Art Directors
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 pay
- $114,850
- Doing it now
- 140,200
- By 2035
- Up 4.2%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
12,200 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- 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.
- 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.
- Present final layouts to clients for approval.
- Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques.
- Hire, train, and direct staff members who develop design concepts into art layouts or who prepare layouts for printing.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Fine and Studio ArtsSee 1,083 colleges that teach it
- Design and Applied ArtsSee 679 colleges that teach it
- Visual and Performing Arts, GeneralSee 317 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Creative and expressive
Leading and persuading
Organised and precise
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $114,850 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.