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Date: 02/17/2026

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.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Conceptualize and help design interfaces for multimedia games, products, and devices.
    • Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques.
    • Confer with creative, art, copywriting, or production department heads to discuss client requirements and presentation concepts and to coordinate creative activities.
    • Formulate basic layout design or presentation approach and specify material details, such as style and size of type, photographs, graphics, animation, video, and sound.
    • Attend photo shoots and printing sessions to ensure that the products needed are obtained.
    • Review and approve art materials, copy materials, and proofs of printed copy developed by staff members.
    • Present final layouts to clients for approval.
    • Formulate basic layout design or presentation approach and specify material details, such as style and size of type, photographs, graphics, animation, video, and sound.
    • Research current trends and new technology, such as printing production techniques, computer software, and design trends.
    • Mark up, paste, and complete layouts and write typography instructions to prepare materials for typesetting or printing.
    • Hire, train, and direct staff members who develop design concepts into art layouts or who prepare layouts for printing.
    • Prepare detailed storyboards showing sequence and timing of story development for television production.
    • Work with creative directors to develop design solutions.
    • Manage own accounts and projects, working within budget and scheduling requirements.
    • Hire, train, and direct staff members who develop design concepts into art layouts or who prepare layouts for printing.
    • Hire, train, and direct staff members who develop design concepts into art layouts or who prepare layouts for printing.
    • Mark up, paste, and complete layouts and write typography instructions to prepare materials for typesetting or printing.
    • Negotiate with printers and estimators to determine what services will be performed.
    • Create custom illustrations or other graphic elements.
    • Review illustrative material to determine if it conforms to standards and specifications.

    Skills

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    5
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    5

    Abilities

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    Knowledge

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 92370/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 44.41/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 2,380
    • Yearly Projected Openings 230

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Artistic: People interested in this work like activities that include creating, designing, and making your own rules.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Self-Confidence
    • Leadership Orientation
    • Innovation
    • Adaptability
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Dependability

    Tools

    • Charcoal pencils
    • Desktop computers
    • Digital camcorders or video cameras
    • Digital cameras
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Tablet computers

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Desktop publishing software
    • Development environment software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Graphical user interface development software
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Mobile operator specific application software
    • Network conferencing software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Program testing software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Web platform development software
    • Word processing software

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