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6 Graphic Designer resume examples. Plus the keywords recruiters search for.

A graphic designer resume that shows what you've designed, for whom and how it went to print or to screen — with the Adobe, brand and production keywords art directors look for. Six full samples here: the one below, plus entry-level graphic designer, digital and social designer, production artist, senior designer / art director and freelance graphic designer.

Start from this exampleCheck my resume — free

Reviewed by Nazir Elmurodov · Updated

Color swatch cards and a tablet with hand-drawn color studies on a designer's desk
Mid-level · 6 years experience

/ The example

Graphic Designer resume example. Sample 1 of 6.

Grace Holloway

Graphic Designer

Providence, RI · grace.holloway@email.com · behance.net/gholloway

Summary

Graphic designer with 6 years in-house and at an agency, working in Adobe Creative Cloud and Figma. I design packaging, brand identity and campaign graphics that hold up from a grocery shelf to a phone screen.

Experience

Graphic Designer, Harborview Foods · Apr 2022 – Present

  • • Design packaging, labels and in-store displays for 40+ specialty food products sold in 1,200 grocery stores
  • • Led the packaging design refresh for a 9-product sauce line in Adobe Illustrator and InDesign, preparing print-ready files with dielines and Pantone color specs
  • • Wrote brand guidelines and built templates in Figma and Canva so the marketing team can make on-brand social media graphics without waiting for a designer
  • • Cut print revision rounds from 4 to 2 on average by adding a prepress checklist and attending press checks with our printer

Junior Designer, Copperline Creative · Jul 2019 – Mar 2022

  • • Designed logos, brochures, trade show graphics and digital ads for 25+ clients in healthcare, education and retail
  • • Retouched product photos in Adobe Photoshop and built email and web banners to each client's brand guidelines
  • • Created motion graphics for social ads in After Effects for 6 client campaigns

Education

B.F.A. Graphic Design, Rhode Island School of Design, 2019

Skills

Adobe Illustrator · Adobe InDesign · Adobe Photoshop · After Effects · Figma · Canva · Typography · Brand identity · Logo design · Layout design · Print production · Motion graphics

Why it works

Bullets say what was designed, how much of it and where it ended up — on shelves in 1,200 stores, in a client campaign, on press. Production details like dielines, Pantone specs and prepress show the designer can take work all the way to print, and the portfolio link is written out in plain text.

Use this as your starting point

Opens in the editor with every section filled in. Swap in your own details and download a PDF or Word file free.

Start from this example
See Grace's cover letterApplying with a cover letter? Same person, annotated.

Sample resume. Names, companies and figures are illustrative.

/ More samples

Sample graphic designer resumes. Five more, by level and specialty.

Each is a full resume you can open in the editor. Pick the one closest to where you are now.

  1. Sample 2 of 6Entry level · recent grad

    Entry-level graphic designer resume

    Jada Coleman

    Junior Graphic Designer

    Savannah, GA · jada.coleman@email.com · jadacoleman.design

    Summary

    Recent graphic design graduate with an agency internship and two years designing for a campus arts center. I make clean layouts and illustrations, and I take feedback well.

    Experience

    Design Intern, Tidewater Marketing Co. · Jun 2025 – Dec 2025

    • • Designed social posts, flyers and email headers for 6 local clients under a senior designer
    • • Created a set of 24 spot illustrations for a museum's family guide, printed in 10,000 copies
    • • Prepared files for print with correct bleed and color settings, with no reprints during the internship

    Student Graphic Designer, Campus Arts Center · Sep 2023 – May 2025

    • • Designed posters and programs for 30+ concerts, exhibits and theater productions
    • • Built a poster template system that cut turnaround from 5 days to 2

    Education & certifications

    B.F.A. Graphic Design, Savannah College of Art and Design, 2026 · Adobe Certified Professional, Graphic Design & Illustration (Illustrator)

    Skills

    Adobe Illustrator · Adobe InDesign · Adobe Photoshop · Figma · Layout design · Illustration · Social media graphics · Print preparation · Typography · Taking feedback

    Why it works

    Entry-level design resumes have to point to the portfolio and prove you can work with others. This one gives the portfolio URL, real output counts and print details, and an Adobe certification that backs up tool skills.

    Start from this example (Entry-level graphic designer)

  2. Sample 3 of 6Digital · 4 years

    Digital and social designer resume

    Chris Alvarez

    Digital Designer, Social and Web

    Miami, FL · chris.alvarez@email.com · behance.net/chrisalvarez

    Summary

    Digital designer with 4 years making social, paid ad and email creative for consumer brands. I design fast, test variations and use the results to make the next round better.

