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How to write a resume for graphic design?
"There are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no, and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for." - Milton Glaser
Text, images, and colors are an integral part of a graphic designer's life. The same applies for a graphic designer resume.
While the text is the common ground between a graphic designer and a resume, the writing style of both differs vastly. A resume is typically divided into sections such as header, personal information, title, etc.
- Spearheading the Design team of 10+ to steer design, development & implementation of the revamped graphic layout
- Supervising procurement of production & communication materials for clients to achieve reduction in costs by ~12%
- Managing up to ~5 projects simultaneously as part of developing appropriate designs based on overall marketing goals
- Governing & ensuring efficient use of production project budgets up to USD ~25,000
- Ensuring quality & accuracy of design by overseeing assessment of graphic materials
- Designing marketing programs including Ads & Infographic Presentations to meet client expectations
- Secured a project worth USD ~1M for the company based on the recommendation by a previous client
- Envisioned a new art-proofing system to increase overall production quality & enhanced customer satisfaction to 97%
- Effectively utilized large format printing for billboards & digital photography to enhance proposed work
- Planned & executed the presentation of detailed scale models in the form of graphic arrangement
- Ensured compliance with approved design standards to deliver timely & quality bound projects
- Developed 10+ advertisements & logos weekly in InDesign along with creating flyers & banners for a Dutch newspaper
Graphic designers occupy approximately 250,000 jobs in total and a majority of graphic designers are surveyed to be self-employed. The recruitment of graphic designers is estimated to increase by 5% in the coming 10 years, which is also the average growth rate in recruitment for all other job occupations.
The broad-level work of graphic designers is to create visual images via hand or by using latest tools and technologies.
These visuals are made in order to communicate information to the people. The objective can be to encourage people to do something, to convey information or to acquire consumers.
A graphic designer conceptualizes, develops and produces the overall layout and design of all marketing creatives encompassing advertisements, magazine, brochures, corporate reports, etc.
The increasing demand of graphic designer is leading to thousands of applicants for a handful of vacancies.
The field of graphic designers will see a constant growth in the coming years as they are required for brand promotion by every company. The requirement of Graphic Designers, Graphic Design and Information Consultants, Visualization Specialists and Graphic Design Specialists is likely to grow by 20% in the next 10 years.
After going through our 2022 Guide on Graphic Design Resume, you'll be able to:
- How to write a Graphic Design Resume?
- How to write summary for your graphic designer resume?
- Present your certification in the best way possible
- Write your professional experience section to entice the recruiter
- Ensure a recruiter-friendly and ATS-optimized resume skills
...All in order to make a job-winning graphic design resume!
To build your graphic designer resume, you can use Hiration's Online Resume Builder for an easy breezy resume making experience.
However, if you want to make your resume on your own, then follow the steps given in this article below to make a job-winning resume today. Also, refer to the graphic designer resume example given below for more clarity.
In addition to this, once you are done with your resume, you can get it professionally reviewed by Hiration's select industry experts today.
What is a Graphic Design Resume & Why do you Need it?
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A graphic designer resume is a resume that demonstrates the proficiency of a graphic designer in his/her field.
The duties of a graphic designer involve things like attending conferences with the clients, meeting with the manager of the art/marketing department to decide the scope of design and recommend clients on approaches to grasp a specific audience type.
A graphic designer needs to decide the information a composition should represent.
Graphic designer's job requires them to develop computer graphics for brand demonstration, logotypes and internet sites. They also need to choose colors, photographs, subject matter style and outline of the graphics they are creating.
In some cases, they need to demonstrate the composition to the client or the manager of the art/marketing department.
A graphic designer should have a basic semblance of color and design, needs skills like typography, should be good at using technical tools and should be creative.
A graphic designer resume incorporates all this information and demonstrates it in a professional way. It is used when you apply for a graphic designer job.
Graphic design resume will help the recruiter know the level of your proficiency as a graphic designer.
Having a resume shows professionalism in a person and having one will get you your desired job sooner.
Graphic design resumes tell the recruiter, briefly, about your professional and educational trajectory.
