Examples are illustrative. Replace names, responsibilities, tools, and results with your own verified experience.
In this guide
What to Include on a Graphic Designer CV
Summary: design specialty, industries, tools, and strongest type of work.
Experience: campaigns, brand systems, digital assets, print, product visuals, motion, or collaboration with marketing/product.
Portfolio: include one clean URL in the contact line or a dedicated portfolio section.
Skills: Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, typography, layout, brand systems, production, accessibility.
Education/certifications: design degree, bootcamp, workshops, or tool certifications.
Evidence Hiring Teams Look For
Add a skill only when your CV has evidence for it. The best ATS keywords are backed by experience bullets, projects, certifications, or tools you actually used.
Let the CV explain the work behind the portfolio
Your portfolio shows the visual result; the CV can explain the brief, audience, constraints, and your contribution. Describe whether you created the concept, extended an existing system, prepared production assets, or collaborated on a broader campaign.
Link to work you are allowed to share and make the portfolio easy to access. Do not rely on images in the CV to convey essential role or skill information. If you claim a commercial result, explain the evidence and avoid attributing an entire campaign’s performance to design alone.
Questions to answer before you write
- What was the brief and what did you personally deliver?
- Was the work original, adapted, or part of a larger team system?
- Can the reader access the portfolio without special permissions?
Before and After Bullet Examples
These fictional examples demonstrate structure. Do not copy their metrics, tools, or responsibilities unless they accurately describe your work.
Weak
Designed social media graphics.
Harvard-style
Created weekly campaign assets for Instagram, LinkedIn, and paid social, maintaining brand consistency across 80+ deliverables.
Weak
Helped with brand updates.
Harvard-style
Updated typography, color, and layout guidelines for a refreshed brand system used by marketing and sales teams.
Cover Letter Angle for graphic designers
Reference your portfolio, then connect design judgment, brand consistency, production speed, and collaboration to the employer role.
Use my graphic designer CV and this job description. Write a concise one-page Harvard-style cover letter. Emphasize supported evidence from my CV, use the employer requirements, and do not claim skills I have not provided.
Mistakes to Avoid
Making the CV overly visual and hard for ATS to parse.
Forgetting the portfolio link.
Listing tools without explaining asset types or business context.
Turn this guide into a finished Graphic Designer CV
Harvard CV Maker uses one strict Harvard-format document system. Upload your existing CV, paste notes, or build from scratch, then use AI to improve bullets, tailor to a job, and generate a matching cover letter.
