Who do you define as an art director?

Art directors are responsible for creating designs that are sure to convey the right message to their clients' customers. They develop strategies and presentations for their clients in the visual media industries, including print media, broadcasting and film. They work under the art department of an organization and handle multiple projects with a team of junior artists and designers. They are adept at understanding their client's target audiences and producing work that resonates with the ongoing marketing and industry trends.

How do you initiate your career as an art director?

Apart from earning degrees to acquire a position as an art director, you need to develop fresh ideas and have a solid artistic view. Art directors should be able to match the pace of emerging trends and adapt themselves to deliver high-quality results. Your dedication and detail-oriented nature will take you ahead in producing eye-catching visuals.

Is art director a promising career?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an art director's employment will decline by 2% from 2019 to 2029. The projected result is mainly due to the increasing demand for digital media and decreasing demand for print media. For a passionate art director, the rising demand for work in digital media provides an enticing opportunity to shift paths into a bright career in the field.

Art Director Resume Examples - Templates, Skills & Writing Tips

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Table of contents

Resume examples
Related resume examples
Choosing the right resume format
5 steps to writing an art director resume
Adding a cover letter
Key takeaways
Commonly asked question about resume writing

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When your creative juices are flowing, you are unstoppable. Your campaigns have won awards, your work has sold thousands of products and you’ve created images that tell a story. But is your resume telling your professional story just as well?

If you aren’t getting the traction you hoped for in your job search, you may need to polish up your art director resume. With the help of some easy-to-follow instructions on how to write a resume for your career and some excellent resume examples for reference, the task can be much simpler than you think. Here, you’ll learn exactly what you need to know to write an impressive art director resume in a matter of minutes.

Keep reading to find:

Examples of art director resumes for applicants with and without experience.
What makes an art director resume example great.
Tips and tricks for resume writing, including how to study an art director job description to identify keywords for your resume.
What to include in every section of your art director resume.
How to choose the right resume template and format for the role.

Ready to write an art director resume now? Use our professional Resume Builder for step-by-step help writing every section, including access to AI-generated skills and responsibilities specific to an art director role.

Art director resume examples

Entry-level art director resume example

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What makes this a great entry-level art director resume sample?

Descriptive career objective
While this applicant doesn’t have direct work experience as an art director, he does have some real-world work experience as an artist, plus training and transferable skills, which he expertly lays out in his summary statement, also known as a resume objective. He also uses this section to express his desire to move into an entry-level art director role.
Use of multiple skills sections
This applicant leaves nothing to the imagination. Through the use of two different types of skills sections, he makes it plain to see that he has the skills required to perform the role.
Separate portfolio section
As an artist, this applicant knows that an employer will want to see samples of his work. To make that simple for the hiring manager, he has placed links to his portfolio and Instagram accounts under a separate header.

Experienced art director resume example

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What makes this a great experienced art director resume sample?

Personality packed resume template
This resume features bold color and a prominent header, which is perfect for an applicant for an art director role who wants to show off her flair for design.
Detailed work experience section
This applicant is highly qualified and uses multiple detailed bullet points to detail her past professional experience. She also includes metrics to show the impact her work had in each role.
Includes special sections
This applicant put a spotlight on her extensive list of certifications and on her portfolio through the use of special sections. By placing these items under separate headers, she draws attention to her unique skill set.

Choose the right resume format for your art director resume

To land the art director job you want, you need to get the right information in front of a recruiter. How do you accomplish that? By choosing the resume format that puts your most impressive credentials front and center. The resume format you choose should be based on your level of experience in the field.

Here’s how to decide which one is right for you:

The chronological resume format works best for experienced applicants who have five or more years of relevant experience as an art director.
The combination resume format is great for midlevel applicants who have a few years of work experience as an art director.
The functional resume format is perfect for applicants who are recent graduates or who are looking to get their first art director role.

Visit our guide to learn more about how to format a resume for more information on how to best showcase your skills, training and experience.

Now that you’ve chosen the perfect format, it’s time to pick your resume template.

Choose the right resume template for your resume

Craft Your Resume

While every resume will have the same basic sections — a professional summary or resume objective, skills, work history and education — you can customize the look and feel of your resume by selecting the right resume template.

For a colorful resume, which in most cases is appropriate for an art director role, try a creative resume template. These have more flair and allow you to show off your personality.

Or consider a modern resume template for something more chic.

Now let’s dive into the writing process.

