An advertising Art director is part of the 'creative team'. They are also referred to as 'creatives'. They are responsible for developing concepts/ideas for advertising materials for all kinds of media including digital/viral marketing. An Art Director and Copywriter will determine how the ad will look and what it will say.
Having the ability to understand, develop and communicate the marketing message separates an Art Director from a pure Graphic Designer.
Art Directors oversee the design of an ad and print materials as well as filming of TV and Viral (Web vids) commercials. They are responsible for the quality of the finished product. The Art director chooses the photographer, illustrator, models, props and even locations for shoot. If a print material comes back with an imperfection, the art director is responsible for giving instructions on the revisions or revise the material herself. An Art director should not only have design sense but also technical knowledge in the fields of photography, film, video, print and web.
In creating a 'print' material, the Art Director creates a rough layout, a comprehensive. This shows how the material will look like, where the copy/text will go, colors, fonts, and the photographic style to be used. This will be shown to client for approval. Once the material is approved, the Art Director will commence producing the final ad.
In developing digital/film materials, the Art Director translates the copy/script into storyboards. This roughly shows the flow of the story, editing notes, visual style and titles/graphics placement. When this is approved, only then can actual production preparations start. The Art Director collaborates with the Director, Cinematographer (lighting director), Production Designer and Caster in developing the final video/film material. If an Art Director is production savvy, the actual production of the video material can be more cost effective.
The Art Director is there from start to finish. During briefing until the release of the final ad material. They can even function as consultants for companies that are thinking of getting into advertising, but not ready to hire an advertising agency yet. Some Art Directors also attend 'research' as this is a vital part of the development of the communications and marketing strategy. They help flesh out ideas in preparation for the actual advertising material development.
