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What is needed to be an art director
What is hard about being a art director?
#art
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Kate’s Answer
Hi Zhengye! I'm an art director for an in-house design team and I can tell you the path that I took to get here. I'm assuming you are not asking about art directors for film/video - that's a totally different animal.
It started by getting my BFA in Graphic Design. After graduation, I did some freelance work for ad agencies while applied to several different kinds of companies to find a full time position as a graphic designer. I landed a position at a publishing company where I gained a lot of knowledge in design, typography, print and production. After a few years, I applied for an Art Director role at an advertising agency where I reported to the Creative Director. Typically, art directors work with hand in hand with junior designers to direct their projects by providing feedback and critique - the goal being to make the graphic designer's work better. On occasion, the art director will produce the work themselves, it just depends on the size of the agency and workload of the team.
I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have!
It started by getting my BFA in Graphic Design. After graduation, I did some freelance work for ad agencies while applied to several different kinds of companies to find a full time position as a graphic designer. I landed a position at a publishing company where I gained a lot of knowledge in design, typography, print and production. After a few years, I applied for an Art Director role at an advertising agency where I reported to the Creative Director. Typically, art directors work with hand in hand with junior designers to direct their projects by providing feedback and critique - the goal being to make the graphic designer's work better. On occasion, the art director will produce the work themselves, it just depends on the size of the agency and workload of the team.
I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have!
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Geoffrey’s Answer
Like most managerial roles, the most important thing is finding and keeping the best talent. Can you identify great work that's consistent with design goals for a particular project?