What does a Art Director do?

Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media, such as print, broadcasting, video, and film. Day to day that includes work like work with creative directors to develop design solutions and Present final layouts to clients for approval.

What skills should a Art Director put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Art Director list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Adobe ActionScript, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Creative Cloud software, and Adobe Director. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Art Director work?

O*NET records 21 titles for this occupation, including Creative Director, CD Director, Creative Services Director, and Design Director. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Art Director need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 68% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Art Director role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Art Director resume example

A resume for a Art Director needs to show the work itself: formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media, such as print, broadcasting, video, and film. Day to day that means work like this: work with creative directors to develop design solutions; present final layouts to clients for approval. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Creative Director
CD Director
Creative Services Director
Design Director
Art Supervisor
Creative Manager
Creative Services Manager
Graphic Design and Art Production Manager
Group Art Supervisor
Presentation Director
Art Admin
Art Administrator
Art Coordinator
Art Manager
Artistic Director
Brand Creative Director
Creative Art Director
Creative Design Director

O*NET records 21 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Work with creative directors to develop design solutions.
Present final layouts to clients for approval.
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.
Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques.
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.
Create custom illustrations or other graphic elements.
Attend photo shoots and printing sessions to ensure that the products needed are obtained.
Review illustrative material to determine if it conforms to standards and specifications.
Hire, train, and direct staff members who develop design concepts into art layouts or who prepare layouts for printing.
Research current trends and new technology, such as printing production techniques, computer software, and design trends.

16 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Work with creative directors to develop design solutions, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Present final layouts to clients for approval, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Manage own accounts and projects, working within budget and scheduling requirements, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Confer with creative, art, copywriting, or production department heads to discuss client requirements and presentation concepts and to coordinate creative activities, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Acrobat
Adobe ActionScript
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Creative Cloud software
Adobe Director
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe ImageReady
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Premiere Pro
AJAX
Apache Flex
Apple Final Cut Pro

52 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

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

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Adobe After Effects
Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Illustrator

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Speaking
03Critical Thinking
04Judgment and Decision Making
05Reading Comprehension
06Complex Problem Solving
07Coordination
08Time Management
09Operations Analysis
10Persuasion

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Design
English Language
Computers and Electronics
Fine Arts
Communications and Media
Sales and Marketing
Customer and Personal Service

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

68%Bachelor's Degree
10%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
8%Master's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

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.

Common questions

What does a Art Director do?: Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media, such as print, broadcasting, video, and film. Day to day that includes work like work with creative directors to develop design solutions and Present final layouts to clients for approval.
What skills should a Art Director put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Art Director list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Adobe ActionScript, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Creative Cloud software, and Adobe Director. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Art Director work?: O*NET records 21 titles for this occupation, including Creative Director, CD Director, Creative Services Director, and Design Director. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Art Director need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 68% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Art Director role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.