This document outlines the skills, duties, and career path for an art director. It states that art directors are responsible for the visual style and images in various media such as magazines, newspapers, movies, and television. The duties of an art director include generating creative ideas, producing visual concepts, gaining an understanding of the target audience, presenting ideas to clients, and overseeing projects. Successful art directors have skills in areas like idea generation, visual communication, teamwork, meeting deadlines, and software programs like Photoshop. The career offers a range of salaries from £20,000-£120,000 depending on seniority, and may involve long hours to meet project deadlines.

1. Skills Required
 Consistent abilities to produce and
communicate fresh ideas and visual
concepts.
 High levels of motivation and
perseverance.
 Excellent organisational skills with the
ability to prioritise work and multi-task.
 Team working skills.
 The ability to take rejection and criticism
well and to be able to adapt ideas to
clients' and colleagues' needs.
 The capacity to deal with stress and
work well under pressure in order to meet
tight deadlines.
 Enthusiasm about advertising with a real
desire to keep up to date with new
developments in the media.
 An integrated and creative approach to
the media and how the media can be
used in advertising.
 High levels of IT skills in relevant art and
design packages, such as Photoshop and
Illustrator.
 An understanding of the advertising
process.
 Acute observation and an eye for detail.
Main Duties
 Working closely with the copywriter to generate
creative ideas and concepts to fulfill the client's brief.
 Producing sketches or 'storyboards' (television) or
'roughs' or 'scamps' (print) to communicate ideas to
the client.
 Gaining an understanding of the target audience
and business that the advert is aimed at
 Meeting with the creative director and account
managers before presenting ideas to clients.
 Pitching ideas to clients.
 Briefing other members of the creative team.
 Commissioning photographers, artists or filmmakers
to work on projects.
 Visiting and assessing locations for potential shoots.
 Working on location.
 Attending meetings at production houses and with
other directors.
 Working in editing suites to oversee the finished
product.
 Advising new creatives, reviewing their 'books' and
managing new teams on placement with the agency.
Unit 8
Art Director
Art Directors are responsible for the
visual style and images in magazines,
newspapers, product packaging, and
movie and television productions.
Media
Jobs
Mitchell Leisen was an American Art Director who
contributed to films
in the 1930s – 1960s.
He started his career
in the early 1920s as
a runner on film sets
and moved up
through the art and
costume department
until he became an
art director in the
early 1930s. He
worked on many
famous films such as
‘Death Takes a Holiday and ‘Midnight’.

2. The range of typical starting salaries for junior
art directors is around £20,000 to £25,000.
Senior art directors can earn anything
between £45,000 - £120,000. Although very
few reach the upper end of this range, as the
highest salaries will only be paid by the
Areas For Employment
An Art Director may specialise in the following areas:
Cinema and Television – Art Directors facilitate the production designer's creative vision for all the locations
and sets that eventually give the film its unique visual identity.
Advertising – Advertising Art Directors are responsible for what advertisements look like. They are involved
in creating a campaign that has an instant, positive impact on the consumer in order to promote the product
or brand being advertised.
Working hours are generally 9am to
5pm. However, extra hours are required
in the evenings and at weekends in
order to meet deadlines and specific
needs, e.g. being on location at a
Salary Working Hours
Although this area of work is open to all
graduates, a degree in one of the
following subjects is likely to increase your
chances:
Advertising and marketing, advertising
design, graphic design, illustration, fine art
Qualifications