversee the layout design and production of the printed material. They may oversee workers engaged in artwork, layout design, and copywriting. So while part of their work is managing people and projects, everything they do utilizes their artistic skills and talents.
Art directors and artists held about 78,000 jobs in 2006. More than half were self-employed. Of the artists who were not self-employed, many worked in advertising and related services; newspaper, periodical, book, and software publishers; motion picture and video industries; specialized design services; and computer systems design and related services. Some self-employed artists offered their services to advertising agencies, design firms, publishing houses, and other businesses on a contract or freelance basis.
Art directors work in a variety of industries, such as advertising, public relations, publishing, and design firms. Despite an expanding number of opportunities, they should experience strong competition for the available openings. Employment of artists and related workers such as art directors is expected to grow about average through the year 2016. Because the arts attract many talented and creative people, competition for both salaried jobs and freelance work is expected to be tough.
An advanced degree in fine arts or arts administration is necessary for management or administrative positions.
Evidence of appropriate talent and skill displayed in an artist’s portfolio is an important factor used by art directors, clients, and others in deciding whether to hire an individual or to contract out work. It is very important to also have strong administrative and organizational skills. It may be helpful to provide evidence of how you have managed creative projects in your portfolio. Internships also provide excellent opportunities to develop and improve portfolios.
Most art directors need experience in environments such as advertising agencies where they might often start with relatively routine work and build up their expertise over time. Typical annual earnings of salaried art directors were $72,320 in 2007.
If you are interested in this occupation or are wondering about related occupations, use the links below to continue your exploration. Always remember, the more effort you put into exploring possible careers, the easier it will be for you to discover the best career choices for you!
For career information and links to employment resources contact:
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: http://www.bls.gov/oco/
Occupational Information Network, O*NET Online: http://online.onetcenter.org/
For information on degree and continuing education in art-related programs, contact:
National Association of Schools of Art and Design: http://nasad.arts-accredit.org
For information on careers in medical illustration, contact:
Association of Medical Illustrators: http://www.ami.org
For information about planning and paying for college, visit Junior Achievement’s Financial Aid Center .
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