Graphic Design CV Examples & Guide for 2025

Crafting a CV in graphic design can be a daunting challenge due to the need to balance creativity with professional clarity. By delving into our guide, you'll uncover strategies to refine your CV, ensuring it captures your unique design flair while effectively communicating your qualifications to potential employers.

How to ensure your profile stands out with your graphic design CV format

It's sort of a Catch 22. You want your graphic design CV to stand out amongst a pile of candidate profiles, yet you don't want it to be too over the top that it's unreadable. Where is the perfect balance between your CV format simple, while using it to shift the focus to what matters most. That is - your expertise. When creating your graphic design CV:

• list your experience in the reverse chronological order - starting with your latest roles;
• include a header with your professional contact information and - optionally - your photograph;
• organise vital and relevant CV sections - e.g. your experience, skills, summary/ objective, education - closer to the top;
• use no more than two pages to illustrate your professional expertise;
• format your information using plenty of white space and standard (2.54 cm) margins, with colours to accent key information.

Once you've completed your information, export your graphic design CV in PDF, as this format is more likely to stay intact when read by the Applicant Tracker System or the ATS. A few words of advice about the ATS - or the software used to assess your profile:

• Generic fonts, e.g. Arial and Times New Roman, are ATS-compliant, yet many candidates stick with these safe choices. Ensure your CV stands out by using a more modern, and simple, fonts like Lato, Exo 2, Volkhov;
• All serif and sans-serif fonts are ATS-friendly. Avoid the likes of fancy decorative or script typography, as this may render your information to be illegible;
• Both single- and double-column formatted CVs could be assessed by the ATS;
• Integrating simple infographics, icons, and charts across your CV won't hurt your chances during the ATS assessment.

Our checklist for the must-have information in your graphic design CV header

Right at the very top of your graphic design CV is where you'd find the header section or the space for your contact details, headline, and professional photo. Wondering how to present your the name of the city you live in and the country abbreviation as your address;

• are tailored to the role you're applying for by integrating key job skills and requirements;
• showcase what your unique value is, most often in the form of your most noteworthy accomplishment;
• select your relevant qualifications, skills, or current role to pass the Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessment.
Still not sure how to write your CV headline? Our examples below showcase best practices on creating effective headlines:

Choosing your opening statement: a graphic design CV summary or objective

At the top one third of your CV, you have the chance to make a more personable impression on recruiters by selecting between:

• Summary - or those three to five sentences that you use to show your greatest achievements. Use the CV summary if you happen to have plenty of relevant experience and wish to highlight your greatest successes;
• Objective - provides you with up to five sentences to state your professional aims and mission in the company you're applying for

The best formula for your graphic design CV experience section

The CV experience section is the space where many candidates go wrong by merely listing their work history and duties. Don't do that. Instead, use the job description to better understand what matters most for the role and integrate these keywords across your CV. Thus, you should focus on:

• showcasing your accomplishments to hint that you're results-oriented;
• highlighting your skill set by integrating job keywords, technologies, and transferrable skills in your experience bullets;
• listing your roles in reverse chronological order, starting with the latest and most senior, to hint at how you have grown your career;
• featuring metrics, in the form of percentage, numbers, etc. to make your success more tangible.

When writing each experience bullet, start with a strong, actionable verb, then follow it up with a skill, accomplishment, or metric. Use these professional examples to perfect your CV experience section:

What to add in your graphic design CV experience section with no professional experience

If you don't have the standard nine-to-five professional experience, yet are still keen on applying for the job, here's what you can do:

• List any internships, part-time roles, volunteer experience, or basically any work you've done that meets the job requirements and is in the same industry;
• Showcase any project you've done in your free time (even if you completed them with family and friends) that will hint at your experience and skill set;
• Replace the standard, CV experience section with a strengths or achievements one. This will help you spotlight your transferrable skills that apply to the role.

The CV skills' divide: between hard and soft skills

Of course, you may have read the job requirements plenty of times now, but it's key to note that there is a difference between technical and personal skills. Both are equally relevant to your job application. When writing about your skill set, ensure you've copy-pasted the precise skill from the job requirement. This would not only help you ensure you have the correct spelling, but also pass any Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessments.

• Hard skills show your technological capabilities. Or whether you'll be a good technical fit to the organisation. Ensure you've spotlighted your hard skills in various sections of your CV (e.g. skills section, projects, experience) by including the technology and what you've attained;
• Soft skills pinpoint your personality and people or communication skills, hinting at if you'll easily accomodate into the team or organisation. Quantify your soft skills in your CV achievements, strengths, summary/objective, and experience sections. Always support your soft skills with how they've helped you grow as a professional.

Further professional qualifications for your graphic design CV: education and certificates

As you're nearing the end of your graphic design CV, you may wonder what else will be relevant to the role. Recruiters are keen on understanding your academic background, as it teaches you an array of hard and soft skills. Create a dedicated education section that lists your:

• applicable higher education diplomas or ones that are at a postgraduate level;
• diploma, followed up with your higher education institution and start-graduation dates;
• extracurricular activities and honours, only if you deem that recruiters will find them impressive.

Follow a similar logic when presenting your certificates. Always select ones that will support your niche expertise and hint at what it's like to work with you. Balance both technical certification with soft skills courses to answer job requirements and company values. Wondering what the most sought out certificates are for the industry? Look no further:

Key takeaways

Write your professional graphic design CV by studying and understanding what the role expectations are. You should next:

• Focus on tailoring your content to answer specific requirements by integrating advert keywords through various CV sections;
• Balance your technical know-how with your personal skills to showcase what the unique value would be of working with you;
• Ensure your CV grammar and spelling (especially of your key information and contact details) is correct;
• Write a CV summary, if your experience is relevant, and an objective, if your career ambitions are more impressive;
• Use active language by including strong, action verbs across your experience, summary/objective, achievements sections.