A graphic designer gets approximately $4,000 a month, which can range up to $7,000 a month in case of people who have more relevant experience and have a senior position in the company.
Freshers in this field get a starting salary of approximately $3,000. In order to further climb this ladder, you need to keep updating your resume every time you switch a job.
This will give the recruiter an insight on the number of years of experience you've had for computing your compensation accordingly.
Maintaining a graphic design resume will let the recruiters know that you are the most creative graphic designer out there.
You can opt for Hiration's Online Resume Builder to make your resume with ease today!
How to write a Graphic Design Resume?
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Writing a graphic designer resume is no rocket science. To make it simpler for you, we've broken down the process into simple and easily understandable steps.
Just follow these steps and you'll become a master in making a graphic design resume.
Also, you can use Hiration's Online Resume Builder, where you will find pre-written ready-to-use graphic designer resume templates. These templates have been prepared by industry experts and using them will astronomically bolster your chances of getting shortisted.
It saves time, is easy to use and allows you to tailor your graphic designer resume as per your target job listing. You can tweak the information around your work experience - it's super easy to customize your resume and make it your own!
Don't believe us? Check it out for yourself!
Most graphic designers go overboard when it comes to using an eye-catching resume template. They overlook the nuances of the recruitment process and proceed with stuffing and showcasing their entire gamut of skills in a humble one-pager resume.
While using jazzy resume templates and innovative ideas for your graphic design resume template is good when you're being internally referred, or when you are utilizing your network for sending your resume, think twice before using the same for your standard applications.
That's because the jazzier the resume template, the more difficult it gets for the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to scan and parse your resume.
The entire exercise is pointless if you spend countless days and sleepless nights beautifying your resume, but when it actually mattered, you ended up in the reject pile.
Pro-tip: Being a graphic designer, you sure have the liberty to play around with resume template and design, but make sure that it's ultimately ATS-friendly and can be parsed by standard applicant shortlisting software.
Graphic Design Resume Format
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There are three resume formats that you can use to write a graphic designer resume. They are:
Reverse Chronological Format for your Graphic Design Resume
In this format, you will write your most recent job first and then date back to your other jobs in your professional experience section. Same goes for your other sections like that of Education, Certification and Awards & Recognition.
This format of resume is perfect for those professionals who have an exhaustive work experience history and their professional trajectory is not dotted with long, unexplained gaps.
Functional Format for Graphic Designer Resume
Functional Resume, also known as skill-based resume format, makes your skills and experience sections the center of attraction. It stresses on your skills and experience more as opposed to your educational background.
It is great for those job seekers who are looking for a career change and have gaps in their employment history.
Combination Format for Graphic Design Resume
Combination resume format is quite similar to reverse chronological resume format and is applied in two sections of the resume: Skills section and Professional Experience section.
In both the sections, information is written under the buckets of your acquired skills. Also, the professional experience section is written in the reverse chronological order using the same method.
This format can be used by everyone - it does not matter if you have an exhaustive work history or have gaps in your employment history.
Also Read: How to create a freelance graphic design resume in 2022?
Writing your Graphic Design Resume
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Your graphic design resume will be made in four stages:
- Compilation Graphic Designer Resume
- Master Graphic Design Resume
- First Draft Graphic Designer Resume and
- Final Graphic Design Resume
- Compilation Stage for your Graphic Designer Resume: It simply means collecting all your information in a single place. In this step, you will collect all the information that you have related to your graphic designer resume skills, work experience, internships, education, awards and recognition, and extra-curricular activities.
The idea is to dump all the information in a single place. It can act as a long-term solution for all your resume troubles. Maybe months or years later, say if you want to switch profiles again or apply for a job, you'd have a single authoritative source containing everything you've ever done.
When you will proceed further in the graphic design resume making process, you will know that you have all your information compiled at a single place and you don't have to look at any other documents to customize and finalize your graphic designer resume.
- Master Graphic Designer Resume: In the master graphic design resume making stage, you will sort and arrange your professional experience section and your internship section. At this stage, make sure you have the following information and that it is arranged and placed at their proper places.
