Art Directors
SOC Code: 27-1011 Job Zone 4: Considerable Preparation Needed
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.
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Prevailing Wage Levels (National)
DOL/OFLC prevailing wage thresholds for Art Directors. Hourly rates x 2,080 = annual.
FY2027 Weighted Lottery Impact
| Level | Lottery Entries | Est. Selection Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Level I (Entry) | 1 entry | ~16% |
| Level II (Qualified) | 2 entries | ~31% |
| Level III (Experienced) | 3 entries | ~45% |
| Level IV (Expert) | 4 entries | ~61% |
Prevailing Wages by Metro Area
| Metro Area | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $97,074 | $131,414 | $165,734 | $200,075 |
| Modesto, CA | $100,464 | $133,494 | $166,525 | $199,555 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $117,645 | $144,851 | $172,037 | $199,243 |
| Merced, CA | $107,037 | $136,677 | $166,338 | $195,978 |
| Salinas, CA | $102,960 | $133,494 | $164,008 | $194,542 |
| Vallejo, CA | $89,586 | $124,155 | $158,746 | $193,315 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $92,830 | $125,861 | $158,870 | $191,901 |
| Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA | $92,581 | $125,653 | $158,725 | $191,797 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $91,312 | $124,592 | $157,893 | $191,173 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $91,229 | $124,446 | $157,685 | $190,902 |
H-1B Filing Data
Top H-1B Employers
| Employer | Filings | Avg Wage |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Inc. | 33 | $194,498 |
| ANOMALY PARTNERS LLC | 13 | $180,808 |
| Meta Platforms, Inc | 10 | $235,133 |
| INTUIT INC. | 8 | $208,188 |
| SHISEIDO AMERICAS CORPORATION | 7 | $226,706 |
| Wieden and Kennedy, Inc. | 7 | $147,317 |
| Publicis Health, LLC | 7 | $157,829 |
| R/GA Media Group, Inc. | 6 | $124,500 |
| Saatchi & Saatchi North America, LLC | 5 | $298,000 |
| Riot Games, Inc. | 5 | $167,595 |
Filing Trend
| Year | Filings | Avg Wage |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 48 | $139,678 |
| 2021 | 65 | $154,134 |
| 2022 | 36 | $171,812 |
| 2023 | 123 | $141,743 |
| 2024 | 183 | $154,901 |
| 2025 | 226 | $156,992 |
| 2026 | 29 | $195,865 |
Key Skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Speaking | 4.0 | |
| Active Listening | 4.0 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.8 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.8 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.8 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.6 | |
| Coordination | 3.6 | |
| Time Management | 3.6 | |
| Operations Analysis | 3.4 | |
| Persuasion | 3.4 |
Knowledge Areas
| Knowledge | Importance |
|---|---|
| Design | 4.3 |
| English Language | 4.2 |
| Computers and Electronics | 4.2 |
| Fine Arts | 4.2 |
| Communications and Media | 4.1 |
| Sales and Marketing | 3.7 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.3 |
| Production and Processing | 3.0 |
Education Requirements
| Education Level | % of Workers |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree | 68.0% |
| High school diploma | 9.7% |
| Doctoral degree | 7.7% |
| Post-secondary certificate | 5.7% |
| Associate's degree | 5.4% |
| Master's degree | 3.5% |
Typical Tasks
- 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.
- 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.
- Present final layouts to clients for approval.
- Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques.
- Hire, train, and direct staff members who develop design concepts into art layouts or who prepare layouts for printing.
- Work with creative directors to develop design solutions.
Technology Skills
Green = Hot Technology in demand
AJAX Adobe Acrobat Adobe After Effects Adobe Creative Cloud software Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign Adobe Photoshop Apple macOS Atlassian Confluence Atlassian JIRA Cascading style sheets CSS Facebook Figma Hypertext markup language HTML JavaScript
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