Art director
You’re responsible for the overall visual style and creative direction of advertising, marketing and media campaigns.
About the job
What it's like
You'll be working with graphics, visuals and ad campaigns. Depending on where you work, it can involve creating storyboards for the latest video game or managing a photo shoot for a magazine.
Art directors need to be creative and understand the target audience. They need to be able to come up with ideas that are relevant to engage the target audience and address their client’s problems.
Your tasks might include:
developing a range of high-quality artistic concepts
managing a team of designers and keep them motivated
constantly generate new ideas and identify the latest art trends
attending client meetings and presenting work to clients
staying up-to-date with industry trends and technologies
developing budgets and timelines
Hours
You’ll typically work full-time hours with occasional overtime and weekend work to meet deadlines.
Environment
You’ll be working in a face-paced and creative environment. This could be either in advertising agencies, design firms or in-house marketing departments.
Explore more information about this job
Here are some useful links to learn more about this career:
You could join the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising to find training opportunities and make industry contacts.
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Related industries
Many jobs can be done in lots of different industries. We've highlighted the ones we think are most important for this job.
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Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Top specialised skills
These are the top specialised skills that have been found in job vacancies across Scotland. From March 2024 to March 2025.
- storyboarding
- graphic design
Meta skills
Here are some of the meta skills you'll need to do this job.
- verbal communication
- taking responsibility
- motivating others
- managing resources
- innovative
- creative
- building relationships
- attention to detail
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore each section to find more information about getting into this career.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Art and Design
Graphic Communication
English
Foundation Apprenticeship: Creative and Digital Media
You can get a head start in this career by doing a Foundation Apprenticeship in S5 and S6.
You'll get an SCQF level 6 qualification which is the same level as a Higher. You'll also learn new skills and gain valuable experience in a work environment.
Discover what's on offer at your school on Apprenticeships.scot.
To become an art director, studying for an HNC/HNC or degree in the following subjects can be useful:
graphic design
fine art
marketing
An apprenticeship can also help to improve your artistic skills and experience. You’ll find these opportunities on Apprenticeships.scot:
When looking for jobs, having a portfolio to show examples of your creative work is useful.
You can also try get some volunteering experience in an advertising agency. You can get more advice on how to contact advertising agencies from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.
You can also find art-related volunteering opportunities on Volunteer.scot.
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