Art director stack
The stack to lead a vision: research, moodboards, concepts, image direction, feedback, assets, presentation, and client approval.
- Selection
- 17 7 optional
- Target budget
- $149 per month
- Profile
- Structuring business stage
Which tool does what?
Design / deckFigma
Boards, systems, presentations and annotations.Presentation
Keynote
Fast visual decks you can keep under control.Collaborative presentationIf needed
Pitch
Shared decks and comments.Moodboard
Milanote
References, narrative and boards.Veille
Are.na
Editorial collection and specialised references.Library
Eagle
Images, textures, assets and archives.Recherche visuelle
Pinterest
Quick references and client sharing.Film referencesIf needed
ShotDeck
Framing, light, colour and image direction.Video feedbackIf needed
Frame.io
Precise comments on videos and visuals.
PilotageNotion
Rationale, decisions, status and deliverables.WorkshopIf needed
Miro
Framing and co-creation with the client.
FichiersGoogle Drive
Delivery and source file sharing.
IA conceptChatGPT
Rationale, deck structure and direction notes.IA imageIf needed
Midjourney
Exploration visuelle rapide.
Retouche IAIf neededAdobe Firefly
Image cleanup and variants.
AI videoIf neededRunway
Video tests and animatics.UpscaleIf needed
magnific-ai
Final visuals and detail work.
Why these tools together?
An art director needs a decision stack, not only production tools. Are.na, ShotDeck, Pinterest, and Eagle feed research. Figma, Keynote, or Pitch formalize the vision. Frame.io and Loom clarify feedback. Notion keeps the why behind each choice.
A good fit if…
Image direction, campaigns, shoots, identity, video, events, branded content, and creative supervision.
Look elsewhere if…
You only produce execution files without leading vision or trade-offs.
Solid market watch
Image references, culture, style and benchmarks have to be organised.
A vision you can share
The concept has to be presented short, clear and sellable.
Precise feedback
Feedback has to point at an image, a scene or a decision.
What should you budget?
- ChatGPT$20
- Figma$16
- Notion$11
- Google Drive$2
- Adobe Fireflyoptional$10
- Runwayoptional$12
The target budget is the recommended starting envelope. The list price adds up each core tool's first paid plan, excluding 2 tools without a fixed price. Optional tools are not included.
What to watch out for
Having references, AI, decks, and feedback scattered: art direction loses strength when creative decisions are not traceable.
Endless moodboard
Hunting for more references can hide a decision nobody has made.
AI without direction
Midjourney and Krea amplify an intent, they do not supply one.
Spoken feedback lost
With no record, the creative decision gets reopened.
Recurring volume
The stack pays for itself once you ship several projects or variants a month.
A more demanding client
The more deliverables a client signs off, the more feedback and documentation tools matter.
Questions to ask yourself
Can the client understand the project without another meeting?
If not, the presentation or the feedback loop is not structured enough.
Are source files, exports and decisions all in one place?
If not, Notion, Drive or Eagle should go back to being the source of truth.
Does every subscription map to something you actually invoice?
If not, the tool should drop to occasional testing, or be cut.
