Hire the Best Art Directors in California

More than 3,000 reviews on G2
Rating is 4.5 out of 5.
4.5/5
of Upwork by G2 peer reviewers
Anastasiia G.

Los Angeles, California

$95/hr
4.9
161 jobs

I'm a top 1% expert-vetted branding strategist and designer on Upwork, and a partner at Glekel, a design studio based in Los Angeles. My background: * Master’s Degree in Brand Strategy and Design, ArtCenter, Pasadena, California. * Clients from growing startups to larger organizations including PepsiCo, Netflix, Edelweiss, the City of Los Angeles, Panda Express, Healf * Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and Graphic Design, British Higher School of Art & Design I have experience across various industries such as tech, healthcare, food, and fashion, and have worked in PR, advertising, marketing, architecture, and graphic design. My strength lies in multitasking and adapting to any situation. I thrive on constant movement and development, which fuels my inspiration and provides creative solutions for new projects. You can google me!

  • Art Direction
  • Brand Guidelines
  • Brand Naming
  • Logo Design
  • Brand Identity Design
  • Brand Identity
  • Brand Identity & Guidelines
  • Packaging Design
  • Logotype
  • Packaging Dieline
  • Label & Packaging Design
  • Branding
  • Logomark
  • Logo
  • Logo Usage Guidelines
Matt C.

Los Angeles, California

$65/hr
5.0
1,019 jobs

Graphic Designer, Creative Director, Musician and Illusionist from Los Angeles, California. It might seem peculiar that I get excited thinking about colors, typography, brands, music and magic but my passion for all aspects of graphic design and creativity have remained strong throughout my life and 15+ year career. My background includes corporate, agency and freelance graphic design experience, with a history of leading digital/print projects to acclaimed completion.

  • Graphic Design
  • Brand Identity & Guidelines
  • Vector Tracing
  • Logo Design
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Print Design
  • Sketch
  • Website Redesign
  • Wix
  • Cards & Flyers
  • Brand Identity
  • Figma
  • Vector Graphic
Julien G.

San Francisco, California

$75/hr
4.9
305 jobs

💎 Top 1% Expert-Vetted 🏆 Top Rated Plus ✅ 250+ projects delivered across fintech, SaaS, e-commerce, and enterprise products. 20 years of UX/UI design experience, including a decade as creative director at global agencies like Iris Worldwide London, HAVAS Paris, and Young and Rubicam New York. I design products that are not just visually sharp but strategically built to convert, retain, and scale. Ready to discuss your project? 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 or schedule a quick call directly from my profile. I respond immediately. Below are my services: ✅ 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜 𝗗𝗢 I cover the full UX/UI design lifecycle, from initial research and wireframing through to high-fidelity Figma prototypes and production-ready design systems. My web design work spans SaaS platforms, fintech dashboards, e-commerce, and mobile applications. Whether a client needs a complete product design overhaul or a focused UX audit, I bring the same structured, research-backed approach every time. Core UX/UI design services: product design strategy and UX architecture, complex wireframing and information hierarchy, rapid prototyping and interactive Figma components, design systems and UI libraries, user research and usability testing, heuristic analysis and CRO-focused UX audits, and creative direction including brand identity and visual language. Tools: Figma, Webflow, Sketch, Adobe XD, Illustrator, Photoshop, InVision, Axure, Hotjar, Mixpanel, Fullstory, Google Analytics, and UserTesting, Generative AI, Chat GPT, Nano banana, Claude, Gemini. ✅ 𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 - 250+ UX/UI design projects completed with a consistent 5-star track record across the US, Europe, and Asia. - Recent highlights: a fintech core banking platform for Omniwire, simplifying complex issuer workflows into an intuitive product design across multiple markets. - A personal finance web application for MoolaX where the UX design reduced onboarding drop-off by restructuring information hierarchy and simplifying the dashboard UI. - A full product design and web design build for Austrian Audio, turning a high-end audio brand into a conversion-optimized e-commerce experience across desktop and mobile. ✅ 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗘𝗧𝗦 𝗠𝗬 𝗨𝗫/𝗨𝗜 𝗔𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 Most UX/UI designers are strong on research or strong on visuals. After 20 years across product design and creative direction, I bring both. Agency work trained me to design for persuasion and brand impact. Product design across 250+ projects taught me to design for clarity, retention, and real user behavior. The result is UX/UI work that looks considered, converts visitors, and gets built the way it was designed. ✅ 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗖𝗨𝗦 The clients I work best with are product teams and founders who need a UX/UI designer operating at both strategic and execution levels. I am equally comfortable running a UX audit, building a design system from scratch in Figma, or owning the full web design process from brief to handoff. My creative direction background means I think about brand, narrative, and conversion alongside usability. Industries: fintech and banking, SaaS and B2B platforms, e-commerce, healthcare, media, and enterprise software. ✅ 𝗠𝗬 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛 Every UX/UI design engagement starts with understanding the problem before opening Figma. I run a discovery phase covering user goals, business constraints, existing UX patterns, and competitive positioning. Wireframing and UX architecture come before any visual UI design decisions. This prevents the most expensive mistake in web design: building beautiful interfaces on top of broken user flows. I work in tight feedback cycles and deliver annotated Figma files with developer handoff specs, component documentation, and interaction notes so nothing gets lost between design and engineering. ✅ 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗕𝗬 𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗔 SaaS and Fintech Product Design: Core product experiences for fintech platforms, banking dashboards, and data-heavy SaaS products where UX/UI design must make complex information readable and actionable. Every engagement starts with UX research and flow mapping in Figma before UI design begins. Web Design and E-commerce: Brand-led marketing sites, conversion-optimized landing pages, and full e-commerce UI including product pages, checkout flows, and mobile web. CRO principles and A/B testing applied wherever performance data is available. Mobile App and Responsive UX/UI: Mobile-first UX/UI for iOS and Android with gesture-based interaction design, scalable component systems, and design consistency from mobile to desktop. Creative Direction and Brand: Brand identity, visual language, logo design, and strategic positioning work that connects product design to business narrative. 🚀 SKILLS - Web Design - Figma - User Interface Design - UX & UI - User Experience Design - Mobile App Design - Generative AI (Chat GPT, Clause, Genini..) 💡 Want a free UX/UI audit before we discuss scope? Send me a message, I reply immediately.

