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Creative and design · Mid level · US conventions

Graphic designer: resume example, explained

This fictional example shows a graphic designer with five years of agency and in-house experience applying for a mid-level brand designer role: the portfolio link sits in the header, brand systems and production work are described as briefs delivered with scale and outcome, and the layout stays plain enough for an applicant tracking system to read. Each decision is explained, three weak bullets are rewritten from the evidence behind them, and the editable download lets you replace every detail with your own. Nothing here describes a real person, employer or brand.

Illustrative example. An illustrative, invented graphic designer with five years' experience, two at a small fictional agency and three in-house at a fictional outdoor-equipment retailer, applying for a mid-level brand designer post at a fictional regional credit union. Every employer, client, date and figure is fictional.

Editable version of this example (.docx)

The example document

Priya Castellanos

Graphic Designer · Brand systems, print and digital production

Denver, Colorado · 555-0142 · priya.castellanos@example.com · Portfolio: example.com/priya-castellanos

Profile

Graphic designer with five years across a small agency and an in-house marketing team, currently the sole designer for a 40-store outdoor-equipment retailer. Maintains the brand system and template library, delivers around 30 briefs a month across print, email, web and in-store, and prepares print-ready artwork for catalogs and signage. Seeking a mid-level brand role with a larger team and a design review process.

Experience

Graphic Designer (in-house) — Fictional Ridgeline Outfitters (outdoor-equipment retailer)

March 2023 – present · Marketing team of six; sole designer serving 40 stores and an online shop.

  • Deliver around 30 design briefs a month through a shared request queue, from email headers and web banners to in-store signage and a 48-page seasonal catalog, logging the brief, deadline and approver for each.
  • Rebuilt the brand guidelines into a 36-page system covering logo use, color, type, photography and layout grids, and built 24 editable templates so store managers can produce local posters without a designer.
  • Prepare print-ready artwork for two catalogs a year and quarterly signage runs (CMYK conversion, bleed and crop marks, preflight before release), with no reprints caused by artwork errors in two years.
  • Check every digital design against the WCAG AA contrast minimum of 4.5:1 for body text and added an alt-text field to the email template, so every marketing email ships with image descriptions.
  • Art-direct two product photo shoots a year with a freelance photographer, writing the shot list from the catalog plan.

Junior Graphic Designer — Fictional Copperline Creative (brand and print agency)

June 2021 – March 2023 · Eight-person agency serving local businesses and nonprofits.

  • Produced logo, stationery and packaging artwork for around 20 small-business clients a year under a senior designer, presenting two concept routes per brief and preparing final print files.
  • Set up the agency's file-naming and version convention after a wrong-version print job; adopted across every client folder.

Education

  • BFA Graphic Design, Fictional State University, 2021
  • Short course: Accessible design for digital products, 2024

Portfolio

  • example.com/priya-castellanos: six case studies, each stating the brief, my role, the constraints and what happened next

Skills

Brand systems and guideline documentation · Print production: CMYK, bleed, preflight, press-ready PDF · Email and web asset production to template · Typography and layout grids · Accessible design (WCAG AA contrast, alt text) · Industry-standard design and layout software; basic motion for social

Bullet rewrites, and the evidence behind them

Each rewrite was produced by asking an evidence question and using only the (fictional) answer. No number appears in a rewrite that is not in its evidence.

  1. Before

    Designed marketing materials for print and digital.

    Evidence question

    How many briefs, what range of formats, and how was the work managed?

    Evidence (fictional)

    Around 30 briefs a month through a shared request queue; formats from email headers and web banners to in-store signage and a 48-page seasonal catalog; brief, deadline and approver logged for each.

    After

    Deliver around 30 design briefs a month through a shared request queue, from email headers and web banners to in-store signage and a 48-page seasonal catalog, logging the brief, deadline and approver for each.

  2. Before

    Maintained brand guidelines.

    Evidence question

    What did you change, how big is the system now, and who uses it?

    Evidence (fictional)

    Rebuilt the guidelines into a 36-page system covering logo use, color, type, photography and layout grids; built 24 editable templates that store managers use to make local posters without a designer.

    After

    Rebuilt the brand guidelines into a 36-page system covering logo use, color, type, photography and layout grids, and built 24 editable templates so store managers can produce local posters without a designer.

  3. Before

    Prepared files for print.

    Evidence question

    Which jobs, which checks, and what is the error record?