How to write an art director resume in 5 simple steps

Art direction is a competitive field so your resume has to expertly convey your creativity, skills and experience to get noticed. While there are some basic rules for writing a great resume, savvy job seekers know that the key to getting noticed is to skip the generic resume content and write a resume that is specific to the industry and the role they seek.

Let’s go through how to accomplish just that, step by step.

STEP 1

Study the art director job description

A well-written art director resume is customized to include keywords that show employers that you have what it takes to perform the role. Why is this important?

Many employers run resumes through applicant tracking systems (ATS) that screen out unqualified candidates based on preset keywords. If your resume doesn’t contain the right keywords, you’ll be eliminated before a human ever sees your resume. To make your resume ATS-friendly, you’ll need to customize it to the art director job description to improve your chances of landing a job interview.

But how do you know which keywords to use? Don’t worry — we will explain.

Every art director role is different, but a good job ad should tell you everything you need to know about which keywords to add to your art director resume. The key to success is to study the job description and make a list of critical keywords.

For example, if the job description for the art director role you seek asks for “experience with web design and photo editing,” and skills including “attention to detail and creativity,” you’ll want to be sure to use those exact words in your resume content. Remember, an ATS doesn’t understand nuance so do your best to use the exact words and phrases from the job description on your resume.

Look for opportunities in your professional summary, skills section and work experience section to add the keywords you’ve identified. Then, go through your resume and make sure what you wrote matches the wording in the job description so that the ATS recognizes it.

It may sound like a lot, but once you get used to the process, it should only take you a few minutes to do and will result in more interviews than if you don’t tailor it.

STEP 2

Write a professional summary or resume objective

Depending on your level of experience, your art director resume should include either a professional summary or a resume objective to start. Think of this section as your resume profile, where you provide potential employers with a summary of your most relevant skills and experience and some professional highlights.

Candidates with less experience should choose a resume objective, which states your transferable skills and your career goals. Applicants with more direct experience in an art director role should use a professional summary, which outlines your skills and experience and highlights some of your most notable professional accomplishments.

Let’s look at how each of these would appear on an art director resume.

Art director professional summary example:

Sought after art director with over 12 years of experience in advertising agencies. Awarded the prestigious One Show Award in 2018 for outstanding creativity and innovation in the “Reimagine Tomorrow: Sustainable Futures” campaign. Spearheaded the “UrbanScape: Redefining City Living” campaign, leading to a 40% surge in website traffic and a 15% uptick in lead conversions, significantly exceeding client expectations. Adept at conceptualizing and executing creative strategies that drive brand recognition and engagement. Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams to deliver exceptional results on time and within budget.

Art director resume objective example:

Dynamic and ambitious recent graduate of the School of Visual Arts with a degree in Illustration. Equipped with a solid foundation in visual communication and a passion for creating captivating brand experiences. Eager to leverage my education and skills to contribute innovative ideas and creative solutions as an entry-level art director. Possess a blend of strategic thinking, design proficiency, and effective team leadership and collaboration skills.

STEP 3

Highlight your most relevant art director skills

Regardless of your experience level, hiring managers will be looking closely at the skills you list. Skills for an art director resume should be added to your resume skills section and peppered into your professional summary (or resume objective) and your work experience section.

It’s critical that you provide employers with a solid mix of hard and soft skills. Hard skills are the measurable skills needed to perform a job, like 3D design. These skills are easily taught in a classroom. Soft skills, like strong written and verbal communication, are behaviors and personality traits, which make them difficult to measure.

Here is a side-by-side list of hard and soft skills to help you see the difference between the two.

Key skills for an art director resume

Hard Skills

Typography

Graphic design

Photo and image editing

Print production

Animation

Soft Skills

Creativity

Time management

Collaboration

Attention to detail

Client relations

Here’s an example of a strong resume skills section for an art director:

Generate and develop unique and compelling creative concepts.
Strong verbal and written communication skills facilitate articulating artistic vision to designers.
Proficient in using industry-standard design software such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.
Adept at working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams.
Deadline-driven.
UX design.

Pro Tip

When writing your skills section, adding computer skills and other technical abilities is great. However, soft skills count, too, especially in a role like art direction where collaboration with copywriters and other stakeholders is part of the job. Try to find a mix of hard and soft skills to show that you are a well-balanced applicant.

STEP 4

Write a strong art director work experience section

While the required background and experience will be different for each art director role you apply for, the key to getting noticed is writing a work experience section that demonstrates what you will bring to the table.

Think about your work experience in terms of projects that challenged you, obstacles you’ve overcome and professional wins you’ve enjoyed over the course of your career. Describing your work experience in these terms helps show off the impact of your work rather than just your job duties.

