CV Example for a Designer

Design hiring starts with the portfolio, then how well you explain a design decision and its effect on users.

Skills employers screen for

• Building complete visual identities
• Adobe Creative Suite proficiency
• UI and UX design
• Preparing files for print and digital
• Building clickable prototypes
• Managing feedback and iteration
• Partnering with marketing and engineering

Keywords an ATS would look for

• brand identity
• user experience
• interface design
• Adobe Creative Suite
• prototyping
• print design

CV section order

1. Summary with design discipline
2. Portfolio link
3. Projects and user impact
4. Creative and technical skills
5. Degree and training

Designer resume example

Designer — brand identity and product interfaces

Designer working across brand identity and interface design, from initial research to handing a design system to engineers. I build consistent component libraries and test designs with users before development.

Senior Designer — Northwind Digital Products — San Francisco, CA | 2022 – Present

• Built a 96-component design system used by 5 teams, cutting screen design time 35%.
• Redesigned the sign-up journey and raised completion from 58% to 79%.
• Ran 7 usability tests with 42 participants and turned the findings into 31 shipped changes.

Graphic & Brand Designer — Studio Meridian — Chicago, IL | 2019 – 2022

• Designed 18 complete visual identities, from logo through usage guidelines, for local brands.
• Unified a public body's marketing collateral into 24 approved templates, saving 40% of production time.
• Led a corporate site redesign that increased time on page by 26%.

Education: BFA Graphic Design — School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2019

Core skills: Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, design systems, interface design, brand identity, usability testing

Ready templates that suit this profession

• Creative — A designer is judged on visual judgement first — this layout shows it without losing legibility. Use this template
• Minimal — It foregrounds content and leaves attention for the attached visual portfolio, a studio favourite. Use this template
• Modern — Suits product companies that read CVs quickly on screen. Use this template

Tools that help in this profession

• Portfolio Builder — Show projects with your role and process, which is the first thing a design lead asks about.
• CV Infographic Generator — Present numbers and skills visually without overloading the CV.
• Readability Analyzer — Confirm the text stays readable and formatting is not standing in for substance.

Frequently asked questions

How should I structure a portfolio?

For each project: the problem, your role in detail, the design decision, and the outcome. Four to six deep projects beat twenty screenshots, because a design lead is looking for your reasoning, not your volume.

How does a graphic design CV differ from a UI design CV?

Graphic designers foreground identity, print and collateral; UI designers foreground journeys, components and user testing. If you do both, pick one headline and lead with the matching projects.

Should a designer CV include numbers?

Yes — they are what separate you. Completion rate before and after, design time saved by the library, component count in the design system. Beautiful work alone is a weak argument; beautiful work with impact persuades.