So you're a graphic designer, and you don't need a resume? Wrong! Follow our step-by-step guide and learn how to nail your graphic designer resume with perfect graphic design samples.
Why’s it hard to write a good graphic designer resume? It’s not. But nobody does it. Why not? Poor branding.
Fix that, and you’ll get so much work you’ll need a new Wacom in a month. It all comes down to proving you’re no stranger to Photoshop, Illustrator, typography, and print design.
This guide will show you:
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Shauna Paiva
Graphic Designer
Phone: 501-872-2516
Email: shauna.q.paiva@gmail.com
www.paiva.com
linkedin.com/in/shaunapaiva
twitter.com/shaunapaiva
Summary
Creative graphic designer with 4+ years' experience. Seeking to deliver design excellence for Erica N. at Google with proven creativity and graphical skills. At KS Inc., developed 350+ projects, slashing costs 20% in 16 months. In team that received 2017 Shopify Design Award.
Experience
Senior Graphic Designer
Kenna Senno Inc., New York
2016–2018
Graphic Designer
Ama Tama Designs, New York
2015–2016
Graphic Designer
Passalaqua Designs, Inc. New York
2014–2015
Education
BA Graphic Design, Broad Hill State University
2010–2014
Skills:
Portfolio at www.Paiva.com
Additional Activities
A graphic designer creates visual designs and graphics for a wide range of projects, including websites, advertisements, marketing materials, packaging, and more. A graphic design job requires creativity, strong visual design skills, and proficiency in using design software and tools.
Now, here’s how to write a graphic designer resume:
Before I take you through the entire process of writing your graphic design resume step-by-step, let’s look at what your graphic designer resume could look like. I prepared 12 examples in total. 3 for each graphic designer resume category: senior, mid-level, junior, and freelancer.
Crafted for seasoned professionals in the graphic design field, these templates offer a sophisticated layout tailored to highlight extensive experience and notable achievements. With an emphasis on showcasing leadership skills and a portfolio of successful projects, these templates are ideal for senior graphic designers aiming to make a lasting impression.
Use the Primo template to make your graphic design resume look like your own professional brand. Primo makes a strong impression with your initials in the top left, a clear timeline, and simple yet effective icons near each section.
Cascade is one of our most consistent templates. Its wide, colored sidebar holds much information, making Cascade the perfect choice for a one-page graphic designer resume.
This graphic designer resume emphasizes the header, making your name and title instantly recognizable by recruiters. Cubic also offers a wide sidebar helping you organize more information on just one page of your resume for graphic design.
Designed for professionals with moderate graphic design experience, these templates balance showcasing skills and highlighting growth potential. They feature a clean and modern layout, presenting relevant experience, technical skills, and a portfolio of work demonstrating proficiency in the field.
For a simple style, the Classic template is the perfect choice. It offers a lot of white space, making it easy to read. Use it for your graphic design resume if you’re looking to create a two-page document.
Unlike Cascade, Concept’s contrasting sidebar serves as a timeline, perfectly showcasing your growth as a graphic designer. It’s a great choice for a graphic design resume if you’re looking to present your professional growth.
This is yet another resume layout with a contrasting, eye-catching header. Use it for your graphic designer resume to awaken the reader’s curiosity instantly.
Perfect for aspiring graphic designers entering the workforce, these templates are tailored to showcase skills, education, and potential in the field. With a clear and concise layout, these templates emphasize creativity, passion for design, and relevant coursework or projects. Ideal for recent graduates or career changers looking to break into the graphic design industry.
Simple doesn’t mean bad. Especially in the world of graphic design, simplicity is often the hardest to achieve. This meticulously structured graphic design resume doesn’t overwhelm the reader with design elements and instead uses white space to guide their eyes.
Make yourself look like a seasoned professional simply by using the Squares template. Its layout and logo are perfect for graphic designer resumes.
Vibes structures the page’s layout with customizable icons. It’s a good template for a junior graphic design resume, especially since its sidebar makes it easy to fit everything on just one page.
Sometimes less is more, and minimalistic designs are all the rage. This is the philosophy behind using the Minimo template for your graphic design resume.
The modern template is very creative in a simple way. It opens and closes your graphic design resume using colored blocks. It’s one of our best choices for making a one-page application.
If you like the idea of the previously mentioned Modern template but aren’t a fan of the blocks of color, Muse is the solution. This graphic designer resume template gives you a classic two-column layout and a lot of space to fill with your personal information.
Now that you’ve seen our expert graphic design resume examples, time to teach you all you need to know to make one that’s just as professional!
Rule #1:
Get your graphic design resume format right. If you don’t, the manager knows you can’t tell CMS from crop marks.
Here’s how to format your resume:
Expert Hint: Use a graphic designer resume PDF unless the job description says no. They’re noiseless, and they’re also machine-readable.
What’s first?
