What Does an Art Director Do?

An art director is in charge of the overall design for a project, and also directs others who develop visuals and layouts. They also determine the overall style or tone of a publication and express their vision to artists who submit images such as illustrations, photographs, and graphics. 

In the world of publishing, an art director’s duty involves making creative decisions and setting deadlines. Often, they are also responsible for setting budgets.

Here are some of the main duties of an art director:

• Determining the overall design. An art director’s job description involves determining which photographs, art, or other design elements to use and the layout to best display them. Their main mission is to represent a concept visually. Some tasks they’ll do on a daily basis include signing off on cover art to approving page layout design. A certain amount of stress is involved as an art director because their decisions impact the whole magazine. They need to ensure the overall magazine has a cohesive aesthetic that fits with the publication’s values and targets its intended audience.

Note: while art directors are expected to have a certain amount of graphic design judgement and technical know-how, it is not necessary for them to possess extensive drawing skills.

• Maintaining budgets and timelines. Most art directors are trusted to work within a budget to get a project completed. They are also responsible for setting deadline for employees to ensure everything is received on time in order to complete the project. 

• Leading a team. Art directors typically manage a team of creative works to ensure they’re performing their best and delivering on time. Depending on the company, some staff work in an office environment, while others work remotely. 

• Coordinate activities with other creative departments. Art directors should have a good understanding of the roles of employees in other creative departments so that they can step in to make changes when the need surfaces. They need to understand the full scope of the team and their work makes the process a lot smoother and efficient. 

Qualities and Skills of a Good Art Director

Being an art director comes with a large set of responsibilities. To succeed as an art director, it’s crucial to develop and hone some important skills. Here are several skills and qualities that most art directors have:

Strong leadership skills. Since art directors work with a myriad of people and overlook a number of projects, it’s key to have the leadership skills to do this effectively and consistently. In addition to emotional intelligence, you will need compassion and empathy to succeed as a good leader. It’s also important to motivate and support their staff to help them perform their best and, ultimately, make the process more seamless. 

A clear and creative vision. A good art director is open to inspiration and the skills of the people around them. However, they also maintain a clear vision of delivering a message in alignment with the brand and that speaks directly to the reader. Since their decisions affect the overall look of a magazine, art directors must possess a strong, clear artistic vision. 

Good time management skills: Knowing when and where to best invest energy is the difference between a good art director and a bad art director. They need to know when to say yes and no when it comes to making key decisions that affect the magazine. Since art directors already have a long list of tasks that need to be completed, it’s crucial that they have good time management skills. 

Clear communication: it’s important that art directors are able to communicate clearly to their team in order to optimize the process and prevent miscommunication that could lead to devastating consequences for the publication.