Creative and marketing

Graphic Designer resume example

Name the brief, the audience and the result, since a resume cannot show your layouts.

Below: what to put in the summary, six sample bullets with numbers, the skills worth listing, and the mistakes that show up most. The sample resume is a fictional person.

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Sample graphic designer resume for Isabel Moreau, a fictional person, in the Editorial layout. The names, employers and numbers are invented.

What to put in the summary

Say what you design (brand, packaging, editorial, social), who for, and how you work with clients or in-house teams. Put your portfolio link in the header. Do not describe yourself as “creative”; show it through clients and outcomes.

Brand and packaging designer with six years in food and beverage, from small startups to national grocery lines. I take a brief through concepts to print-ready files and stay for the press check. Portfolio linked above.

Example summary, written for a fictional graphic designer.

Sample bullets with numbers

Mention the client type, the scale (number of products, touchpoints, print runs) and one business effect when you have it. If you cannot name a client, describe the sector.

  • Designed packaging for a 14-product snack line; sell-through at the launch grocery chain beat the buyer’s target within eight weeks.
  • Refreshed the brand identity for a regional coffee roaster, applied across 30+ touchpoints, and wrote a two-page usage guide.
  • Managed 20 concurrent print and digital jobs for three clients, delivering 96% of files by the agreed date.
  • Cut revision rounds on label projects from three to two by presenting a one-page rationale with each concept.
  • Built a template system for social posts that let the client’s team produce 50 on-brand posts a month without a designer.
  • Attended press checks for four print runs and caught a colour-profile error that would have reprinted 8,000 labels.

These numbers are invented to show the shape of a good bullet. Use your own, and leave a number out rather than guess.

Key skills to list

  • Brand identity
  • Packaging design
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Photoshop
  • Typography
  • Print production
  • Colour management
  • Client presentation
  • Figma

Software is expected. Add production knowledge (print, colour, file prep), which separates the experienced from the beginner.

Common mistakes

  1. Using a busy template with decorative graphics that make the resume hard to read or scan.
  2. Listing software with skill bars.
  3. Showing no client or sector context.
  4. Linking to a portfolio with 40 pieces of mixed quality instead of a tight selection.

A layout that suits this resume

Editorial’s serif name and generous spacing look considered without graphics, which fits a designer whose real proof is the portfolio link. See the Editorial template, or compare all 22 layouts.

Graphic Designer resume questions

Should I include my photo?

Not for most US and UK roles. Many employers prefer not to receive one. Check local practice if you are applying elsewhere.

How many portfolio pieces should I link?

Six to nine strong ones that match the job. Quality and relevance beat quantity.

Related resume examples

Write your graphic designer resume

Start from this layout, swap the sample facts for yours, and check the result against the job post before you download.

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Free to write and edit. You pay only when you download.