Graphic designer CV: example, skills and writing tips

Graphic designer CV example

The example below shows how the advice in this guide fits together on one page. The person, the companies and all the figures are invented: use the structure, not the content, and replace every detail with your own.

Notice what makes this CV useful to a recruiter: every line says what was designed, for which medium and brand, with which tool and at what volume, and the portfolio link sits next to the contact details. The rest of this guide explains how to build each section in the same way.

Job title and professional summary

Choose a title that shows your specialism

Graphic design jobs range from branding to print layout, social media or motion. A title that names your main area is more informative than “Graphic Designer” alone, as long as it reflects your work:

Graphic Designer – Branding and Visual Identity
Graphic Designer – Print and Digital
Graphic Designer – Editorial and Layout
Graphic Designer – Social Media and Campaigns
Graphic and Motion Designer

The goal is not to stuff in keywords. A precise title lets recruiters, and the search tools they use, identify your specialism quickly.

Graphic designer, brand designer, UI designer: which title fits?

These titles overlap and their scope varies between employers. Pick the one that describes what you actually do, and keep your real past titles in the experience section.

Professional summary example: experienced graphic designer

The professional summary (often called a personal profile in the UK) is three to five lines that answer three questions: what is your profile, how much experience do you have, and what can you take charge of?

Graphic designer with 6 years’ experience creating campaigns, brand identities and multi-page documents for print and digital. Works from the brief to final files, across several brands with separate guidelines. Daily user of Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Professional summary example: junior graphic designer

Graphic design graduate ([degree], [year]) with a [12-month] work-study placement in an in-house marketing team. Hands-on experience designing social media visuals, laying out brochures and preparing print files in Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Portfolio: [link].

Adapt these examples to your real situation. Words such as “creative” or “passionate” are better shown through your portfolio than claimed in the summary.

Graphic designer CV skills by area

A graphic designer’s work typically covers concept, identity, layout, image editing, adaptation to many formats and production. Do not list every possible item: select the skills you can show in your portfolio and experience, then phrase them so a recruiter can see how you used them.

A skills line such as this gives little information:

Creativity – Photoshop – Branding – Team player

This one is far more useful:

Visual identity · Campaign roll-out · Multi-page layout · Print production · Photoshop · Illustrator · InDesign · Figma

Describing your experience and achievements

Your portfolio shows the quality of your work; your CV explains the context, your role and the volume. For each line, follow this order where possible:

context → your own action → tools or method → scope → result

For example: “For a group with 4 brands (context), I built a library of social media and presentation templates (action) in InDesign and Figma (tools), used by a 15-person marketing team (scope), which shortened the production of recurring formats (result).” The figures in this sentence are illustrative.

Too vague

Graphic design
Social media posts
Brochures
Branding

More informative

Illustrative figures.

Designed campaign key visuals for 4 brands and adapted them to print, social, email and web
Laid out brochures and white papers in InDesign and prepared print-ready files
Contributed to the identity refresh of two product ranges
Produced more than 150 assets over the year across simultaneous campaigns

The second version shows the media, the brands, your role and the volume. Be clear about your level of responsibility: designing a concept, adapting an art director’s concept and preparing files are all useful, but different. Design results are often shared with marketing, so speak of a contribution when a campaign result depends on several factors.

Achievement examples to adapt

Replace [X] and [Y] with your own verified figures, or leave the line out if you cannot support it.

• Designed and rolled out the visual identity of [brand], from logo to guidelines and first [X] applications.
• Built [X] templates that cut the time needed for recurring formats from [X] to [Y].
• Adapted campaigns for [X] markets and languages while keeping the brand consistent.
• Laid out a [X]-page [catalogue / annual report] delivered to the printer on schedule.
• Produced around [X] assets a year for [Y] brands with separate guidelines.
• Contributed to creative tests on [paid social / email] that identified the better-performing formats.

Software and portfolio: show how you work

Make your portfolio easy to find

For a graphic designer, the portfolio is often the first thing a recruiter opens. Put the link next to your contact details, in plain text, and check that it works. Keep the selection short and coherent, and for each project show the need, your role, the main deliverables and, if you know it, the outcome. Present personal or academic projects as such, never as client work.

Name software with its use

Name the software you have actually used and what for. Depending on your work, this may include Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Figma, After Effects, Premiere Pro or Canva.

Photoshop: retouching, compositing, campaign visuals
Illustrator: logos, icons, vector illustration
InDesign: multi-page layout, master pages and styles

This is more informative than rating bars, which are subjective:

Photoshop █████
Illustrator ████░

Do not list a motion or video tool unless you use it in real projects, and do not present yourself as a motion designer or UI designer for occasional work.

Education and qualifications

On your CV, use the format qualification – specialism – institution – year:

[Degree] – [graphic design / visual communication]
[Institution] — [year]

Short courses (motion design, Figma, typography) can be listed if they add a relevant skill, and software certifications only if you hold them. They remain secondary: recruiters judge your portfolio and experience first.

