Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

graphic designertocreative director

A graphic designer already meets 40% of what the creative director role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.

From graphic designer
40%
Overlap1
To creative director
14 Skills carried over
10 Required, not held
61 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

40%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

61/ 100

1 Share of the creative director role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the graphic designer profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A creative director role treats 8 of its required skills as things a graphic designer already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • advertising techniques
  • brainstorm ideas
  • copyright legislation
  • desktop publishing
  • graphic design
  • identify customer's needs

What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A creative director role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a graphic designer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held select artwork developed by staff members communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held brainstorm ideas communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held create advertisements communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held meet expectations of target audience information skills
  • already held adobe creative suite information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held design management business, administration and law

All 14 carried skills, including the 8 the creative director role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 25 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 5 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held assess each stage of the creative process required
  • required, not held define creative components required
  • required, not held provide input to collaborators to guide their work required
  • required, not held give live presentation required
  • required, not held manage workflow processes required
  • optional, not held approve advertising campaign optional
  • optional, not held train employees optional
02 management skills 4 required, 6 supplementary
  • required, not held coordinate advertising campaigns required
  • required, not held manage budgets required
  • required, not held manage creative department required
  • required, not held manage staff required
  • optional, not held create media plan optional
  • optional, not held develop media strategy optional
  • optional, not held manage the handling of promotional materials optional
  • optional, not held perform project management optional
  • optional, not held receive actors' resumes optional
  • optional, not held recruit employees optional
03 information skills 1 required, 4 supplementary
  • required, not held examine advertisement layout required
  • optional, not held analyse consumer buying trends optional
  • optional, not held analyse cultural trends optional
  • optional, not held evaluate advertising campaign optional
  • optional, not held perform media outlets research optional
04 arts and humanities 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held media planning optional
  • optional, not held types of media optional
05 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held CAD software optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a creative director role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 14 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held advertising techniques knowledge
  • already held brainstorm ideas skill
  • already held copyright legislation knowledge
  • already held desktop publishing knowledge
  • already held graphic design knowledge
  • already held identify customer's needs skill
  • already held meet expectations of target audience skill
  • already held select artwork developed by staff members skill
  • already held adobe creative suite knowledge
  • already held apply desktop publishing techniques skill
  • already held create advertisements skill
  • already held design management knowledge
  • already held perform market research skill
  • already held use CAD software skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held create media plan optional
  • optional, not held CAD software optional
  • optional, not held analyse consumer buying trends optional
  • optional, not held analyse cultural trends optional
  • optional, not held approve advertising campaign optional
  • optional, not held develop media strategy optional
  • optional, not held evaluate advertising campaign optional
  • optional, not held manage the handling of promotional materials optional
  • optional, not held media planning optional
  • optional, not held perform media outlets research optional
  • optional, not held perform project management optional
  • optional, not held receive actors' resumes optional
  • optional, not held recruit employees optional
  • optional, not held train employees optional
  • optional, not held types of media optional
50 held skills the creative director role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role 3D lighting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role 3D modelling knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Adobe Illustrator knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Adobe Photoshop knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Adobe Photoshop Lightroom knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Capture One knowledge
  • not needed by the target role GIMP (graphics editor software) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Microsoft Visio knowledge
  • not needed by the target role SketchBook Pro knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Synfig knowledge
  • not needed by the target role adapt to type of media skill
  • not needed by the target role aesthetics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role apply 3D imaging techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role computer graphics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role convert scribbles into virtual sketches skill
  • not needed by the target role create 3D characters skill
  • not needed by the target role create 3D environments skill
  • not needed by the target role create animated narratives skill
  • not needed by the target role create moving images skill
  • not needed by the target role design graphics skill
  • not needed by the target role design greeting cards skill
  • not needed by the target role design prototypes skill
  • not needed by the target role develop an artistic framework skill
  • not needed by the target role develop animations skill
  • not needed by the target role develop creative ideas skill
  • not needed by the target role develop digital content skill
  • not needed by the target role digital compositing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role digital media knowledge
  • not needed by the target role draw design sketches skill
  • not needed by the target role edit digital moving images skill
  • not needed by the target role edit negatives skill
  • not needed by the target role edit photographs skill
  • not needed by the target role finish project within budget skill
  • not needed by the target role follow a brief skill
  • not needed by the target role graphics editor software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role interactive media knowledge
  • not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
  • not needed by the target role motion graphics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role operate 3D computer graphics software skill
  • not needed by the target role perform ideation activities skill

10 further entries not listed here

3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held CAD software optional
  • optional, not held media planning optional
  • optional, not held types of media optional
Index

Other moves recorded from graphic designer

Full index of moves from graphic designer

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.