Lead off with a resume profile. Make it like a hero graphic, with—
1. An adjective (Talented, hard-working, creative)
2. Job title (Graphic Designer)
3. Years of experience (3+, 4+)
4. How you’ll help (provide high-quality design)
5. Flashiest achievements (cut costs by 15%)
These two graphic design resume summary examples are your proof:
Bam. That first graphic design resume sample is responsive. The measurable achievements will make hiring managers ooh and ahh.
But, what if you have no experience? You’ve still got achievements. Pack them into your graphic designer resume objective:
See? No job, but a great graphic designer resume summary.
Should you write a graphic designer resume objective or a resume summary? An objective used to list your goals. It’s more powerful to show how you can help.
Expert Hint: Write your resume objective or summary for graphic designer jobs last. That’ll give you a whole palette of great material to pick from.
Most applicants won’t write a good resume job description. All they do is list their responsibilities. But no description or proof as to whether they did them well, or not at all.
If you write your graphic design job description right, you’ll stand out like Paula Scher.
Here’s how:
1. Read the job ad.
2. Highlight the graphic design resume skills and duties in the form of resume keywords.
3. In your resume bullets, show you bleed those things.
Let these graphic designer resume examples paint the picture.
Senior Graphic Designer
Kenna Senno Inc., New York
2016–2018
Senior Graphic Designer
Kenna Senno Inc., New York
2016–2018
Why will #1 excite the art director? It’s those juicy measurable resume achievements.
Freelance Graphic Designer
Hartford, Connecticut
2017‒2018
Even with no job experience, you can write a graphic design resume sample like that.
Bonus tip: Don't directly copy what the company wants without expanding on it. To hiring managers, that looks like forgetting to k e r n. So, for example:
Job ad wants: (1) daily design experience (2) leadership skills (3) strong design skills.
Graphic Designer
Ama Tama Designs, New York
2015–2016
That graphic designer resume example fits you to the job like it was sprayed on. Those accomplishments with numbers do the trick. By they are not just saying "I did X." They show you were in charge, present quantified achievements, and a received reward. All of that on top of what the company wants!
This approach is known as creating a targeted resume and is by far the most effective way of creating your job application.
The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your resume in our resume builder now.
Nail it all with a splash of color, choose a clean font, and highlight your skills in just a few clicks. You're the perfect candidate, and we'll prove it. Use our resume builder now.
Ok, why would you need to write down your skills? Doesn't the rest of your graphic design resume already show you're abolutely awesome? Of course it does, but a curated graphic designer skill list can make it even better.
The first major advantage of listing graphic design skills is that they are easy to read for ATS software. The other? It shows the recruiter you've read the job ad, understand the company needs, and have the skills to be a valuable employee.
And remember, Don’t copy skills lists. And don't flood your resume with them. 5-10 is the sweet spot. For reference, here are the most important resume skills for a graphic designer:
If you know a lot of graphic design software, you may choose to remove them from your skill list, and instead show them in a separate known software bonus secion.
Expert Hint: Got stock imagery skills? Those are in demand. Check out this study by Graphic Design USA.
Who cares about education? The sad truth? On graphic designer resumes: not many people. But—
Use your resume education section as a rebrand and you’ll stand nine feet above the rest. These graphic design resumes examples show how:
Education
BA Graphic Design, Broad Hill State University
2010–2014
BA Graphic Design, Broad Hill State University
2010–2014
That first graphic designer sample is a Rembrandt. Those achievements prove your passion. Why? You cared about it way back when.
Expert Hint: Is your graphic design resume experience thinner than a raster layer? Show more resume education achievements like teams, groups, and projects.
Most graphic designer resumes look identical. Like Lorem Ipsum text.
Make yours stand out, and you’ll look like David Carson in a world of kitsch. To do it, add resume extra sections that show you love design. These two graphic design resume examples will help you decide what to include on your resume:
Portfolio at www.paiva.com
Additional Activities
See portfolio online at www.paiva.com
Additional Activities
Those first graphic design resume samples stick out like a Banksy. They prove you love your art. That means you’ll self-motivate. And it drastically improves your value in the eyes of the recruiter.
After all, they want you to grow and exceed their expectations.
Expert Hint: For rave reviews, add a cover letter to your resume for graphic design jobs. Your job options will fractalize. Learn how to write a cover letter from our handy guide.
Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.
Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
For a great graphic designer resume:
Do you need to write a cover letter as well? Check out the guide to write a cover letter for a Graphic Design position.
Got questions on how to write a great resume for a graphic designer? Not sure how to show graphic design on a resume? Leave a comment. We’re happy to reply.
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Having published over 200 career-advice articles, Tom Gerencer is a career expert who covers the whole array of job-seeking topics for people at all career stages, from interns to C-suite members. His insights, commentary, and articles reach over a million readers every month. With inside knowledge of key industry players and in-depth research, Tom helps job seekers with advice across all professions and career stages.
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