Occupation

Art Directors

Human Advantage 75%

Significant human skills needed

AI Automation Risk Low Risk
2.6 / 10

This occupation requires complex human judgment, social interaction, and creative problem-solving that are difficult to automate.

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.

Also Known As: Art Administrator (Art Admin), Art Coordinator, Art Director, Art Manager, Art Supervisor, Artistic Director, Brand Creative Director, Creative Art Director +14 more

Video

Core Tasks

  1. Work with creative directors to develop design solutions.
  2. Present final layouts to clients for approval.
  3. Manage own accounts and projects, working within budget and scheduling requirements.
  4. Confer with creative, art, copywriting, or production department heads to discuss client requirements and presentation concepts and to coordinate creative activities.
  5. Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques.
  6. Formulate basic layout design or presentation approach and specify material details, such as style and size of type, photographs, graphics, animation, video, and sound.
  7. Review and approve art materials, copy materials, and proofs of printed copy developed by staff members.
  8. Create custom illustrations or other graphic elements.
  9. Attend photo shoots and printing sessions to ensure that the products needed are obtained.
  10. Review illustrative material to determine if it conforms to standards and specifications.
  11. Hire, train, and direct staff members who develop design concepts into art layouts or who prepare layouts for printing.
  12. Research current trends and new technology, such as printing production techniques, computer software, and design trends.

Supplemental Tasks (4)

  1. Mark up, paste, and complete layouts and write typography instructions to prepare materials for typesetting or printing.
  2. Conceptualize and help design interfaces for multimedia games, products, and devices.
  3. Prepare detailed storyboards showing sequence and timing of story development for television production.
  4. Negotiate with printers and estimators to determine what services will be performed.

Education & Training

Job Zone 4 Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Education: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Experience: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
On-the-Job Training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Education Level Distribution

Percentage of workers in this occupation with each education level.

Bachelor's Degree
68%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
10%
Master's Degree
8%
Some College Courses
6%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.
4%

Relevant College Majors

  • Art/Art Studies, General CIP 50.0701Fine arts theory, history, and studio practice.

Technology & Tools

Hot Technologies

  • AJAX
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Adobe After Effects
  • Adobe Creative Cloud software
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Apple macOS
  • Atlassian Confluence
  • Atlassian JIRA
  • Cascading style sheets CSS
  • Drupal
  • Facebook
  • Figma
  • Hypertext markup language HTML
  • JavaScript
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • PHP
  • WordPress
  • jQuery

Software (52)

  • Adobe ActionScript
  • Adobe Director
  • Adobe Dreamweaver
  • Adobe ImageReady
  • Adobe Premiere Pro
  • Apache Flex
  • Apple Final Cut Pro
  • Apple Keynote
  • Apple iWork Keynote
  • Autodesk 3ds Max Design
  • Autodesk Maya
  • Computer assisted design software
  • Data visualization software
  • Dynamic hypertext markup language DHTML
  • Extensible hypertext markup language XHTML
  • Google Slides
  • Mag+
  • Maxon Cinema 4D
  • Mobile application software
  • Quark enterprise publishing software
  • QuarkXPress
  • Social media software
  • Tablet application software
  • User interface design software
  • WeVideo
  • Web broswer software
  • WoodWing
  • YouTube

Tools & Equipment (7)

  • Desktop computers
  • Digital still cameras
  • Digital video cameras
  • Laptop computers
  • Personal computers
  • Sketching pencils
  • Tablet computers

Where This Career Leads

Career progression organized by specialty track and experience level.

Fine Arts Arts, Entertainment, & Design

Zone 4
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