Art Director VS Senior Designer
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- Опубліковано 12 жов 2021
- In this video, I will try to clarify the differences between both roles, and why being an art or design director is not what most aspiring designers think it is.
#graphicdesign #artdirector #seniordesigner
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Update: Apparently, after reading many blogs and articles, the situation has changed and this is why it is so confusing:
Back in the days, you needed 8-10 years to be a senior, but it seems nowadays it's only 5. And after you have 5 years of experience, the next role you would take is the one of the director.
So the industry, even though I don't like this concept much, thinks as the design ladder this way:
JUNIOR:1-2
MEDIOR:2-5
SENIOR: 5+
And the design ladder is as follows:
JUNIOR > MEDIOR > SENIOR > ART DIRECTOR > CREATIVE DIRECTOR
My opinion in this is that 5 years of experience is not enough to do that much impressive work, even less to take responsibility, but it is just my opinion, just wanted you to have what the industry seems to dictate today.
Thank you for telling me the differences! I am realizing I am emotionally ready to be a senior designer, but I am not emotionally ready to be an art director.
Good for you to know this. In some companies thought they will "title promote" people to art director, but the role is still being a designer. This is just to keep people in the company without raising their salary.
I'm currently a senior designer and work with art directors and CDs. It appears to me ADs still do a lot of hands on work, while CDs manage budgets and shuffle creative resources. Seniors on the other hand pitch creative directions and actually execute them. ADs do the same but they actually report to stakeholders... present to clients. Situation is different in each studio and in-house teams. Today a senior is not someone with "5-7 years of experience", it's someone who has a proven record of executing actual work, and has the tools/process that makes it easy to work hands-off with ADs and CDs (because ADs don't have to manage seniors as much).
Thanks for your detailed answer my friend, will probably make a video about this. Situation is indeed different in each studio, only thing I don't agree much is what you mention about what a senior is. The tags senior, medior, junior are used as a metric of time in the industry, not level. If that would be the case then someone junior who is good is automatically transferred to medior or senior? I met juniors and mediors designers who were really good, but that alone didn't make them seniors. To me the tag senior refers to the amount of time spent in the industry, the amount of unapproved work, rejections, dealing with tight deadlines and understanding the business...not the quality of the work. Not all seniors are good, they are just older.
I also made another video about the true art director, just to make clear that real ADs (not self proclaimed ones) don't design much, they only setup vision and guide others to do their jobs.
Interesting topic and discussion. I’m also a senior designer work in the education industry - it took me 8 and half years to become a senior within the same company. Now I’m in a different department but collaborate with art directors to help plan and overlook team schedule while executing design works. I really appreciate the opportunity that because I want to practice and prepare for the next role if it comes. You reminds I still have lots of room to grow and improve. I’m both hard skills and soft skills. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this video!
You just talk so many straight and it's awesome, I love you
Thank you friend!
Very insightful.. direct to the point and full of information. Such an underrated channel if you ask me
thank you friend!
Really nice, rich in teaching! Thanks for the time you take to offer us contents of quality ;)
Thanks to you for watching Oceane!
The production of this video is very good! well done.
Yay, thank you!
that was helpful
Great video! I fully agree with you but it seems the times are changing plus there’s so much confusion as to the role and responsibility of an AD/CD/Senior designer. I’ve been passed over for the senior designer title for years! I’m 14 years in and now they want to call me art director but my responsibilities are a senior designer who manages the brand for all marketing and communications (in-house global company). I will be managing another designer as I’ve done in at a previous company, so what is a senior designer who manages all creative concepts, brainstorming, art directs photo shoots, faces stakeholders to pitch design concepts, designs everything, and mentors and manages others? Advice is greatly appreciated! So glad I came across this video 🙏🏼
If you art direct photoshoots, If you are directing others to create work, and if you conceptualise and present work, then you are an art director. But since you design as well, you are a hands-on, art director.
If you would have many more people to direct and you can't possibly do any work, and you also have to hire people and manage the team, approve work, offer guidance etc.. then you would be a creative director.
If you design everything and you have someone above you giving you direction and approving your work, then you are a senior designer.
More or less, that ; )
great and clear video! i am a designer with 10+ yrs of experience working mostly in-house for lifestyle brands.
i called myself “AD” because sometimes i set up a concept and oversee other designers do it; but its always with a strong attention to detail, to design craft.
overall, i like designing more than managing people and i want to expand my skills and polish my craft in design, lettering and illustration!
i would add that there are also art directors in editorial/media and to be able to oversee designers, they themselves need to have an extremely solid background in editorial design with a stellar eye for type, image, and any other graphics;
and how they come together in a layout be it print or web
love your content, i just discovered you this evening!
All designers and art directors should have a stellar eye for typography and details. But most of them don't unfortunately. Typography is that genius skill to have and nobody seem to care because it takes effort. Thank you for words and welcome!
Corporate design is a whole different universe from the graphic design industry I'm in. lol
a lot of people are talking about how the industry has changed so i'll throw in my two cents. I've been looking at people who are art directors on linkedin and VERY often i see the pipeline of college > Junior AD (1-2 years) >AD.
Or College > Graphic designer (1-2 years) > here is kind of nebulous. Some moved to senior graphic designer, some moved to freelance, some moved to jr AD, but they all worked about 1-2 years again > AD.
The path there seems MUCH shorter and being a junior or a designer first is the apparent way to get in.
Because they fake it, a senior starts at 8/10 years of experience. I hire very often and I spot the fake ones in an instant. The path hasn't changed, 1-2 years they are still VERY junior, once they get to 5 is midweight. But they fake it in their linkedin profiles. They surely won't fake it in a big company with a real creative director.
Your video confirmed my feelings, my boss slapped me the "Art Director" name years ago and it always felt weird being introduce with that name, I'm sure he just wanted to give me all the responsibility regarding the projects, but I've never felt identify with it... lucky me, I never stop designing.
Great Content! Subbed!
Thank you! yeah we all go through that. I hate the term but if I don't use it to look for work then recruiters think I have no experience. In the UK they use it better: Design director.
Please someone help im on the process in applying to colleges I cant decide whats the best route art direction or graphic design, i have a pasión for art and im creative art director route caught my eye for a while but whats the best way also any recommendations for minors like marketing, fine arts, digital art?
the best way to become a great art director is to start from graphic design. This will make you a great art director that understands ideas as well as the craft. Just make sure the route you choose is conceptual and creative, not just design as in executing things, they need to make you think.
Honestly in real life in my experience these names don’t mean anything anymore (and I hate it)! People want fancy names for their jobs although they are „only“ graphic designers m. Always read the job description and ask detailed questions about the field you’ll be working in.
It’s the same when it comes to UX/UI Design.
yes, but it does mean a lot if you are honest with your title because you will get hired, while others faking their titles won't get anything. I have hired dozens of people and when I see someone pretending to be someone else I just discard their application.