  • Graphic Design
  • User Experience Design
  • UI/UX Prototyping
  • Figma
  • WordPress
  • Webflow
  • Mobile App Design
  • Responsive Design
  • Shopify
  • Brand Identity
  • Brand Identity Design
  • Web Design
  • UX & UI Design
  • WordPress Website Design
  • Wireframing
  • User Interface Design
  • Web Development
  • Landing Page
  • HTML
  • CSS
Elizabeth M.

Burbank, California

$75/hr
5.0
1 jobs

Elizabeth is a visual artist with over 13 years of experience creating style guides, key art, icons, logos, character art, brand illustration, and social content for film, animation, and AAA games. She partners with award-winning agencies on projects for Disney, Marvel, DreamWorks, Warner Bros. Games, Netflix, Amazon, and NBCUniversal, combining hand-drawn typography and illustration to create visually distinctive entertainment marketing campaigns. Her work has generated measurable audience engagement, including a Marvel holiday series that earned 197.5K likes and 5.3K shares, and a Nickelodeon and ESPN Super Bowl post that surpassed 465K likes on Instagram. A highlight of Elizabeth's career was posing dinosaur characters for the 2015 Jurassic World toy style guide, an experience that reflects a lifelong fascination with creatures, anatomy, and visual storytelling. Today, that same curiosity informs her personal work, where she explores the structure, behavior, and character of extinct, living, and imagined life. Working across traditional and digital media, she creates creature illustrations, natural history artwork, and entertainment design grounded in careful anatomical observation.

  • Art Direction
  • Graphic Design
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Icon Design
  • Logo Design
  • Illustration
  • Social Media Advertising
  • Social Media Content Creation
  • Typography
  • Storytelling
  • Storyboarding
  • Sketching
  • Character Design
  • Character Illustration
  • Concept Development
  • Brand Design
  • Brand Identity
  • Style Guide Development
  • Creative Direction
Allison H.

