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Graphic designers have become one of the top jobs world wide. Almost every brand needs the service of graphic designers to sell their brands.
Before you get that job as a graphic designer, your Resume has to speak for you. Here are some resume samples for graphic designers.
Who are Graphic Designers?
Graphic designers create customer-focused designs, frequently working on projects like websites, games, product packaging, and advertising campaigns.
However, most graphic design work is based on marketing and visual branding.
For instance, employment opportunities can include everything from creating logos for multinational corporations to working with local governments and schools.
Graphic Design Resume Examples
Creating a graphic designer resume comes in different ways. Below are some examples.
1. Create a Graphic Designer Resume
Before you can start working on your resume, you need to decide on the formatting.
After all, the hiring manager will think twice before hiring a graphic designer whose resume isn’t well-formatted.
Other resume formats you could try are:
‣ Functional Resume
This format is a lot more about your skills as opposed to professional experience. It’s good if you don’t have a lot of experience, are transferring to a new industry, or have gaps in your employment history.
‣ Combination Resume
As the name suggests, a combination resume is a mix between “functional” and “reverse chronological.”
Meaning, it focuses both on skills and experience. You can use a combination resume if you have a lot of work experience or changing industries.
Once you’ve decided on the format, you need to get your resume layout right.
Here’s what we recommend:
‣ Margins – One-inch margins on all sides
‣ Font – Pick a font that stands out, but not too much. Do Ubuntu, Roboto, etc. Don’t: Comic Sans
‣ Font Size – Use a font size of 11-12pt for normal text and 14-16pt for headers
‣ Line Spacing – Use 1.0 or 1.15 line spacing
‣ Resume Length – Don’t go over the 1-page limit. Have trouble fitting everything into one page? Check out these one-page resume templates.
As a designer, you have a lot more freedom on what kind of resume design you go with. Feel free to pick a more creative template to show off your imagination!
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2. Add Contact Information
You don’t want to be unreachable. Still, your contact info shouldn’t overshadow the rest of your innovative graphic designer resume. Include:
‣ Name
‣ Updated phone number
‣ Professional email address
‣ A link to your online portfolio
E.g. Billy Kant, Graphic Designer – [email protected] – 501-872-2419 – kant.com
3. Use a Graphic Designer Resume Template
If you’ve ever made a Word resume, you’d probably agree with us: it’s a total pain. You have to play around with the formatting longer than it takes you to fill in the contents.
Then, you decide to make a single, small layout change, and bam! Your entire resume layout falls apart. Want to make your life easier? Use a graphic designer resume template.
4. Describe Your Graphic Design Experience
Start your original graphic design resume experience section with your most recent job. Then list responsibilities and achievements in bullet points.
Tailor your experience to every job opening. Custom-tailored resumes pop out like a Dali painting.
E.g. Graphic Designer
January 2022‒February 2022
Jackson Designs, Indiana
• Spearheaded daily design in a small but prolific firm.
• Facilitated team meetings for a project to increase revenue for e-commerce clients.
• Collaborated on a project to create layouts and images for written online content.
• Contributed to a customer site that won a 2016 Shopify Ecommerce Design Award.
5. Mention Your Education
If you don’t have a great degree, you can build experience fast to make up for it. In addition, if you’ve got a great degree, it’s a feather in your cap. Either way, you’ll want to show your education in the best light to stand out like Warhol.
Example:
‣ University and location
‣ Degree type
‣ Major
‣ Awards, honors, and other standouts.
E.g. BA in Graphic Design
Grand Valley State University, New York
2010-2014
GPA 2.5
Cum Laude
• Accepted into Senior Scholar program to create my e-commerce site.
• Worked for the student paper illustrating articles.
• Favorite area of study: Online layout design.
6. Put Graphic Design Skills on a Resume
‣ Excellent communicator.
‣ Frequently worked on large teams.
‣ Award-winning signage and branding skills.
