Art Director
Art directors (AD) usually work at advertising agencies where they lead visual design work. The work may focus on, for example, an advertisement, a visual identity or a website. The profession requires skills in visual expression, creativity and ideation. Knowledge of marketing and communications, high stress tolerance as well as management and cooperation skills are also needed.
Companies planning and implementing marketing communications. Marketing departments of companies in different fields.
The work of an art director requires skills in artistic expression, creativity and ideation. Art directors must have knowledge of marketing, communications, business life and trends as well as language proficiency and a solid general knowledge base. In addition to skills in visual expression, excellent command of image processing and other necessary information technology software is important. Knowledge of photography and printing technology is also required.
Art directors often lead design teams, which makes leadership and interaction skills essential. Cooperation skills are also highlighted, as much of the work is done in a group. The ability to withstand and provide constructive criticism is also necessary. The occasionally hectic nature of the work requires high stress tolerance, as art directors must be creative in a hurry.
There is no direct education for art directors. The profession generally requires applicable education and sufficient work experience. You can study graphic design at the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture and the University of Lapland’s Faculty of Arts. The higher university degree is Master of Arts (Art and Design) and the lower is Bachelor of Arts (Art and Design).
You can also study graphic design at universities of applied sciences and complete a Bachelor of Culture and Arts degree in Media and Arts or Design.
You can study graphic design also in upper secondary vocational institutions and complete a Vocational Qualification in Media and Visual Expression, in which case the qualification titles are Implementer of Media Services and Implementer of Visual Expression. Rastor-instituutti also provides marketing education.
Median salary
3551 €/mo
Private sector
3578 €/mo
Public sector
3381 €/mo
The data is based on the median income, meaning the amount of salary which is the middle of the salary amounts arranged in order of magnitude.
Source: Statistics Finland's structural statistics on wages and salaries