Art Director Sample Job Descriptions

[Your Company Name] is hiring an experienced art director with a passion for creativity and an eye for design to lead our highly skilled art department. An art director must have exceptional leadership skills in order to guide projects and communicate their vision effectively to others. The ideal candidate has both artistic and marketing experience that will aid in promoting our company brand. If you have the vision to identify what speaks to consumers and the ability to inspire others to clearly execute said vision, you may be the perfect fit for our company.

Typical duties and responsibilities

• Determine and develop the visual style of advertising campaigns, publications, and other visual elements for the client
• Manage design staff and collaborate with other creatives
• Create detailed timelines and budgets for the creative team
• Review and approve the artwork, photography, and graphic designs produced by design staff
• Select photography, artwork, designs, and other visual elements for layout
• Coordinate multiple projects simultaneously to produce quality content and meet client deadlines
• Present creative concepts and finished projects to clients for review

Education and experience

• This position requires a bachelor’s degree in fine art, digital media, visual communication, photography, or related field

Required skills and qualifications

• Strong attention to detail
• Excellent time management and organizational skills
• Proficiency with industry-standard tools, such as Adobe Creative Cloud

Preferred qualifications

• Good communication and organization skills
• Basic mastery of relevant graphic design software
• Ability to effectively handle pressure and responsibility

About the role

The position requires someone who has exceptional conceptual ideation skills for integrated campaign development (largely in film and social), with a focus on art direction. Partnering with a Copywriter, you’ll drive creative from concept to delivery. Specifically, you will:

• Answer creative briefs by concepting engaging full-funnel, integrated creative campaigns that drive awareness across all categories
• Partner with copywriter, producers, and project managers throughout all phases of the work from concept through delivery
• When appropriate, develop new creative by reusing and reediting existing assets to bring in a fresh approach to existing assets
• Turn film assets into multiple formats for multiple channels, for example, turn a film asset into carousels or stills for Pinterest, Facebook, IG, programmatic digital, etc.
• Concept and art direct still imagery for flat lay shoots, store photography, and product stills
• Work to ensure all creative is consistent with our brand voice, style, and tone
• Ability to evolve creative assets to respond to data and in-market learnings
• Other activities as may be identified from time to time

About you

• BA/BS or equivalent work experience
• 3-6 years of recent work experience as an art director with a focus on film (digital and social, a plus) & photography
• A creative mindset that seeks to understand what audiences consume and how to create relevant content
• Hungry to constantly learn and adapt based on the ever-changing world of social, both in terms of how content changes, and new platforms come into the market
• Experience supporting product marketing and sales activities
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Being highly adaptable and having flexibility in a fast-paced environment is a must
• Expert-level ability at producing quality videos, social media posts, and blogs

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain the visual look for all of our clients’ traditional and digital work, from inception to completion. 
• Ensure a high standard of visual execution across all channels and campaigns, ie, the materials are aesthetically engaging, the messaging is clear, the client’s branding and style is adhered to, and the product is of high quality and error-free
• Collaborate with the team to brainstorm concepts and/or work through challenges
• Ability to work well with copywriters
• Ability to firmly grasp the strategic intent and translate this into beautifully conceived, persuasive work that delivers the client’s objectives
• Technically proficient and able to be independently hands-on to personally produce all elements required for projects and campaigns
• Able to pitch concepts internally to the Creative Director and/or Strategy Team

Qualifications and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in design, fine arts, graphic arts, or communications. In lieu of a degree in these fields, experience is acceptable
• Minimum of two to five years of experience
• Strong knowledge of typography, image manipulation, illustration, and animation
• Broad understanding of marketing design and layout
• Experience in generating a reliable supply of original ideas and visual concepts
• Confidence to explain and support your thinking
• Flexible approach and willingness to adapt your ideas to the needs of clients
• Keen eye for visual details and accuracy
• Resilience to perform under pressure and deliver high-quality work to tight deadlines
• Solid hands-on knowledge of branding and brand systems, brand repositioning, marketing campaigns, and creative development for traditional and digital tactics is required
• Proficiently skilled in the latest art and design packages. Technical proficiency with Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, XD, PowerPoint, Keynote, web-based CMS, and other programs is required
• Able and willing to travel to assist with on-location projects, such as photo or video shoots

Responsibilities

Guide and manage all aspects of the artistic and conceptual development of marketing and promotional materials, including, but not limited to, brand identity, print and digital collateral, print and digital ad campaigns, packaging, photography, websites, environmental design, and interactive design.

• Conduct in-depth creative and market research and exploration on each project to understand brand needs and challenges fully
• Work closely with the creative team on conceptualizing, developing, and refining dynamic creative solutions and content
• Articulate and enforce the visual tone, style guide, and core values to ensure seamless creative development and implementation of marketing strategies and brand experiences
• Energetic team player who is able to not only lead the creative process but also help build the graphic design department infrastructure with a hands-on and collaborative approach
• Contribute to developing department processes and performance standards
• Examine and approve the quality of the final artwork and materials by engaging closely with the production team to ensure flawless execution of design deliverables
• Brief, motivate, and collaborate with our in-house Photographers, Interactive Designers, Web Developers, Visualizers, Editors, and the Production Artists on each project
• Committed to a thoughtful and strategic design approach, while not afraid to think outside the box

Requirements

• Extensive design background with a portfolio reflecting 4+ years of experience in a professional design studio
• Outstanding leadership and management skills to effectively direct and guide the creative team and client from the beginning phase to delivery
• Digital design experience and grasp of current best practices
• Proven ability to drive results through strategic, creative solutions
• Sophisticated sense and in-depth knowledge of design (video, digital, photography, UX/UI, environmental design – a plus)
• Ability to naturally inspire and foster a collaborative and energetic studio culture
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills
• Detail-driven and excellent time management skills
• Able to work effectively under pressure, juggling multiple projects at once