Look for the following information for both the sections:
- Company name
- Location
- Dates of joining and resigning or completion of tenure
- Designation
- Points arranged in terms of importance for every section
Lastly, save a copy of the master graphic designer resume. By doing so, you will be able to customize your resume later according to every job description that you apply for.
- First Draft for your Graphic Designer Resume: In the first draft, you will work on other sections including your name, personal information, title, education, awards and recognition, extracurricular activities, additional information, etc.
Sort and arrange information in these sections by writing the most recent information first (reverse chronological resume format). For instance, mention your current/last-held profile, then the profile before that, and so on.
Hiration Pro-tip: Doing this will ensure that you follow the reverse-chronological format for your graphic design resume, which is the most conventional and recruiter-friendly resume format out there.
By this stage, three-fourth of your graphic design resume will be complete.
- Final Graphic Designer Resume: All that is left at this stage are 3 things:
First, write your graphic designer resume skills section.
- Scan your entire professional experience section and compare it against the job description of your choice.
- From these two things, you will pick up all the relevant key skills that you possibly can, while making sure they're relevant and validated in your professional experience section.
Secondly, write your summary/objective section.
- Look for points in your professional experience section that highlight your contribution to the organization.
- Pick information from those points and write them in your summary section mentioning how you can use your graphic designer resume skills to benefit the organization.
Hiration Pro-tip: Go for a professional summary section if you've more than 2-3 years of relevant experience. Choose a graphic design resume objective section if you're an entry-level professional.
Thirdly, bold all the important words/phrases & achievements in your professional experience, internship, awards and recognition, and extracurricular activities sections.
Now let us look into how to write each section in detail.
Graphic Design Resume Sections
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Your graphic designer resume will include the following sections in the order given below:
- Name
- Personal Information
- Job Title
- Summary/Objective
- Key Skills
- Technical Skills (if applicable and relevant)
- Professional Experience
- Internship
- Education
- Awards and Recognition
- Extracurricular Activities/Additional Information
Graphic Design Resume: Professional Experience
For a graphic design resume, the professional experience section is the most important section of the graphic designer resume.
It demonstrates the overall work experience that one has as a graphic designer.
Also, this is the section that gives a deeper insight of your ability of graphic designing to the recruiter. In this section, we will tell you how you need to write your work experience so that it will leave an impact on the recruiter.
For people with a lot of work experience as a graphic designer, this section is of prime importance.
Example:
Leadership & Design Project Management
- Spearheading the Design team of 10+ to steer design, development & implementation of the revamped graphic layout
- Supervising procurement of production & communication materials for clients to achieve reduction in costs by ~12%
- Managing up to ~5 projects simultaneously as part of developing appropriate designs based on overall marketing goals
Budgeting & Client Servicing
- Ensuring quality & accuracy of design by administering the assessment of all graphic materials
- Governing & ensuring the efficient use of production project budgets worth up to USD ~25,000
- Designing & developing marketing programs including Ads & Infographic Presentations to meet client expectations
This is an example of bucketing. Let's say you've written 8-10 points under your work profile. Those points will still look like a wall of text unless they're presented in a way which would make it easier for the recruiter to go through.
Clubbing similar points together and grouping them under a relevant skill is an excellent way to showcase your expertise before the recruiter.
Let's say a Graphic Design Lead's role majorly involves leading a team, coordinating with the Sales/Marketing department, directing fulfillment of all deliverables, etc.
You can simply mention a few points under each of these major functions and assign them under relevant subheadings like Team Leadership, Stakeholder Management, Delivery Fulfillment, etc.
Have a brief look at the graphic designer resume sample below to get more clarity on how to include all the information in your work experience section:
Graphic Designer Resume for Fresher
Now, you might be wondering, what about a fresher in the field of graphic designing with no work experience?
Worry not, we're here to rescue the graphic design resumes of freshers as well. For freshers in the field of graphic designing, the internship section will come in the place of professional experience section.
You will be naming the section as 'INTERNSHIP' and not as 'PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE' as professional experience section and internship sections differ from each other.
Internships are basically work experiences that you gain while working as an intern in an organization; on the other hand, professional experience is when you work for a company full-time with an official designation.
