Design director jobs span many industries, including interior design and architecture, as well as marketing and advertising. Virtually all design fields attract those who enjoy working with graphic or physical elements to create visual appeal. The designers who develop brand identities comprise an influential niche within the design director field, as these iconic images shape human behavior on a large scale. Community and infrastructure planners may direct design on a smaller, local scale. Other design director positions include those working in product design, and in the fashion industry.
Interior design director jobs typically involve the management of large-scale design projects, such as commercial buildings. They may also direct the day-to-day operations of an interior design firm, often holding final say over proposed architectural designs for clients. Interior designers often are experts in the psychology of colors, shapes and design schemes, and the effects those design choices may have upon a particular clientele.
Graphic designers numerically comprise a significant number of design director jobs, and this job category has a large presence in the marketing industry. For example, a graphic design director for a major brand of consumer goods would typically be responsible for ensuring consistency in all the company's printed and digital advertising, as well as its communication channels. He or she may oversee major marketing campaigns, ensuring that everything from product packaging to magazine ads and television commercials reflect a consistent, positive impression in the consumer's mind. Graphic design directors may also oversee groups of designers, and work in a team-manager capacity, rather than in directing brand management.
Architectural design director jobs involve overseeing the design of both the interior and exterior of physical structures. These positions generally require education and training in architecture, and an understanding of building code regulations. An architectural design director usually works with a project from the first conceptual drawing to completion of the build out.
Community design director jobs take architectural design one step further, expanding it to the design of streets, a neighborhood, or even a village or city. A community planner may take on the role of community design, but in virtually every case, general contractors would do the construction work. Municipalities, private developments, and large-scale resorts would be the likely clients for a community design director.
Product design directors oversee designs for manufactured products. An example would an office furniture manufacturer. The design director may oversee a production team that includes an artist who draws the concept, and the technical staff who develop the process for producing a prototype and testing it. A fashion design director may oversee a team that designs a line of clothing.