Templeton, California

$69/hr
5.0
1,388 jobs

12 + Years of Experience Building Brands Through Strategic Design When you work with me, you are working with someone who has a streamlined approach to branding, design and marketing strategies. My processes are detailed and help keep the flow of every project moving quickly and effectively. I have been a designer for over twelve years specializing in logo design, presentation design, magazine layout, catalog design, cover design, advertising design, designing sales support material, brochures, business cards, flyers, trade show graphics, label design, websites and more. I pride myself on designing the most creative, sophisticated images for all of my clients. I put my heart and soul into every single design job no matter how big or small. In addition to my expertise with the Adobe program suite, I also provide expert-level designs using other popular programs such as Canva, Figma, email platforms (Constant Contact, Mailchimp, HubSpot Klaviyo, etc) and website building platforms (such as WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, Kajabi, Webflow, and more). My background has always been in graphic design and I am great at organizing many moving parts, which comes from experience that I have gained through past employment as a Magazine Publisher and as a Branding Director/Manager for a national design team. I have a long history of assisting clients in the creation and design from concept to completion. Currently, I operate my own business, Indulge Media Graphic Design, where I work on an array of project types. I have loved bringing my business onto UpWork because it is a great networking community where I've developed many relationships with customers that are ongoing. I am very grateful for all of the opportunities I've been given on such a great platform. I would love the opportunity to speak with you and further present my qualifications. Please visit my online portfolio at indulgeslo.com In addition to what is shown in my online portfolio and UpWork page, I have many more designs to share. Please don't hesitate to reach out and let me know your project or industry type...I would be happy to share more relevant work samples! I am available for all of your graphic design needs. Contact me today for a quote!

  • Graphic Design
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Logo Design
  • Canva
  • Listing Presentation
  • Google Slides
  • Flyer Design
  • Presentation Design
  • Sales Presentation
  • Brand Strategy
  • Brand Identity
  • Presentations
  • Templates
  • Instagram
  • Social Media Design
Carlos R.

Los Angeles, California

$100/hr
4.9
97 jobs

I'm Carlos Rodriguez and I am a Lead Designer/Art Director living in Highland Park, CA, where I was born and raised. I originally set out to be a Director of Photography at The University of Southern California, however after graduating my deep need to create print work lead me back to school where I became a Graphic Designer over 9 years ago. In the past 9 and half years I went from working as a freelance designer, to building my coding skills as a front end designer, to eventually leading my own team of designers. I've thoroughly enjoyed the process, and I'm grateful to say that I'm more inspired today then I was when I began. That inspiration comes not only from my ability to see art everywhere I look, but also from being a husband and father. My family keeps me moving forward through exploring inspirational places, like big cities, small towns and national parks. I'd like to think that I keep them moving forward by inspiring their passion for art, music and telling the best dad jokes I can. At my core I love designing and I have a zeal for finding a way to take any idea, no matter the size, and creating a piece of work that can please any set of eyes.

  • CSS
  • jQuery
  • HTML
  • Logo Design
  • Motion Graphics
  • Mobile UI Design
  • UI/UX Prototyping
  • Print Design
  • Packaging Design
  • Web Design
  • Infographic

How it works

Post a job for freePost a job

Tell us what you need. Create your own job post or generate one with AI then filter talent matches.

Hire top talent fast

Consult, interview, and hire quickly, so you can meet the freelancers you're excited about.

Collaborate easily

Use Upwork to chat or video call, share files, and track project progress right from the app.

Payment simplified

Manage payments in one place with flexible billing options. Only pay for approved work, hourly or by milestone.

Don't just take our word for it

Resources to help you hire

Cost to hire a Art Director

Cost to hire a Art Director

Explore typical Art Director rates and what businesses pay to hire top talent.

Art Director job description template

Art Director job description template

Get tips to write a job post that attracts qualified Art Directors.

Art Director interview questions

Art Director interview questions

Top interview questions to help you hire the right Art Directors, faster.

How do I hire a Art Director in California on Upwork?

You can hire a Art Director in California on Upwork in four simple steps:

  • Create a job post tailored to your Art Director project scope. We'll walk you through the process step by step.
  • Browse top Art Director talent on Upwork and invite them to your project.
  • Once the proposals start flowing in, create a shortlist of top Art Director profiles and interview.
  • Hire the right Art Director for your project from Upwork, the world's largest work marketplace.

At Upwork, we believe talent staffing should be easy.

How much does it cost to hire a Art Director?

Rates charged by Art Directors on Upwork can vary with a number of factors including experience, location, and market conditions. See hourly rates for in-demand skills on Upwork.

Why hire a Art Director in California on Upwork?

As the world's work marketplace, we connect highly-skilled freelance Art Directors and businesses and help them build trusted, long-term relationships so they can achieve more together. Let us help you build the dream Art Director team you need to succeed.

Can I hire a Art Director in California within 24 hours on Upwork?

Depending on availability and the quality of your job post, it's entirely possible to sign up for Upwork and receive Art Director proposals within 24 hours of posting a job description.