Also, internships, most often than not, are unpaid (or a stipend at most), whereas, full-time jobs are always paid and you get salary for working in an organization.
When you are a fresh graduate, you are likely to have done one or two internships in college. As these internships form the foundation of being a professional graphic designer, these internships also hold a lot of importance in a graphic design freshers resume.
Mentioning these internships gives the recruiter an idea of how serious you are when it comes to being a professional, and that you did not waste the crucial time of your life.
These internships also give you an edge over those freshers who haven't done any internships at all. Doing internships give you a sense of being responsible and lets the recruiter know that he/she is hiring a responsible fresher.
Example:
Development & Maintenance
- Developed and maintained print & web collateral including graphical standards
- Coordinated and maintained both Wordpress & CSS/HTML websites
Hiration Pro-Tip: Try to write all the points in your professional experience section and internship section in S-T-A-R format - Situation, Task, Action & Result.
Take a quick look at the graphic designer example below to get more clarity on how to write the internship section:
To get your graphic design resume professionally reviewed by select industry experts, opt for Hiration's Resume Reviewing Service Now!
Graphic Design Resume: Key Skills
The graphic design resume skills section comes fourth in your graphic designer resume section but it should be the second last section that you will write.
The reason behind it is that after you're done making the above-mentioned sections, you can scan all these sections to look for the graphic design resume skills that you possess.
This process will give you more graphic design resume skills than you thought you had.
When writing your graphic design resume skills in this section, you will include a bullet before each skill. For example: * Typography * Web Designing * UI/UX Design and so forth.
Make sure all your graphic design resume skills just come in three lines and not more. Bold the whole section once you're done writing your graphic design resume skills.
The bolding will directly seek the recruiter's attention towards the graphic design resume skills section, hence, giving him/her the broad level idea of your graphic design resume skill set.
If you have graphic design resume skills like that of using Adobe, Photoshop or Illustrator, then don't include them in the graphic designer resume skills section that you just made.
Within the graphic design resume skills section, create another sub-section of 'TECHNICAL SKILLS' and list these skills under the technical skills section.
Italicizing this section will make it clearly visible and will also separate it from the key skills section above.
To get a better idea, look at the graphic designer resume sample given below:
Also, you can add that special touch of being a graphic designer by using Hiration's Online Resume Builder where you get the option of adding bar graphs and pie charts to make your skills section in our California template. Use Hiration's Online Resume Builders Today!
Graphic Design Resume: Summary
After you're done with the rest of the graphic design resume making, the last thing that you will write is the summary section.
This section is written in the end so that you can refer the rest of your graphic designer resume and pick the points that are the highlight of your career to add in the summary section.
A summary is written in a manner in which you explain how you used your graphic design resume skills for the benefit of the company. A summary section basically serves the purpose of those who have professional experience of more than 3 years.
Use your summary section to tell the recruiter what you can do for the organization by highlighting how you used your graphic design resume skills for the previous company.
See the graphic designer resume sample below to see how you can optimize your summary section:
Also Read: How to build a web designer resume in 2022?
Graphic Design Resume: Objective
If you are a fresher, then the last thing that you will make is an objective section.
You will write this section at end so that you can pick points from the rest of the graphic designer resume and then write them after rephrasing them a little.
An objective section is for freshers or entry level professionals. In the objective section you will write what you can offer to the organization and not what you expect the organization to provide you with.
Hiration Pro-tip: When it comes to the Summary/Objective debate, we like to misappropriate a JFK quote along the lines of 'Ask not what the company can do for you, but what you can do for the company'.
Instead of mentioning a shopping list of things you are looking for, highlight the quantifiable impact you can deliver to the recruiter.
See the sample given below to get more clarity on how to write an objective section:
Graphic Designer Resume: Header
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So, now you must be wondering:
What exactly is a header in a graphic design resume?
A header is the first thing that you write in your graphic designer resume. It is basically made up of your name. And now you're wondering what is so special about it?
Well, it differs from your graphic design resume to other graphic design resumes that are posted or sent for the same profile. Also, it prevents your graphic design resume from getting misunderstood as someone else's graphic designer resume.
