Creative Director Salary Guide 2023 – Australia

Creative Director salaries in Melbourne & Sydney

While not dramatic, there is a difference between what creative directors earn in Melbourne versus Sydney. This largely comes down to the prevalence of larger agencies in Sydney.

Creative Director Salaries Melbourne

The average salary for a creative director in Melbourne is between $120,000 to $140,000 per year. However, designers at the lower end can expect to make in the region of $80,000 to $90,000 while more experienced designers can earn up to $150,000 or more annually.

Creative Director Salaries Sydney

In Sydney, the average wage is slightly higher than Melbourne’s; sitting at around $125,000 to $145,000. That said though, seniority pays off in this field, with the most experienced and successful candidates in Sydney able to demand salaries of up to $160,000.

How do Creative Director salaries compare to other design jobs?

The creative director role is considered a senior position and commands a salary in line with other senior roles. Creative directors generally make more than their counterparts in design, such as graphic designers and web designers, who may make between $65,000 – $90,000 per year. They also tend to out-earn most other creative roles; including animators ($75,000), UX designers ($100,000) and interior designers ($84,000)

Creative Director Job Description

A creative director is the leader of a creative team that produces work in one or more artistic fields, such as graphic design, advertising, music, acting, or writing. Specific duties depend on the workplace and title; for example, they may work as the design lead on a web design project, oversee copywriting for advertising campaigns, or be the art director at a publishing company or ad agency.

Creative directors will commonly oversee hiring for projects, including casting for TV commercials, manage ideation sessions, develop cohesive creative plans, provide direction to copywriters and graphic designers and are in charge of quality control. The creative director will provide final sign-off on all creative output before it is shown to a client.

Whether working in-house or at an agency, creative directors are usually client-facing or in direct communication with senior stakeholders. It’s a role that comes with a lot of responsibility and demands a high level of creativity and leadership skills. Creative directors must have an extensive understanding of the industry and be able to stay on top of trends, competitor work and ever-evolving technology.

Career Path to Becoming a Creative Director

Creative directors generally start their careers as designers, graphic designers, animators or copywriters before transitioning into a creative director role. Having more than just design or writing skills is vital, so experience in a range of fields is beneficial. Strong verbal and written communication skills are a must-have, in addition to strong leadership, excellent organisational and problem-solving skills. An understanding of marketing and advertising principles, design and typography techniques, user experience best practices, web development terminology and coding languages are also highly desirable in this role.

Where to find a job as a Creative Director in Australia

Creative directors have plenty of job opportunities available in the fields of advertising, digital and web design, publishing, film and television production and motion graphics. Major cities like Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are hubs for Creative Directors with positions available across a range of industries from fashion to automotive.

Check out some of the great Creative Director and senior design roles available below: