What is an Art Director?

What is an Art Director? That's the question I asked many current and past Art Directors in today's video and well... it's kind of hard to explain. The role is broad and multifaceted so summing up the job in a simple and concise way is kind of challenging. Never-the-less, we did it anyway. An Art Director is.... (watch to find out)

[alienmeetsslimeslimemeetsa]

I love how art directors don’t know how to describe what an art director is.🙌🏽🥂

[Blueeyesinthesky]

See, I tried majoring in graphic design. But I have found that I prefer the BIG PICTURE over working on the small parts. I love story telling, I love photography, I love creative writing, and I love movies, design, and learning about and working with people, etc. I love all of that. See I love variety and I love always exploring new ideas and yes problem solving. I’ve been SO confused on what I want to do because I don’t really wanna just be a graphic designer. I’d rather direct the graphic designers and everything to do their part in creating the over all vision

An Art Director is the person who leads the visual part of a project and gathers different specialists to apply a look and feel previously defined in the strategic stage.

[encantoenchantedpaper]

We need a "What is a creative director" video now. Now that I'm a cd, I was looking for some management tips and this video popped up.

[MagerialPage]

My bf is an art director for TV and film and he does a lot of set building, buying, hiring, then sells props back to stores at the end of the shoot. Usually, it's the film director with the overall vision, but the art director can tell them what they're able to do with the budget (budget always has to go over in order to get something worth producing, but the producers always shoot low with the original budget to keep production from going too high) and brings ideas to the table on how to do it or how to make it even better. So there is creativity involved; He has a very quick way of visualizing what a general idea should or could look like and uses his creativity to problem solve.
But you also have to be VERY good with people. You work with a lot of people and vendors during a long day of prep or shooting and you won't get called back if you are rude or just in general bad with ppl.
You have to start as a PA or assistant.
If you are handy but also creative and can work long days, then art in film might be doable for you. But my bf is hyperactive and easily bored and this job is perfect for him, so you would be a bad fit if you don't like a ton of physical activity or need lots of sleep.
But you stand by on shoot days waiting for mundane tasks such as resetting visual elements of scenes, whether you are the art director or assistant. So it's a balance of working your butt off and then being patient and waiting around for the next scene or reset.

[pallavi]

This is a question that I always ask every art director to get a better grasp of the profession! It is just such a broad and intriguing profession! It was so amazing hearing it from all the professionals about it! Amazing video!

[Ledatru]

I think we often romanticize the title of "Art Director" and want to make it sound super prestigious and fancy with all these damn buzzwords. But let's just look at it from a practical point of view: If you get hired as an Art Director, it's because we need you to do a hard job.

And typically, the job is that we give you a brief. You better be smart, so ask some damn good questions. Then come up with badass ideas that we can use (your ideas better not suck), and then go get on the computer and actually make that shit. And your shit better look good, because we need to sell that shit. And once we sell that shit, you gotta make sure your vision is carried through to the gritty end.

No one said it was an easy job. There's a HUGE range of skillsets—you gotta be strategic, you gotta be conceptual, you gotta know your programs, you gotta get other people excited, and you gotta give enough of a shit to make sure other people don't fuck it up (and it seems like every step of the way, someone wants to fuck your shit up).

Anyway, is Kyle an Eagles fan? Because if so... #FlyEaglesFly!

[allisongrosch]

I am currently in my second year of studies and I had no idea what I wanted to do when I got out off school. After watching this video, it really gave me a boost. I plan to major in Art direction and I feel super excited about it. Thanks Open Door Creative!

[prncefhll]

I’m currently doing A level Art Graphics. I love doing it and I’ve always wanted to work in the film industry. This video helped a lot, considering it as a future career!

[bluewall]

I had the pleasure of watching you try to explain this to some people to blank confused stares just the other weekend!

[paogrumo]

can you be in the artistic/creative or visual profession without having a fine art, advertising, or communication degree?

[ilikefignewtons]

I'm currently a Psychology student but I'm really starting to believe that maybe art director is closer to my true calling

[nezumi_kitten]

I came across this video because I've been doubting what I want to be. I am currently a first year collge student so please bear with me. I've always loved animation, the thought of bringing something I created alive. But recently I've been getting negative comments from people around me saying it's not a real job or whatever. As much as I hate it, their words did kind of get to me. Don't get me wrong I still want to become an animation designer but when I stumbled across this video it got me thinking about maybe I could become an art director of animation? I have no idea if that is a thing but it's a shot. I wanted to learn more about being an art director and what it takes. I want to start out small and grow bigger and further myself. You get me? Sorry if it is weird.

[rickalpern]

Hey man: Great interviews and an even better job description crystallized at the end of the video. Will be using for a job posting tomorrow. Thank you! All the best.

[galavonni]

great video, loved the perspectives and your engaging definition! thoroughly enjoy the content big thank you!!

[TherdGunman]

This video is absolute FIRE!!! The only problem is I can't like it more than once.

[Steviesbestsong]

This video was EXTREMELY helpful, fun, and informative. Thank you!!

[e_nole]

Thank you for this! I'm a headhunter for the marketing/advertising industry and this definitely helped me understand the role a lot more! Hopefully I find some good prospects for my client :)

[FridayAdventureClub]

Interviewing for an Art Director role this morning and this is exactly what I needed!

[disconouveau]

My god, this video is amazing, I'm going to show it to my creative director and wait to see what he have to say. Its going to be funny. Thank you for that.