    Experience

    Digital Designer, Coral & Co. Swimwear · Feb 2023 – Present

    • • Design 30+ social and paid ad assets a week for Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest
    • • Run creative tests with the paid social team; a user-generated-style template lifted ad click-through rate 28%
    • • Designed email templates in Figma that the CRM team reuses for every campaign
    • • Edit short videos in Premiere Pro and After Effects for product launches

    Junior Digital Designer, Brightpoint Agency · Jun 2022 – Jan 2023

    • • Built web banners and landing page mockups for 12 clients, handing off specs to developers
    • • Resized and adapted campaign assets into 20+ ad formats per launch

    Education

    B.A. Graphic Design, Florida International University, 2022

    Skills

    Figma · Adobe Photoshop · After Effects · Premiere Pro · Social media design · Paid ad creative · Creative testing · Email design · Web banners · HTML and CSS basics

    Why it works

    Digital design is measured in volume and performance. The bullets show weekly output, a creative test with a result, and the platforms and video tools social teams ask for.

    Start from this example (Digital and social designer)

  3. Sample 4 of 6Print production · 8 years

    Production artist resume

    Linda Kowalski

    Senior Production Artist, Print

    Milwaukee, WI · linda.kowalski@email.com · (414) 555-0182

    Summary

    Production artist with 8 years preparing files for commercial print and large format. I catch problems before they reach the press and keep high-volume jobs on schedule.

    Experience

    Senior Production Artist, Lakefront Print & Display · Mar 2020 – Present

    • • Preflight and correct about 150 customer files a week for offset, digital and large-format presses
    • • Cut press-side file problems by 40% by building Acrobat Pro preflight profiles for each press
    • • Set up imposition and variable data printing for direct mail runs up to 250,000 pieces
    • • Manage color for brand-critical jobs, matching proofs to spot colors before sign-off

    Production Artist, Badger State Publishing · Jun 2018 – Feb 2020

    • • Built page layouts for 3 monthly magazines in InDesign using master pages and paragraph styles
    • • Retouched and color-corrected photos for print and kept the digital asset archive organized

    Education

    A.A.S. Graphic Design, Milwaukee Area Technical College, 2018

    Skills

    Adobe InDesign · Adobe Illustrator · Acrobat Pro preflight · Prepress · Imposition · Color management · Variable data printing · Large-format print · Trapping · Asset management

    Why it works

    Production roles are about accuracy and throughput, not big ideas. The sample counts files and pieces, shows errors prevented and uses the prepress terms print shops screen for.

    Start from this example (Production artist)

  4. Sample 5 of 6Art director · 11 years

    Senior designer / art director resume

    Marcus Bell

    Art Director

    Philadelphia, PA · marcus.bell@email.com · marcusbell.studio

    Summary

    Art director with 11 years in agencies and in-house teams. I lead designers, build brand systems and present ideas that win the room — and then make sure the work ships well.

    Experience

    Art Director, Schuylkill & Pine · Apr 2021 – Present

    • • Lead a team of 5 designers on brand and campaign work for healthcare, finance and education clients
    • • Directed the rebrand of a regional credit union across 40 branches, signage, web and app
    • • Developed concepts for 5 new-business pitches; the agency won 3 of them
    • • Art-directed 12 photo and video shoots, from shot lists to final selects

    Senior Graphic Designer, Fairmount Creative · Aug 2016 – Mar 2021

    • • Designed identity systems for 15 clients and wrote the brand guidelines for each
    • • Mentored 3 junior designers, 2 of whom were promoted

    Education

    B.F.A. Graphic Design, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University, 2015

    Skills

    Art direction · Brand systems · Campaign concepting · Creative leadership · Photo and video direction · Client presentations · Design critique · Adobe Creative Cloud · Figma · Brand guidelines

    Why it works

    A senior creative is hired for judgment and leadership. The bullets show team size, the scale of a rebrand, pitch wins and shoots directed, so the resume reads as someone who sets the direction, not someone who takes it.

    Start from this example (Senior designer / art director)

  5. Sample 6 of 6Self-employed · 7 years

    Freelance graphic designer resume

    Noah Fischer

    Freelance Graphic Designer

    Asheville, NC · noah@fischerstudio.com · fischerstudio.com

    Summary

    Independent designer with 7 years of brand, label and editorial work, most of it for craft beverage brands and nonprofits. I handle the design and the business side: scoping, budgets and deadlines.