‣ Skilled in Illustrator and CorelDraw.
‣ Use MS Outlook daily.
7. Add an Online Portfolio Section to Your Resume
Wisely, you back away from the idea of printing your resume on a Frisbee or a yoga ball. Instead, you make it eye-friendly and easy to read, and then point it to examples of your work online.
E.g. Portfolio (See it online at www.BillyKant.com)
App design -Designed the flow of the MealDecider App to ensure smooth, eye-friendly navigation through various screens.
Web design -Redesigned the website for BikeTripNow.com to create an easy user experience and elevate the brand.
Cookbook design -Created clean, engaging design layout for “The Ketogenic Gourmet.”
Product packaging design -Designed packaging line for Javacat brand coffees.
8. Include Awards, Accolades, Certifications
You can add certifications, conferences, publications, clubs you belong to, hobbies, or other pertinent details.
E.g. Awards and Certifications
• Adobe CS5 certified.
• Autodesk certified.
• Winner: D&AD New Blood award 2017
• My chocolate bar design at BillyKant.com was written up in a Huff Post article.
• Attended HOW Design Live, 2015
9. Write a Cover Letter
45% of recruiters and art directors will skip your resume if it doesn’t have a cover letter.
For example, your graphic design cover letter is your chance to personalize yourself. It’s a highlights reel of the most impressive things that fit you to the job.
We recommend the following
‣ Use the recruiter’s name.
‣ Mention something you like about the company.
‣ Explain how you can help.
How to Create Your Graphic Designer Work Experience
Work experience is the most important section in your resume (after your portfolio, of course).
Be sure, your design skills are super important, but so is your professional experience. Here’s how to structure your work experience section:
‣ Position name
‣ Dates
‣ Company Name
‣ Responsibilities & Achievements
Graphic Design Resume Tips
Before you start writing, make sure you know how to write a resume in a way that best emphasizes your strengths.
As a graphic designer, you probably already know how to create an eye-catching design for your resume. But knowing what to include on your resume to impress employers might not come so easily.
Whether you’re trying to track down more freelance projects or simply want to find a steady graphic design position at a large company.
Here are five tips for creating a great graphic designer resume that highlights your skills without sacrificing visual appeal:
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1. Write a Winning Graphic Designer Objective
A resume objective provides a quick, three-to-four sentence overview of your relevant experience, achievements, and skills, while also letting you directly address the specific company and role you’re applying for.
Resume objectives are an ideal resume opening for graphic designers because hiring managers often don’t have much time to look through a full portfolio.
For graphic design work, you want your resume objective to communicate four key pieces of information:
‣ Years of design experience, your job title, and your primary responsibilities
‣ Your most important accomplishments or notable projects you worked on
‣ Your most valuable technical skills (like Figma or Adobe Creative Suite)
‣ Your immediate career goals
Here’s an example of a strong graphic designer resume objective:
Senior Graphic Designer Specialist with 6+ years of experience in the management of the complete design process, from conceptualization to delivery.
Spearheaded the design of new branding guidelines for my last company, helping to increase conversions by 15%.
Skilled with Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign) Microsoft Office, and web design applications (Dreamweaver, HTML).
Seeking to leverage my design skills to obtain a role as a Lead Graphic Designer at Homebody Studios.
After reading just the first sentence, employers already know the candidate’s professional level, years of experience, and that they have managed all levels of the design process.
Consequently, the candidate then highlights a key professional accomplishment and lists their technical skillset. In fact, the closing sentence establishes the candidate’s career goals.
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2. Highlight Key Graphic Design Resume Skills
Employers need designers who are experienced with the latest design software and have a well-developed set of skills.
The best way to impress any company hiring for graphic design positions is by putting together a clear, detailed resume skills section.
