Graphic Designer Resume: Creative Samples and Template Ideas

Whether you’re starting out as a graphic designer or you’ve had your run in the field, you know it’s insanely competitive. 

Is that a good enough reason to accept defeat, remove Photoshop from your computer, or move to the Outback hoping for less competition? 

Defo not! 

You just need to learn the greatgraphic designer resume rules. 

You know how proper alignment of elements is super important? Or that you use CMYK for print? Same applies here—and we happen to know exactly what the rules are.

Ready to find out, too? Good on ya, mate, let’s do this!

This guide will show you: 

• A graphic designer resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write a resume for graphic designers that’ll land you more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a graphic designer resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for graphic designers to get any job you want.

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

Create your resume now

Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume examples here.

Graphic Designer Resume Template

Here’s how you write a graphic designer resume, step-by-step:

1. Get Your Graphic Designer Resume Format Right 

Just as there are complementary colours that work great together, there are things that always look great on a resume (by the way, a CV and a resume are the same thing). 

You know what doesn’t look great? Wrong formatting. 

Oh, so you think using a template to write your resume is boring? 

You think you’re expected to go all-in visually on your super creative graphic designer resume?

Let me stop you right there: ATS.

ATS are applicant tracking systems that hiring managers use to process massive heaps of resumes, and if yours doesn’t make it through, game over.

Leave it to your online portfolio to do the impressing, and let your resume do its job (which is to get you that interview).

Here’s the graphic designer resume format Golden Ratio: 

• Choose fonts wisely: teaching a designer aboutthe best fonts is like forgetting to put sunscreen on while surfing (bad idea), and yet, it’s worth mentioning. A basic sans-serif like Arial or Helvetica will do just fine.

• Size it well: 11–12 points for the main body, and 13–14 points for headings.

• Give it some space: go for 1–1.15 line spacing, 1 inch spacing for margins.
• Save some time: don’t reject the idea of using a simple resume template.
• Mind the hierarchy: Header (your name, position you’re applying for and contact info)—Summary/Objective—Experience (if any)—Education—Skills—Other Sections.
• List it right: you can’t go wrong with reverse-chronological order while listing your education or experience. 
• Make it count: each line matters! Don’t go over 2 pages for entry-level jobs (that won’t make much sense anyway), and 4 pages tops for industry superstars with years of experience. 
• Save the best for last: send your resume in PDF, unless .doc is specifically indicated.

Read more: What’s the True Purpose of Your Resume?

2. Showcase Your Work Experience

We’ve got the wireframe, let’s move on to the content. 

The way you present your professional experience can go two ways: it’s either a hi-res beautiful image that takes your breath away, or it’s a blurry pic that hurts your eyes with the visible pixels. 

That doesn’t even sound like a choice.

So how do you best describe your graphic design work?

Here’s what you do:

• Put your most recent job first (then go backwards).
• Use up to 6 bullet points in the descriptions (fewer for older positions).
• State the job title, the employer and the location, dates active + your key “responsibilities”.

Why the quotation marks, you ask? 

Oh, I can’t stress this enough, this is a very common resume-writing mistake! Your “responsibilities” should really be your achievements. They should be measurable, backed by numbers and stun the hiring managers by all the ways in which you can make their company a better place.

Have a look at these graphic designer resume samples:

Graphic Designer Job Description for a Resume 

The first one focuses on listing tangible resume achievements and—what’s even more important—the potential value for the employer. The second one? Just meh. A lot of people only emphasise what they did, but what they should stress is what they could do for the company they are willing to join.

Entry-Level Graphic Designer Resume Samples [Experience]

No matter the level, you can either come off as a winner or a bludger. So if you’re compiling a junior graphic designer resume, seize the opportunity to show the hiring manager that you’re an asset: mention graphic design software knowledge, add numbers, soft skills or your successful social media projects.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

Create my resume now

When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

3. Make the Most of Your Educational Background

Your portfolio and your experience may be doing the heavy lifting, but you still need to add an education section to your resume. Yes, even if your degree had little to do with graphic design, which is totally fine according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (some extra training will cover it). Maybe there was an art minor, an accredited technical course or a cool internship?

If you have multiple degrees, make sure to list them in reverse-chronological order. If there are relevant courses, programmes, or summer schools, do mention them too.

Rule of thumb here is to indicate the academic level and name of your degree, the institution and years of attendance (or expected graduation date for uni undergrads.) 

If you don’t have a lot of experience yet, switch Sections 2 and 3 and show this one a bit more TLC. Include all your relevant coursework, honours and successes (key word here: relevant.) Use your best judgement, High Distinction or First Class Honours will definitely have more impact than Pass.

Have a look at this graphic designer resume example:

Freelance Graphic Designer Resume Example [Education]

Nice and clear, no gimmicks.

Entry-level Graphic Designer Resume Example [Education]

This shows how the candidate already managed to pack in some experience and even demonstrate leadership skills.

Pro Tip: If you think your resume should be built around education or skills, and not your work experience, you can consider going with other resume formats. This is to be used at your discretion, but keep in mind that reverse-chronological is the usual way to go.

