# Art Directors

> Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media, such as print, broadcasting, video, and film. Direct workers engaged in artwork or layout design.

- **SOC code:** 27-1011.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-27-1011-00
- **Also known as:** Art Director, Creative Director (CD Director), Creative Services Director, Design Director, Art Supervisor, Creative Manager, Creative Services Manager, Graphic Design and Art Production Manager
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Work with creative directors to develop design solutions.
- Present final layouts to clients for approval.
- Manage own accounts and projects, working within budget and scheduling requirements.
- Confer with creative, art, copywriting, or production department heads to discuss client requirements and presentation concepts and to coordinate creative activities.
- Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques.
- Formulate basic layout design or presentation approach and specify material details, such as style and size of type, photographs, graphics, animation, video, and sound.
- Review and approve art materials, copy materials, and proofs of printed copy developed by staff members.
- Mark up, paste, and complete layouts and write typography instructions to prepare materials for typesetting or printing.
- Create custom illustrations or other graphic elements.
- Attend photo shoots and printing sessions to ensure that the products needed are obtained.
- Review illustrative material to determine if it conforms to standards and specifications.
- Hire, train, and direct staff members who develop design concepts into art layouts or who prepare layouts for printing.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Design _(knowledge)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Fluency of Ideas _(ability)_
- Originality _(ability)_
- Computers and Electronics _(knowledge)_
- Fine Arts _(knowledge)_
- Communications and Media _(knowledge)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Visualization _(Specialized Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Adobe After Effects _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Creative Cloud software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Illustrator _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe InDesign _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Photoshop _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Figma _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Acrobat _(hot technology)_
- AJAX _(hot technology)_
- Apple macOS _(hot technology)_
- Atlassian Confluence _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 81st percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 76th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 83rd percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 78th percentile (High) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 16th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 4.2% growth (About average); 12.3k annual openings; 135k → 140.7k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $111,040; 50,370 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 39% automation, 54% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** task iteration.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Create custom illustrations or other graphic elements. _(5.5% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques. _(2.0% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Prepare detailed storyboards showing sequence and timing of story development for television production. _(1.3% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Mark up, paste, and complete layouts and write typography instructions to prepare materials for typesetting or printing. _(1.3% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Research current trends and new technology, such as printing production techniques, computer software, and design trends. _(0.7% of measured AI use; directive)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me create custom illustrations or other graphic elements.
- Help me confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques.
- Help me prepare detailed storyboards showing sequence and timing of story development for television production.
- Help me mark up, paste, and complete layouts and write typography instructions to prepare materials for typesetting or printing.
- Help me research current trends and new technology, such as printing production techniques, computer software, and design trends.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

---
_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-27-1011-00_