Therefore, whether you’re a freelancer or looking for an in-house job. For instance, here are some of the top graphic design skills that employers are looking for:
‣ Media Production
‣ Infographic Design
‣ Photo Editing
‣ Web Design
‣ Adobe Photoshop
‣ Adobe Illustrator
‣ Adobe After Effects
‣ Adobe Dreamweaver
‣ Figma
‣ HTML
‣ CSS
‣ Print Design
‣ Logo Creation
‣ Branding
‣ Typography
Your technical abilities aren’t all employers care about, however. The best graphic designers are also strong communicators, responsive, and creative.
Be sure to include a balance of hard and soft skills on your resume to show employers that you have all the qualities that they’re looking for in a candidate.
Graphic Design Soft Skills
‣ Communication skills
‣ Collaboration
‣ Teamwork
‣ Idea exchange
‣ Self-management
‣ Decision making
‣ Organizational skills
‣ Brainstorming
‣ Inspiration
‣ Imagination
‣ Creativity
‣ Innovation
‣ Experimenting
‣ Patience
‣ Time-management
‣ Goal setting
‣ Planning
3. Address the Job Description
While it may be tempting to present your work experience creatively, it’s not usually an effective way to convince employers that you’re the best person for the job.
Instead, the goal of your work experience section should be to address the needs laid out in the job description.
Furthermore, when writing a resume for a graphic design job, start by going through the job ad for the position you want and taking note of the qualities listed in the “Requirements” section.
Graphic Designer Job description Resume
This position emphasizes the ability to cooperate, coordinate, multi-task, and be involved in the entire design process.
Here’s an example of an experience section from a graphic design resume templates that addresses the requirements of this job:
1. Experion, New York, NY
A B2B marketing firm that has helped over 200 companies position, promote, and market their unique brands.
Senior Graphic Designer Specialist, May 2011 – present
• Lead in the design, development, and implementation of the graphic, layout, and production communication materials while helping clients cut their costs by an average of 12%.
• Worked with the marketing team to develop innovative graphics and materials.
• Supervise the assessment of all graphic materials to ensure quality and accuracy in the design.
• Oversee the efficient use of production project budgets ranging from $2,000 – $25,000.
2. Stepping Stone Advertising, New York, NY
• A full-service ad agency devoted to the well-planned execution of customized direct and digital marketing campaigns.
• Graphic Design Specialist, Aug 2009-May 2011
• Developed numerous marketing programs (logos, brochures, newsletters, infographics, presentations, and advertisements) and guaranteed that they exceeded the expectations of our clients.
• Managed up to 5 projects or tasks at a given time while under pressure to meet weekly deadlines.
• Recommended and consulted with clients on the most appropriate graphic design options based on their overall marketing goals.
• Created 4+ design presentations and proposals a month for clients and account managers.
Notice that the skills mentioned in the job posting are featured extensively in this example.
Subsequently, this is one of the most effective ways to impress employers and demonstrate to them that your experience perfectly matches what they want in a new graphic design hire.
4. Add a Portfolio Section To Your Resume
Ultimately, the most important thing an employer considers when hiring a graphic designer is that the candidate’s work is high quality and that it fits their needs.
However, the quality of your work can’t easily be put into words on your graphic design resume. That’s why it’s essential to provide a link to your portfolio so that employers can easily take a look at your work themselves.
In the same vein, start by creating a new section on your resume and titling it “Portfolio” or “Projects.”
Then, list out the different types of design work you did, followed by a more in-depth explanation of the projects you’ve worked on (or are currently working on).
5. Keep Your Design Functional
As a designer, it’s tempting to make a visual resume that’s creative and eye-catching.
However, the problem with using a nontraditional format is that your resume ends up being difficult to read and makes it hard for hiring managers to find the information they’re looking for.
Ultimately, the best graphic design resumes are both functional and attractive.
So while you don’t need to make your resume look bland, you should stick to a traditional resume format that lays your information out in a logical, easy-to-read fashion instead of using a unique layout.
SEE ALSO:
Top 10 High Demand Skills in Nigeria 2024
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