Side-by-side distribution
Art Director
$164,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 44.1%
- Live roles
- 598
Motion Designer
$126,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 21.9%
- Live roles
- 196
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Director, Design
Director, Product Design
Director Product & Design
Director / Principal Motion Designer, Expedia Design
Director - Intel Foundry Pre-Silicon Design Quality and Reliability
Optoelectronic IC Package Design Director
Director, Product Design - AI & Context
National Design Director - Sports Architecture
Executive Director, Head of Clinical Design & Delivery Center
Director of Data Sciences - Supply Chain Network Planning and Design
Highest-paying jobs
Director / Principal Motion Designer, Expedia Design
Motion Designer (Contract)
Motion Designer / Video Producer
Motion Designer (Brand Team)
Staff Motion Designer - 3D
General Application, Motion Designer (contract)
Motion Designer
Motion Graphics Designer/ Animator
Rive Motion Designer and Animator (Contract-to-Hire)
Motion Designer, Paid Social (Contract)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
VML
|
$127,500 | 11 |
Dentsu
|
$105,606 | 8 |
Omnicom Media
|
$115,000 | 7 |
Accenture
|
$146,300 | 5 |
|
Bristol Myers Squibb
|
$170,516 | 4 |
Syska Hennessy Group
|
$147,117 | 4 |
Ogilvy
|
$113,750 | 4 |
Real Chemistry
|
$101,250 | 4 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Highwire
|
$97,500 | 5 |
|
Expedia Group
|
$387,000 | 1 |
|
Macroscope
|
$300,000 | 1 |
|
FLORA
|
$234,000 | 1 |
|
Baseten
|
$215,000 | 1 |
|
Mercury
|
$213,050 | 1 |
|
Perplexity
|
$195,000 | 1 |
|
Instrument
|
$171,600 | 1 |
Art Director salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | $265,000 | 7 |
| Seattle | $212,500 | 7 |
| Denver | $212,500 | 3 |
| San Francisco | $211,250 | 14 |
| Los Angeles | $197,600 | 13 |
| Atlanta | $173,000 | 5 |
| Chicago | $147,500 | 15 |
| New York | $140,000 | 82 |
| Boston | $137,850 | 10 |
| Toronto | $81,209 | 14 |
Motion Designer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $152,250 | 11 |
| Los Angeles | $127,000 | 3 |
| New York | $117,538 | 14 |
| Chicago | $112,500 | 3 |
Art Director vs Motion Designer: which pays more?
The median for Art Director is $164,000 per year (typically $115,000–$216,406), versus $126,000 for Motion Designer ($101,750–$152,938). That puts Art Director about 30% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Art Director and Motion Designer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.