The header is supposed to be the largest text in your entire graphic design resume. It must be written between the font size of 16-20 points. Correct spacing in the names is of utmost importance.
A single space needs to be given between your first name and your surname. Improper spacing errors, like that of no space or double space, gives out the impression of you being careless when it comes to important things.
If you have a middle name, then the correct way to write it is: 'Robyn R. Fenty'. Only the initial of your middle name will be written and a full-stop after that initial will be given.
Give a single space after the full-stop and then write your surname. Also, refrain from writing nicknames in your graphic designer resume. You're not "Robyn 'Hurricane' Fenty". You're just "Robyn R. Fenty".
If you decide on making your graphic design resume on your own, then refer to the example given below to get a better idea of how a perfect header should look like:
Graphic Design Resume: Personal Information
The second section in the graphic design resume comprises your personal information. Your personal phone number, professional e-mail ID and the current location of residence comes in this section.
Personal Phone Number
Write your personal phone number on which you are 24x7 available.
In case you have more than one phone number, then do not include both the phone numbers in your graphic designer resume. Write only that number which you use primarily. Mentioning two (or more) numbers unnecessarily creates confusion.
Also, there is a certain manner in which you need to write your phone number. You just can't go and simply scribble down your number in your graphic design resume.
The number will be written on the left-hand side of the graphic designer resume, just below the graphic design resume header.
Now, there are two things to remember when writing your phone number:
First, write the International Subscriber Dialing (ISD) code of the country where you live in and add a plus sign (+) before it. After this, give a single space and write your mobile number. Then give a single space after the first five digits of your personal mobile number.
Write only that phone number which you use personally, so that if the recruiter contacts you, you are available to pick his/her call.
Personal E-mail ID
E-mail ID is the second thing to be written in the personal information section.
If you have multiple e-mail IDs, then choose the one that you use frequently or on a daily basis and write that one in the personal information section.
It will be written right next to the phone number, in the center. E-mail ID names like 'sexysusy@xyz.com' are considered very unprofessional. So, ensure that your e-mail ID looks professional and is ideal for putting into a graphic designer resume. For example: 'rihanna@xyz.com' is a professional looking e-mail ID.
Also, you can provide a hyperlink of various social media sites, like that of Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. if you think they are relevant to your target profile and will showcase your ability as a graphic designer.
Before adding these links to your graphic design resume, ensure that these sites are in sync with each other in terms of information. They need to be up-to-date with respect to your professional history, especially LinkedIn.
Hiration Protip: It's not imperative to include your LinkedIn profile or other online portfolios. But if you do, make sure the information is consistent across all these platforms.
In addition to this, you can also provide hyperlinks to any of your personal websites or portfolios that support the work that you have done so far.
Writing the e-mail address is of critical importance as it is one of the ways through which the recruiter might contact you for the interview after seeing your graphic designer resume.
Current Location
Your current location is the third thing that you will write in your personal information section. It will be written right next to your e-mail ID, on the right-hand side.
In your location, you will write your current location.
In case you live in some other city, far from your home city, then also, you will mention the city in which you are living and not the city which is your home town.
You will write your city name first and then your country pin code followed by a comma after the city name.
There is no need to write the whole address, as it is of no use to the recruiter. Only the city name followed by the country code will give the recruiter the idea whether you will have to change the city or relocate if you choose to work with that company.
Take a glance at the graphic designer resume sample below to get a better understanding of how to write the personal information section:
Graphic Designer Resume: Profile Title
The third thing that goes into your graphic design resume is a profile title.
Adding a profile title is crucial as it helps the recruiter to know for which profile you're applying for.
When it comes to telling the recruiter how able you are to do your work, that's when the profile title comes in. It helps the recruiter to understand how able you are at the workings of your field and what is the level of the same.
For example: Graphic Design Lead, Creative Director, Art Director, etc.
It is supposed to be the second largest text in your graphic designer resume and should be of the font size 14-16 points.
Take a glimpse of the graphic designer example given below to get greater clarity on how to write the profile title.