4. Put the Right Skills in Your Graphic Designer Resume

Skills are there as placeholder text, you just have to write something basic, right? 

Wrong! 

Just like adding a stock photo won’t do much for your visuals, adding generic skills won’t grant you interviews. 

But this section can become pure job-winning gold if you use it right. The secret sauce? Tailor the skills to the job description. This is how you can be sure the skills you’ve indicated will only work to your advantage—and will help you pass the applicant tracking system. 

Use bullet points to list your skills and keep them short—you’ll always be able to elaborate as you write a cover letter for your resume (spoiler alert: you will have to write it.)

Here’s a list of skills to use as graphic designer resume inspiration:

Graphic Designer Resume Skills

• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe InDesign
• Adobe Creative Suite
• CorelDRAW Graphics
• Canva
• Designer
• GIMP
• Gravit Designer
• Sketch
• UI
• UX
• Typography
• Mood Board Creation
• Branding
• Innovation
• Designing for Print
• Leadership
• Teamwork and Collaboration
• Time Management
• Accuracy and Attention to Detail
• Ideation
• Understanding of Trends

Here’s an example of how your skills could be listed:

Sample Skills Section for a Creative Graphic Designer Resume

 You can see that it includes both hard and soft skills. Easy.

Read more: Great Skills to Add to Your Resume

5. Add Other Sections to Your Graphic Designer Resume

Your resume is in 2D now—let’s add another dimension. 

No need to be shy. This is your chance to show different sides of you and strengthen what you’ve stated above. 

Maybe you went to a fancy conference that all cool graphic designers attend? Mention that.

Maybe you worked as a freelance graphic designer and had a gig that got a local community award? Do tell.

This is just the right place to display your accolades, certifications, publications, hobbies, or command of foreign languages. You didn’t spend all this time for nothing, so show it off.

Graphic Designer Resume Examples [Other Sections]

This bit is pretty self-explanatory. 

Pro Tip: Feeling adventurous? Wanna get a tad more creative and talk about your passion for all things crochet? Yeah, nah, don’t do that. Some things are better left unsaid.

6. Write a Graphic Designer Resume Summary or Resume Objective

No worries, we’re almost done. It’s just the most important part that’s left.

Let’s paint a beautiful picture: your resume made it to the top and landed in the powerful hands of a recruiter. How much time do you have to impress? 

About 6 seconds. 

Shocker, huh? 

There must be a way to use those 6 seconds to the max. 

And there is. You just have to optimise what the recruiter lays eyes on first.

There’s not much you can tailor within your personal info (just make sure your email looks professional, and the links are personalised if possible). However, you can be strategic with what comes next—and that’s your resume summary.

All you have to do is make it flawless.

Here’s what a graphic designer resume summary could look like: 

Graphic Designer Resume Summary

Which one would you like to be working for you? Which one could be literally anyone? Think of the summary as a saturated version of you as a professional. Numbers do count (pun intended).

See these entry-level graphic designer resume examples:

Entry-Level Graphic Designer Resume Objective

If you’re just entering the creative field of graphic design, you should write a resume objective. State what relevant experience you already have (and how it will make sense at the job you’re applying for), mention what you did at uni or what stunning results you achieved during an internship, what else you’d like to learn and why. 

Same applies if you’re writing a resume objective for a career change. Focus on transferable skills and quantifiable results.

Pro Tip: Even though this section is placed higher up top, we recommend writing it last to avoid blank page terror and to help structure your ideas more thoroughly. 

7. Write a Graphic Designer Cover Letter

Submitting a resume with no cover letter is like sending a client a brand kit with just one item inside.

They expect more.

And if you want a fair go, you should live up to that expectation. 

Look at this as an opportunity, not as a burden. Writing a cover letter gives you space to talk more about your experience, give more detail about something you deem important or explain that gap you had between jobs. 

Some important tips on writing agraphic designer cover letter:

• Include the name of the hiring manager.
• Use the right cover letter format and the same template style you used for your resume.
• Research the company beforehand and show what you know about it.
• Back your passion for the job or the company up with facts, maybe give an example of a project they had that you really cared for.
• Explain how your prior experience will be a great match for the position and the business.

If you don’t know what the name of the hiring manager is, do your research on LinkedIn. Search by company name, then go through the list of employees. This will instantly put you ahead of the competition and their “Dear Sir/Madam” or “To Whom It May Concern”.

Read more: What Is a Cover Letter and Why You Should Write It

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaway

Let’s go through the steps towards the best graphic designer resume of your life one more time:

• Format your graphic designer resume correctly or use a template.
• Tailor your “responsibilities” and skills to the job description.
• Go for reverse-chronological order for education and professional experience.
• Make the most of your resume summary or resume objective.
• Provide numbers! Support your claims with measurable results.
• Include other sections for even more impact.
• Write a graphic designer cover letter to fortify your success.
• Get those graphic design jobs!

And that’s about it! These rules sure apply both to a full-time or a freelance graphic designer resume.

Thank you for reading, hope you’ve got the answers you were looking for. If you have any questions—do ask in the comments down under!

Unless it’s about what the next Pantone colour of the year is going to be—does anybody really know?