The terms “art director” and “creative director” are often used interchangeably, but they are quite different roles. To recap, the creative director is the leader who is in charge of liaising with the client, spearheading each campaign and overseeing all deliverables. They are in charge of their departments.
In contrast, the art director is only in charge of the visual elements and aesthetics of a project. While the creative director supervises both copywriters and graphic designers, the art director will only supervise graphic designers and other visual professionals. Furthermore, rather than focusing on “big picture” issues, art directors will focus on smaller details, such as the color palette and fonts of a project.
At some organizations, the art director will report to the creative director. For example, after exploring visual ideas with their team, the art director will choose a few of the top ideas to present to the creative director. The creative director may then work collaboratively with the art director to determine which visual elements are most closely aligned with the overall vision of the project.
Both creative directors and art directors play important roles in the development of marketing campaigns and other projects, but their roles are distinctly different from each other. To sum up, if the creative director is like the head coach of a football team, the art director is like the offensive line coach — one of the leaders of the team, but not the senior-most leader.
Although the roles of a creative director aren’t quite the same as those of an art director, both professionals can benefit from similar skill sets and characteristics. For instance, both of these professionals need strong graphic design skills, communication skills, leadership qualities and a collaborative mindset. However, creative directors need a greater emphasis on project management and understanding how the finer details fit together to form the larger picture.