Sample art director work history entry:

Art Director, Grey Advertising
New York, NY
January 2017 – Present

Lead creative conceptualization and execution for high-profile client campaigns across various industries, ensuring brand consistency and messaging effectiveness.
Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including copywriters, account managers and strategists to develop integrated advertising strategies that meet client objectives.
Championed the redesign of a major client’s website, resulting in a 40% increase in user engagement and a 25% improvement in conversion rates.
Direct and mentor a team of designers, providing guidance and feedback to foster creativity and maintain high-quality design standards.
Conceptualized and executed the award-winning “FutureForward: Innovate Today” campaign, which received industry recognition and contributed to a 30% increase in brand visibility.

Pro Tip

Make your art director credentials pop by using action words to show off your writing skills. And, make yourself irresistible by using data and metrics to show in measurable terms how your work has impacted the bottom line for your clients.

STEP 5

Showcase your education and training

To be hired as an art director, you’ll need to show employers that you have the required education and training. Art directors typically need a combination of formal education — a bachelor’s degree in graphic design, advertising, marketing or another relevant field is typically required — plus relevant experience and a strong portfolio. For your degrees, there is no need to list your year of graduation unless you’re a very recent grad. If you did recently graduate, consider including relevant coursework under your degree.

How to list your education:

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts, Graphic Design
Rhode Island School of Design
May 2023

RELEVANT COURSEWORK:

Graphic Design Principles
Photography and Image Editing
Color Theory
Typography

CERTIFICATIONS:

Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA)
Adobe Certified Expert (ACE)

Optional sections for your art director resume

Hobbies and interests

Featuring personal projects or hobbies, especially those tied to creativity, innovation or design, offers a more comprehensive view of your passion for the creative world.

How to feature hobbies and interests on your resume:

Launched a design-focused blog, exploring the intersection of art and technology, and attracting a dedicated following.
Organized and hosted a local creative workshop series, fostering a community of aspiring artists and designers.

Awards and honors

Adding honors and awards to your resume is a smart way to show off your abilities, achievements and qualifications. Success as an art director is all about creativity and performance. In the digital age, it may also be about conversion numbers or an uptick in sales thanks to your campaign.

Here are some awards and honors you might include on your resume:

Art Directors Club (ADC) Awards
American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Awards
The One Show – Design and Art Direction Categories
Clios – Design and Direct Categories

Languages

Knowing more than one language is highly prized in today’s job market. Being multilingual as an art director expands your communication abilities, giving you the ability to reach a wider range of people.
Ultimately, all else being equal, if a job opening comes down to two candidates and one of them lists multiple languages on their resume, the multilingual candidate will be more attractive to the employer.
How to showcase languages on your resume:

Fluent in English and Spanish
Conversational French

Add a cover letter

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER

Adding an art director cover letter to your application can help you stand out. Why? Because it gives you extra space to convince the employer that you’re the right person for the job.

Learning how to write a cover letter for an art director job starts with studying our cover letter examples to learn how to express your unique candidacy in a compelling way and how to format your cover letter for success.

Or, if you want a job-specific cover letter in a matter of minutes, use our professional Cover Letter Builder, which offers professionally written text suggestions for every section. Use the wording as-is or customize it to suit your needs.

Key takeaways for your art director resume

Personalize your resume for each opportunity
Tailor your resume to align with the specific requirements of each job ad to which you apply, making note of the critical skills and experience outlined in the job description.
Select the appropriate resume format
Decide what you’d like to emphasize the most on your art director resume — such as strong skills, an impressive work history or both — and then select the format that will help you put your best foot forward.
Choose an appropriate resume template
As a creative, you have leeway to choose either a colorful resume template or a simple design. Pick a template that best matches the atmosphere of the company to which you are applying.
Follow our steps for a standout resume
Take care to write all five sections of your art director resume in a way that is specific to the job you seek. Your professional summary, skills, work experience and education section should all contain information that is targeted to the job ad.
Include both hard and soft skills
Being an art director requires a mix of technical and personal skills to do the job well. Study our list of hard and soft skills to be sure that you include a balance of both types in your resume.
Make your work experience section shine
Don’t just write a boring list of job duties. Instead, write bullet points that contain action verbs, data and metrics to show the impact of your work.
Go the extra mile
Including a well-written art director cover letter can increase your chances of landing a job interview, so take the chance to include one with your application.

Commonly asked question about resume writing

Heather is the Content Strategy Manager for Resume Now and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with more than ten years of experience writing about job search and career topics. She is based in San Francisco.

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