We've seen countless resumes without a job title. The recruiter should not have to scan your professional experience section to gauge your profile or your relevance.
The idea behind mentioning the job title is to give a quick snapshot of your role so that the recruiter can decide in an instant if your resume is worth reading or not.
Remember, each and every element in your resume should make the recruiter's job easier.
Graphic Designer Resume: Education
For a recruiter, your qualification is the second most important thing after your work experience.
This section provides the information around your education, like, the courses you did, names of the schools/universities attended, their location and dates of enrolling and graduating.
Make sure the information you write in this section is all true, as this section helps the recruiter decide whether you are perfectly qualified, under qualified or overqualified for the profile that you have applied for.
The graphic designer resume samples provided below will give you a better idea of how to write the education section:
Graphic Design Resume: Certifications
The sixth thing to add in a graphic design resume is the certifications section.
Including certifications in a graphic designer resume adds more value to your graphic design resume. These certifications can range from advertising certification to creative designing certification to print designing certification.
Basically, any and every relevant certification that adds value to you being a graphic designer can be included in this section. Also, you need to mention the following things while writing this section.
- Certification course name
- Affiliating institution name
- Location of the institution
- Dates of enrolling and graduating from
Use the format given below to write the certification section.
{Name of certification} | {Affiliating Institution} | {Location} | {Date (month & year)}
Graphic Designer Resume: Awards & Recognition
Recruiters tend to hire those applicants more who have been awarded in some manner for their work or whose work has been recognized in some or the other way.
The awards section will include all the awards and recognition that you received for your work in your previous jobs or internships.
This section will also include the awards and recognition you got in college or in high school. While writing this section, make sure the awards are relevant to the position you're applying for or at least are able to add some value to your graphic designer resume.
Do not include awards and recognition like that of 'Best Student in Class' and 'Best Handwriting'. They will look unprofessional and won't add any value to your graphic design resume.
Take a look at the graphic designer resume sample given below to get a more precise idea of how to write this section:
Graphic Design Resume: Extra-curricular Activities
In this section, write all the big events you took part in or fests/events that you led or managed at school or college level.
This will showcase your leadership qualities and your ability to coordinate in teams. Also, ensure you write these lines as one-liner bullet points. Make sure these lines don't exceed one line.
Look at the example given below to get a better idea of how to write this section:
10-Pointer Key Takeaways for your Graphic Design Resume
Here are the key points that will help you build a professional graphic design resume in 2022.
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Include a short, one line description of the companies where you worked or interned at. Include figures around revenue, number of employees, geographic presence, etc. to convince the recruiter that you were working in a reputed organization.
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Write all the locations and dates on the right hand side of the resume. It is the industry standard and recruiters look for them in the same manner. Again, make sure you write the dates in (month & year) format.
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Align your job title and company names on the left throughout your professional experience section.
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Across your entire resume, start all your points with a power verb. Power verbs leave a better impact on the recruiter. Also, use power verbs only if they make sense and refrain from using the same power verbs too many times.
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Make sure, all the points in your present profile are in present tense and those in past profile are in past tense.
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Mention where ever you led or managed a team and mention the number of people you led or managed.
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Ensure your points aren't redundant and reflect your contribution in your past engagements. Redundant points leave a negative impact on the recruiter. Your points should reflect three things: (a) Your contribution, (b) Effect/Impact and (c) Corresponding Achievement.
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Your points should not exceed more than one line. If they do, split them into two points or multiple sub-points. It will help you leave out fluff and will force you to only write your contribution and its impact.
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One way to get the recruiter's attention is to quantify your contribution. For example, mention how many clients, how many digital illustrations, how many stakeholders, and how content was delivered to them.
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Highlight all the important words and numbers throughout your resume, except for the summary/objective section. This method will help you pass the 6-seconds test. On an average, a recruiter scans your resume just for 6 seconds. By highlighting/bolding relevant points, you can directly make the recruiter read what you want them to read.
Go to Hiration resume builder and create a professional resume for yourself. Additionally, reach out to us at support@hiration.com and you can get 24/7 professional assistance with all your job & career-related queries.
