Graphic Designer CV Sample — Free Word & PDF Template

A designer's CV has one job: get the portfolio opened. The CV should name your tools, the kind of work you have shipped, and the link to your work. The portfolio proves the rest.

This sample is written for a designer with three years of agency experience. It keeps the profile short, puts the portfolio link at the top, and gives each role one concrete output instead of a list of software.

What a Graphic Designer CV should show

• A portfolio link near the top, written as a full URL or a short domain.
• The kind of design you do: brand identity, social, packaging, print, or UI.
• Tools you can use at a professional level, not every app you have opened.
• Deliverables and scale: campaigns, templates, products, or pages.
• Prepress or production experience, because it separates designers from decorators.
• One line on how you work with a brief or a marketing team.

Skills and keywords to include

Use the words employers search for, but only where they are true. The list below matches the sample; delete anything you cannot demonstrate in an interview or a skills test.

• Illustrator — logos, vector artwork, and print setup.
• Photoshop — retouching, compositing, and web export.
• InDesign — multi-page layouts and long documents.
• Figma — UI mockups, components, and developer handoff.
• Brand identity — logo systems, colour, and typography.
• Typography — hierarchy, spacing, and legibility.
• Prepress — bleed, resolution, CMYK, and proofing.

How to use this Graphic Designer CV sample

1. Download the Word sample and replace the designer's details and portfolio link.
2. Choose the two or three projects that best match the job you are applying for, and write one outcome for each.
3. Do not paste portfolio images into the CV. Keep the file small, link to the portfolio, and bring a PDF portfolio to the interview.
4. If you are applying through an ATS, switch to the ATS Simple template in the CV maker so the text parses cleanly.

Common mistakes to avoid

• A CV with no portfolio link, which leaves the reviewer with nothing to judge.
• Listing every Adobe app instead of the tools you use daily.
• Describing projects as creative designs without saying what was delivered.
• Embedding large images that make the PDF slow to open or fail an upload limit.
• Using unlicensed fonts in the CV and portfolio files.

CV format notes for Graphic Designer jobs

Length: one page. The portfolio carries the detail; the CV only needs to get it opened.

Tone: deliverables and production facts. Brand kit, 40 templates, print run, and prepress are stronger than creative and passionate.

Order: portfolio link, profile, experience, tools, education. The link goes above the fold, even before the profile.

File: send a PDF under 5 MB named Firstname-Lastname-Graphic-Designer.pdf, and keep the portfolio in a separate file.

Why this Graphic Designer CV sample works

• The profile points to the portfolio in the second sentence, which is what the reviewer needs.
• Each role names a deliverable and a production detail, such as print runs or prepress.
• The freelance entry is treated as real work, not filler.
• The tools list is short enough to be credible.
• The fresh layout shows personality without turning the CV into a poster.

A note on the sample: the person, employers, and results are fictional and exist to show the structure. Replace every detail with your own before sending the CV. We do not publish invented salary data, hiring statistics, or success rates.

Frequently asked questions

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