    Experience

    Owner and Designer, Fischer Studio (freelance) · May 2021 – Present

    • • Designed brand identities and labels for 40+ clients, including 9 breweries and cideries
    • • About 70% of yearly revenue comes from repeat clients and referrals
    • • Lay out annual reports and donor materials for 6 nonprofits each year in InDesign
    • • Write proposals, contracts and invoices, and deliver projects on agreed budgets

    Graphic Designer, Blue Ridge Outfitters · Jul 2019 – Apr 2021

    • • Designed catalogs, in-store signage and hang tags for an outdoor gear retailer with 6 stores
    • • Drew a series of trail map illustrations that became the brand's best-selling T-shirt line

    Education

    B.A. Studio Art, Appalachian State University, 2019

    Skills

    Brand identity · Label design · Editorial layout · Illustration · Procreate · Adobe Illustrator · Adobe InDesign · Project scoping · Client management · Budgeting

    Why it works

    Freelance work reads as a real job when it is written like one: a business name, a client count, repeat business and the admin you handle. That reassures in-house employers that a freelancer can run projects on their own.

    Start from this example (Freelance graphic designer)

Sample resumes. Names, companies and figures are illustrative.

/ Summary examples

Three summary examples. Pick the one closest to you.

Two or three lines: your level, your field and one result.

  • Entry level

    Graphic design graduate with an agency internship designing social ads, flyers and a logo refresh for a local nonprofit. Comfortable in Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop and Figma.

  • Mid level

    Graphic designer with 6 years in-house and at an agency. I design packaging and brand identity for 40+ products sold in 1,200 grocery stores and cut print revision rounds from 4 to 2.

  • Senior / art director

    Senior designer who leads a team of 3, sets the visual direction for a national consumer brand and manages printers, photographers and freelance illustrators.

More for other jobs and situations (no experience, career change, senior): resume summary examples.

/ Bullet points

Bullet point examples. From duty to result.

Turn duties into results: what you did, how, and what changed.

  • Packaging

    Instead of: Designed packaging

    Write: Designed packaging and labels for 40+ specialty food products sold in 1,200 grocery stores

  • Print production

    Instead of: Prepared files for print

    Write: Prepared print-ready files with dielines and Pantone specs, and cut revision rounds from 4 to 2 with a prepress checklist

  • Brand

    Instead of: Worked on branding

    Write: Wrote brand guidelines and built Figma and Canva templates so marketing could make on-brand graphics without a designer

  • Range

    Instead of: Did design for clients

    Write: Designed logos, brochures, trade show graphics and digital ads for 25+ clients in healthcare, education and retail

  • Motion

    Instead of: Made animations

    Write: Created motion graphics for social ads in After Effects for 6 client campaigns

  • Photo editing

    Instead of: Edited photos

    Write: Retouched product photos in Photoshop and built email and web banners to client brand guidelines

/ Keywords

Keywords and skills for graphic designers.

These come up often in graphic designer job posts. Include only the ones you can back up in an interview, and use the exact wording from the post you're applying to.

  • Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • After Effects
  • Figma
  • Canva
  • Typography
  • Brand identity
  • Brand guidelines
  • Logo design
  • Packaging design
  • Layout design
  • Print production
  • Prepress
  • Motion graphics
  • Social media graphics

/ ATS tips

ATS tips for graphic designers.

  1. Keep the resume plain, put the design in the portfolio

    A heavily designed resume can scramble in an applicant tracking system. Use one clean column with good type, and let your portfolio show your range.

  2. Write out the portfolio link

    Put a short, readable URL in your contact line as plain text so it survives parsing and printing.

  3. Say what you designed and where it ran

    Packaging, signage, ads, books or digital campaigns — plus the scale, like stores, clients or campaigns — tells an art director what you've shipped.

  4. Show you can finish a job

    Dielines, color specs, prepress and press checks prove you can take a file to production, not just to a mockup.

  5. Name each app

    Recruiters search for Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, After Effects and Figma by name. "Adobe Creative Cloud" alone may not match.

How does your graphic designer resume compare?

Free ATS score, missing keywords and fixes in about 10 seconds.

Check my resume

/ Questions

Graphic Designer resume FAQ.

Writing the cover letter too? See Grace's cover letter, annotated

Should a graphic designer's resume be creative?

A little, through clear typography and spacing. Avoid multi-column layouts, text in images and skill bars, which applicant tracking systems often can't read. Save the bold work for your portfolio.

How many portfolio pieces should I show?

Usually 8 to 12 strong projects, matched to the job. Include a line on the brief, your role and the result for each, and only share client work you have permission to show.

Do I need a degree to be a graphic designer?

Many postings ask for a bachelor's degree in graphic design or a related field, but a strong portfolio and relevant experience carry a lot of weight. List any degree, certificate or course that applies.

Are Adobe certifications worth listing?

Adobe Certified Professional exams can help early in your career, especially for in-house or production roles. After a few years, your portfolio matters far more.

Should I list freelance work?

Yes. Treat it like a job with dates, name a few clients if you can, and describe the projects and results the same way you would for an employer.

Keep going

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