    Evidence (fictional)

    Two catalogs a year and quarterly signage runs; CMYK conversion, bleed and crop marks, preflight before release to the printer; no reprints caused by artwork errors in two years.

    After

    Prepare print-ready artwork for two catalogs a year and quarterly signage runs (CMYK conversion, bleed and crop marks, preflight before release), with no reprints caused by artwork errors in two years.

Try it on your own bullets with the bullet workbench, which asks the same questions and never adds a figure you did not supply.

Transferable skills in this example

  • Working to a brand system and a brief

    Evidence: Around 30 briefs a month inside guidelines she maintains herself.

    Where it helps: Marketing coordination, content production and brand management, and any job that turns requests into finished work to a standard.

  • Production accuracy under deadline

    Evidence: Preflight checks on catalogs and signage; no artwork-caused reprints in two years.

    Where it helps: Print buying, production management, publishing and operations roles where errors are expensive.

  • Building templates for non-specialists

    Evidence: 24 templates that let store managers produce posters without a designer.

    Where it helps: Internal communications, training materials, marketing operations and design-system work.

  • Accessible communication

    Evidence: WCAG AA contrast checks and alt text built into the email template.

    Where it helps: Digital marketing, UX and content roles, and public-sector communications where accessibility is required.

Occupation notes

Hard requirements

  • The portfolio is the de facto hard requirement. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook says candidates should have a portfolio that demonstrates creativity and originality, and that employers rely on portfolios in making hiring decisions; put a working, login-free link in the header and state your role in every case study.
  • The Handbook lists no license or registration for graphic designers; its licensing section mentions only certification programs offered by software vendors. It gives a bachelor's degree in graphic design or a related fine arts field as the typical education, with technical training as a route for graduates of other fields.
  • The US Form I-9 employment-eligibility check follows an accepted offer; identity documents do not belong on the resume. If a posting asks about sponsorship, answer on the application form.

Vocabulary that belongs on the page

  • Brief, creative brief, request queue (how work arrives and is prioritized)
  • Brand guidelines, brand system, visual identity
  • Print-ready artwork, press-ready PDF, preflight
  • CMYK and RGB color modes, color profile, bleed and crop marks
  • Typography: hierarchy, layout grid, typesetting
  • Mock-up, comp, concept route (early presentation of options)
  • Vector and raster artwork, export presets for web and social

Pitfalls specific to this occupation

  • A designed resume whose layout breaks parsing: two columns, a sidebar, icons in place of contact labels, skills as bars or percentages. Applicant tracking systems often read columns out of order and skip text inside graphics, so contact details or job titles can vanish; run the text through /tools/parser-preview and keep the expressive layout for the portfolio.
  • Software with proficiency ratings. A row of logos or a '90%' bar beside a tool name says nothing measurable; name software through the work it was used for, or in one plain skills line.
  • Presenting agency team work as entirely your own. State your role on each project (concepts, production, art direction) so the portfolio and resume agree when a creative director asks.
  • A portfolio link that needs a login or has expired. Test it from a device that is not signed in before every application.

UK and US differences

  • UK: For UK applications, follow the advert's wording and requested portfolio format. If it asks for a CV and a short PDF portfolio, send both; use British spelling (colour, organise) consistently.
  • US: Agencies look for client range, concept work and speed; in-house teams look for brand consistency, production reliability and templates others can use. Lead with whichever the posting emphasizes.

US occupation: Graphic Designers (O*NET code 27-1024.00, O*NET 31.0 Database (O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy)). O*NET 31.0 Database code and title are used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration; Luceria paraphrases independently and is not endorsed by O*NET. Identifies the US occupation for readers and search engines; the example's content is Luceria's own and is not derived from O*NET descriptions. Licence.

Common questions

Where should the portfolio link go on a graphic designer resume?

In the header next to your email, written out in full so it survives printing and parsing, and repeated in a short portfolio section that says how many case studies there are and what each states. Check that it opens without a login.

Do I need a degree for a mid-level graphic designer job in the US?

The Occupational Outlook Handbook lists a bachelor's degree in graphic design or a related fine arts field as the typical entry education, with technical training as a route for graduates of other fields. Postings vary, and employers rely on portfolios, so the work shown and the production record behind it carry a mid-level application.

Sources

Keep going

Published 6 November 2026 · Updated 7 November 2026 · Every person, employer and figure in this example is fictional. Drafted with AI assistance and checked against Luceria’s editorial standards.