An art director is required to come up with ideas and develop a visual concept that makes a product more appealing in an artistic manner, giving consideration to what the client wants. The ideas may come easily, in which case the art director builds on them with the help of a creative team. In other cases, the art director might conduct a brainstorming session with his team and come up with as many ideas as possible. He then critiques each idea and comes up with the best concept for the client.
Art directors generally work with agencies, though some are freelancers. In both cases, an art director is either presented with a creative team to work with or is instructed to commission certain professionals, such as photographers, graphic designers and artists. He supervises the development of the concept, defines an art schedule and ensures a delivery of the art assets within the deadline and budget of the client. His team provides input, but his decision is final; if anything goes wrong, he takes the blame.
An art director is ideally an artist. His thoughts and personal taste on color, layout, design and theme influence the choice of concept. With this kind of freedom to come up with works of art, brilliant ideas are born; however, an art director always takes his client's preferences into consideration. He advises the client on the best designs, but it is the client's decision that counts. This aspect of the job often leads to less creativity from the art director.
An art director is at times limited to work within a certain budget. Though this may increase creativity, forcing the team to come up with different ways of achieving the same goal, it mostly limits the project. For example, settling for a cheaper photographer could compromise on picture quality. Eliminating certain props could lead to an incomplete image. Doubling up jobs for creative team members to save funds could also compromise the quality of the end product.