If you are experienced, education can take less space than your most recent roles.

Making your graphic designer CV easy to read for ATS

Many agencies and employers use an applicant tracking system (ATS) or recruitment software to store and search applications. The aim is not to “beat” or trick an ATS: it is to make sure your key information is extracted correctly and easy to find. A designer’s CV can show taste without becoming a poster.

• an explicit job title with your specialism;
• clearly identifiable employers and dates;
• experience organised role by role;
• text kept as real text, not inside images;
• skills and software written out, not replaced by icons or rating bars;
• a simple structure with good contrast and readable type sizes.

When a job ad asks for a skill you genuinely have, use its vocabulary. If your CV only says “creative support” while you actually do “brand identity and print layout”, the second phrasing is more precise for both the software and the recruiter.

Tailoring your graphic designer CV to each job

Tailoring helps, because design roles lean in different directions. Your background does not change, but you can bring forward the projects and skills most relevant to the job, and reorder your portfolio the same way.

Before applying for a branding, print or digital role, it helps to see which requirements of the job description your CV already covers and which are missing. CVReader compares your CV with a job description and highlights the points of correspondence.

Compare my CV with a job description

Free matching requires an account.

Junior graphic designer or career changer

With little professional experience, the same principle applies: be precise about what you have actually done.

• Students and recent graduates: describe internships and work-study placements like real jobs, and rely on a well-structured portfolio.
• Personal projects: an identity for a fictional brand can show your skills, as long as it is clearly labelled as a personal project.
• Career changers: bring forward design work you did in another role, such as presentations, newsletters or social media visuals, and say which tools you used.

Marketing assistant moving into graphic design, with two years producing social media visuals, email templates and event materials in Photoshop and Canva. Currently completing [course] in layout and typography. Portfolio: [link].

Trained or working in France?

If your design background is French, a few adjustments make your CV clearer to English-speaking recruiters.

French qualifications

Keep the French name of your qualification and add a short explanation, without claiming an equivalence with British, American or other degrees:

• DN MADE – Diplôme national des métiers d’art et du design: a French three-year national diploma in applied arts and design; add your specialism.
• BTS: a French two-year higher vocational diploma; add its field, for example graphic communication.
• Alternance: a French work-study programme; describe it as a work-study placement and treat it as real experience.

DN MADE – [specialism] (French national diploma in applied arts and design, three years)
[School] — [year]

French job titles and terms

Translate the role, not the words. A “graphiste” is a graphic designer; a “directeur artistique” is an art director, a title to use only if you held that role. A “charte graphique” is a set of brand guidelines, and a “BAT” (bon à tirer) is a print proof or proof approval.

Mistakes to avoid and final checklist

Hiding or forgetting the portfolio

Put a working link next to your contact details.

Listing software instead of skills

Tools do not replace design skills. Say what you create with them.

Making the CV hard to read to look creative

Tiny type, low contrast, text inside images and complex columns hurt both recruiters and software.

Mixing titles without explaining your role

Graphic design, UI, UX and art direction are different jobs. State which one you do.

Showing images without context

Brand, medium, brief and volume help a recruiter understand your contribution.

Translating job titles word for word

If your experience is in another language, translate the role, not the words, and keep qualification names in their original language with a short explanation.

Checklist before you apply

• My portfolio link is visible, working and fits the job.
• My title states my specialism and, if useful, my level of experience.
• My summary fits in three to five lines and contains facts, not adjectives.
• Each role shows the media, brands, my own actions, tools and volume.
• Every figure is accurate and not confidential.
• Each software package listed is one I use in real projects.
• Text is real text, with readable sizes and good contrast.
• I have brought forward the projects that match the job’s main focus.

Graphic designer CV: frequently asked questions

What skills should I put on a graphic designer CV?

Put your specialism first, then the skills you can show in your portfolio: identity, layout, campaigns, print or digital production, and the software you actually use.

Do I need a portfolio link on my CV?

Yes. It should be easy to find, working and limited to a coherent selection of projects, each with a little context.

Can a graphic designer CV be very creative?

It can show your sense of design, but it must stay easy to read and easy for recruitment software to extract. Keep the more experimental work for your portfolio.

Is a graphic designer resume different from a graphic designer CV?

“Resume” is the usual American term; “CV” is used in the UK and much of the world. For a job application, the advice in this guide applies to both.

What is the difference between a graphic designer and a UI/UX designer?

A graphic designer usually focuses on visual communication, identities and marketing materials, while UI/UX work centres on interfaces, user journeys and testing. Use the title that matches your real work.

Should I put a photo on my graphic designer CV?

It is not needed to show your skills: your portfolio does that. Practices vary by country, so follow local norms if you add one.