Art Direction

An art director is the person who is in charge of managing the visual design and style of a project. Art
directors need to have the right personality and temperament to work with other individuals, as that
is what their job revolves around. Having a strong knowledge of art and design is key, as well as
having creative flair and emotional intelligence. Katrina Lenzly suggests broadening your knowledge
by studying a range of subjects when you can, as it will make you a more ‘diverse thinker’.

Each art directors’ duties and responsibilities vary depending on the sector they work in. However,
there are tasks that each and every art director will do. James Fenton, the founder of blimp creative,
says that, ‘firstly, it is an art director’s job to manage the team of creative individuals that are
working on the project alongside them.’ The art director needs to ensure that the team are on track,
as well as producing high quality work as it is their vision that they are bringing to fruition. Alongside
this, the art director needs to make sure that the work communicates the right ideas to the
audience. Because of this, the art director is considered a mediator for the designers and writers.
They have to make sure the visuals represent the written work accurately, so that the audience get
the right message. These are considered the long-term tasks that an art director has to do. On a day-
to-day basis, the art director would be doing a range of tasks dependent on what stage they are at
with their current projects. However, when starting a project, they tend to follow the same process
from start to finish. Beginning with meeting a client to understand their needs and what exactly it is
that they want. This is to make sure that the team know where to start when they begin to produce
ideas. They will then start assessing the best way to visually represent a concept or idea. They may
come up with a few different ideas, and see which matches the client’s needs best, or which will
catch the audience’s eye. After considering these, and deciding on the style, they will begin to
develop it. Working with designers, photographers, copywriters, editors etc. to create relevant
sketches, layouts, photographs, text and more. The art director will then begin to bring all these
elements together to create the final product to then give to the client. If the art director has done
their job properly, the client should be happy with the final outcome, however they may have to
make small alterations if need.

Like I said earlier, an art directors’ duties and responsibilities vary depending on the sector they work
in. Whatever sector they work in, they will most likely have a hand in designing and creating the
spaces and items needed. Art directors can be found within film and TV production companies,
graphic design agencies, advertising firms, and publishing and print houses. While working in film
and TV production, an art director will work with the film/TV crew to work out what sets are needed,
and how to produce them. The art director will then work alongside set designers, story-boarders,
costume designers, set decorators and dressers, and prop makers to create the spaces and items
needed. While working within a graphic design agency, they will talk with clients to figure out what
they want, and they work with designers to produce something to fit the clients needs. Advertising is
similar, the art director would speak with the client to learn what they want, and then work with a
group of designers, photographers, videographers and editors to create a campaign that creatively
conveys the clients message. For publishing and print, the art director will choose an overall visual
style for the product, and then work with designers, and photographers to create it.

An art director’s role sounds pretty great. Deciding on the visual style of a project and then leading a
team of creative individuals in order to bring your vision to life. However, as with most things, there
are downsides to being an art director. Despite having regular working hours of 9 am to 6pm, from
Monday to Friday, there is a high chance that you will have to work extra in the evenings or on
weekends to get work done by the deadline. This means having an unpredictable work schedule. On
top of this, you need to have a lot of experience to climb the ladder, making it harder for newer art
directors to progress. It can also be hard work coming up with original and creative ideas for each
project. There is also the obvious pressure of having to meet deadlines. An art director also has to do
lots of travelling and moving for their job, however this one is more subjective. There are definitely
lots of benefits too. Personally, I would say that travelling around a lot for work is a bonus. The
salary for an art director is very good and improves the more you progress through the industry. You
also get a lot of freedom with where you work, in the sense of in an office or at home, but also the
sectors that are available. You get multiple opportunities to show your creativity and impress people
with what you can do. Art director Oana Bogdan states that, ‘the art director is the gap filler, they
need to be versatile enough to step into any creative role when needed’. This ties back to what Lenzly
said about broadening your knowledge. Also, you are always starting new projects, so you won’t get
bored either.

Art directors get to lead very interesting lives. Their role requires them to take on a lot of
responsibilities and duties, but it is also very rewarding. You get to have free reign with your
creativity and produce some innovative work while working with a range of mediums.