Design Director
Similar Professions

Alternative Careers and Similar Jobs to a Design Director

As a Design Director, you have transferrable skills that would make you a good fit for other similar jobs. Here's a list of related jobs, possible career transitions and alternative careers, based on skills you likely have.

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Similar Job Titles
  • Vice President Design
  • Design Consultant
  • Head Of Design
  • Product Designer
  • Design Specialist
  • Design Manager
  • Graphic Designer
  • Director Of Product Design
  • Unlock all suggestions
    Alternative Careers
  • Creative Director
  • Art Director
  • Director Of User Experience
  • Creative Specialist
  • Design Principal
  • Creative Consultant
  • Vice President Creative
  • Unlock all suggestions

    Similar Job Titles to a Design Director

    These job titles are similar to the Design Director role, and are often used interchangeably by companies. For example, some employers may refer to a Design Director as either a Vice President Design or a Design Consultant.

    Vice President Design
     Very Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    83%

    A Vice President Design shares 83% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Textiles
    Fashion Design
    Trend Analysis
    Styling
    Apparel
    Fashion
    Sportswear
    Product Development

    Load more skills
    See all Vice President Design skills
    Design Consultant
     Fairly Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    75%

    A Design Consultant shares 75% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Design Thinking
    User Interface Design
    User Experience Design (UED)
    Adobe InDesign
    Sketching
    Interior Design
    Graphics
    Wireframing

    Load more skills
    Explore this career profile See all Design Consultant skills
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    Head Of Design
     Very Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    83%

    A Head Of Design shares 83% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Web Design
    User Interface Design
    Adobe InDesign
    AutoCAD
    Project Management
    Microsoft Access
    Design Management
    SketchUp

    Load more skills
    See all Head Of Design skills
    Product Designer
     Fairly Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    60%

    A Product Designer shares 60% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Wireframing
    User Experience Design (UED)
    User Interface Design
    Prototyping
    Design Thinking
    Usability Testing
    Sketch App
    User-centered Design

    Load more skills
    Explore this career profile See all Product Designer skills
    Design Specialist
     Very Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    82%

    A Design Specialist shares 82% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Adobe InDesign
    Adobe Creative Suite
    AutoCAD
    Sketching
    Illustration
    SketchUp
    SOLIDWORKS
    Revit

    Load more skills
    Explore this career profile See all Design Specialist skills
    Design Manager
     Very Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    82%

    A Design Manager shares 82% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    AutoCAD
    Engineering
    Product Development
    Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
    Manufacturing
    Mechanical Engineering
    Design Management
    Project Engineering

    Load more skills
    Explore this career profile See all Design Manager skills
    Graphic Designer
     Fairly Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    67%

    A Graphic Designer shares 67% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Adobe InDesign
    Graphics
    Adobe Creative Suite
    Web Design
    Photography
    Illustration
    Page Layout
    Advertising

    Load more skills
    Explore this career profile See all Graphic Designer skills
    Director Of Product Design
     Fairly Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    55%

    A Director Of Product Design shares 55% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    User Experience Design (UED)
    User-centered Design
    Wireframing
    Information Architecture
    Design Thinking
    Design Leadership
    Experience Design
    UX Research

    Load more skills
    See all Director Of Product Design skills

    Alternative Careers and Related Jobs For a Design Director

    Here is a list of possible career transitions and similar professions a typical Design Director often moves into, within or outside their industry.

    Creative Director
     Fairly Similar Skills
    ★  Very Popular

    Skill Similarity

    78%

    A Creative Director shares 78% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Advertising
    Adobe Creative Suite
    Creative Strategy
    Photography
    Adobe InDesign
    Web Design
    Graphics
    Social Media

    Load more skills
    Explore this career profile See all Creative Director skills
    Art Director
     Fairly Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    77%

    An Art Director shares 77% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Art
    Adobe InDesign
    Advertising
    Web Design
    Illustration
    Adobe Creative Suite
    Photography
    Online Advertising

    Load more skills
    See all Art Director skills
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    Director Of User Experience
     Fairly Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    52%

    A Director Of User Experience shares 52% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Load skills
    See all Director Of User Experience skills
    Creative Specialist
     Fairly Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    72%

    A Creative Specialist shares 72% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Load skills
    Explore this career profile See all Creative Specialist skills
    Design Principal
     Fairly Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    54%

    A Design Principal shares 54% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Load skills
    See all Design Principal skills
    Creative Consultant
     Fairly Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    71%

    A Creative Consultant shares 71% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Load skills
    See all Creative Consultant skills
    Vice President Creative
     Fairly Similar Skills
     Growing

    Skill Similarity

    60%

    A Vice President Creative shares 60% of core skills with a Design Director.

    Skills to develop to transition to this role

    Load skills
    See all Vice President Creative skills

    High Value Skills to Build as a Design Director

    If you're a Design Director and are planning to move into a similar profession or alternative career, it's important to build the right skill sets to position you for your next career.

    We analyzed thousands of career transitions in your industry and identified the highest value skills to build as a Design Director. Building these skills will set you up for the most number of the above careers.

    • Advertising
    • Adobe Creative Suite
    • Creative Strategy
    • Photography
    • Adobe InDesign
    • Web Design
    • Graphics
    • Social Media
    • Textiles
    • Fashion Design
    • Trend Analysis
    • Styling
    • Apparel
    • Fashion
    • Sportswear
    • Product Development
    • Design Thinking
    • User Interface Design
    • User Experience Design (UED)
    • Sketching

    Word Cloud of Skills to Build as a Design Director

    Here is a word cloud of the skills above. Use this as inspiration for the kinds of transferrable skills you need to build to move into a similar profession or alternative career.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What are the skills required to become an Art Director?

    If you want to become an Art Director, you need to develop skills like Art, Adobe InDesign, Advertising, Web Design, Illustration, Adobe Creative Suite, Photography and Online Advertising.

    What are the skills required to become a Creative Director?

    The most in-demand skills you need to become a Creative Director are:

    • Advertising
    • Adobe Creative Suite
    • Creative Strategy
    • Photography
    • Adobe InDesign
    • Web Design
    • Graphics
    • Social Media

    What are examples of professions that are similar to a Design Director?

    Job titles that are especially common for a Design Director to move into include Creative Director, Vice President Creative, Art Director, Design Principal, Creative Specialist, Director Of User Experience and Creative Consultant.

    What are some alternative careers a former Design Director should consider?

    It's common for a Design Director to become a Creative Specialist, Creative Consultant, Vice President Creative, Design Principal, Art Director, Director Of User Experience or Creative Director.

    What are examples of job titles that are related to a Design Director?

    Job titles that are often used interchangeably with a Design Director are:

    • Vice President Design
    • Design Manager
    • Head Of Design
    • Product Designer
    • Director Of Product Design
    • Graphic Designer
    • Design Specialist
    • Design Consultant
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