Visual Designer resume example & writing guide

A great visual designer resume should highlight your artistic abilities, technical skills, knowledge of visual design principles, and talents in project management and communication. Sounds great, but how do you make it happen? We’ve got all the answers you need to create a top-notch visual designer resume to help you land the job of your dreams.

This resume guide, along with the corresponding visual designer resume example, will cover the following topics:

• What should a visual designer resume include

• Advice on each section of your resume (summary, work history, education)

• Adding relevant key skills to your resume

• Choosing the right resume template for a visual designer

What should your visual designer resume include?   

Your visual designer resume must showcase your creativity and technical skills, such as graphic design, 3-D modeling, and project management expertise. It must also highlight your artistic direction capabilities and ability to collaborate with clients. But a good resume isn’t just a list of your talent and expertise, it’s a roadmap that gives the hiring manager a sense of your career path, including relevant achievements and areas of interest. 

Your visual designer resume should contain the following elements:

• The resume header with your contact information

• The resume summary 

• The employment history section

• The resume skills section

• The education section

How can you create a professional summary?

Your professional summary outlines your core experience, hard skills (industry-specific), and soft skills (character traits). Keep this summary direct and impactful by including approximately four key sentences. If the summary is too short, you may look inexperienced, but if it's too long, you may lose the hiring manager’s attention during the initial resume review. Your summary should touch on your design expertise, specific achievements, and your ability to collaborate effectively.

For designers, a smart thing to include after the summary is an “Areas of Expertise” list. In a bullet point list, give a brief overview of your unique skill set. This is an effective way to show off your range of technical abilities and your industry focus. 

See our adaptable visual designer resume summary below.

How should you describe your work experience as a visual designer?   

The all-important professional experience section comes next. Start with your most recent job and work backward, listing earlier roles, covering no more than 10 to 15 years of your work history. 

Focus on using action verbs at the start of each sentence, such as “transform,” “optimized,” or “conceptualized.” Highlight any specific accomplishments and positive results from successful designs to make your visual designer resume stand out. 

Under each role, use bullet points to place a spotlight on your accomplishments. Use quantifiable data to support your accomplishments, where possible, because that underscores your impact in that role. You want to show that you get results, not just checked boxes off a daily “to-do” list.

For example, maybe you have experience using AI to increase efficiency on the job. That’s something you’ll want to include!

For example:

• Facilitated the implementation of AI-supported design automation tools, which generated a 30% reduction in lead time and a 20% boost in production across the agency's multi-departmental creative team.

Along with the quantifiable data, you can also include positive outcomes of standout projects, positive feedback from clients, promotions, and so on.

Take a look at the adaptable visual designer resume employment history section below.

Include a fitting visual designer resume education and certifications section

Detail where you received your foundational knowledge of visual design in the education section. You can also include any awards and honors, such as the Dean's List. Certifications are of great interest to recruiters, so include any relevant certifications in a separate section, following your education information.

• Keep it simple. Make a “bare bones” list of degrees and certifications, with only relevant details listed under the degree like name of school, location, and degree. Only include your graduation date if it’s within the last 10 years.

• List your education in reverse order, starting with the highest degree you’ve earned. 

• List any certifications you’ve completed or are working towards, such as Adobe Certified Professional in Visual Design, or Interaction Design Foundation (IDF) Certificate. If you belong to any professional organizations, include them as well.

Which key skills are relevant for a visual designer resume?

Skills and expertise go hand-in-hand. Along with your work history, a hiring manager will be looking for specific skills to ensure you’re the right fit for the position. The trick is to make sure that your skills align with what the employer is looking for. But what’s the best way to incorporate them into your resume?

The answers can be found in the job description. Examine it closely; it will usually include all the specific skills you need to include, or related skills that align with ones you possess. Not only is this important because it shows them you can do the job, but it also helps you pass through the system because it will scan your resume for keywords and rank them by how closely they match the job description. (To learn more about conquering the ATS, check out our article Resume ATS optimization.)

Our resume templates provide a key skills list with common skills for a visual designer if you need a little prompt. But don’t limit your skills to the skills section. Incorporate them across all sections of your resume by showing how you utilized those skills on the job. For a visual designer, a few required skills might include:

• 3-D & 2-D Graphic design

• Multimedia design

• Artistic direction

• Strategic planning

• Project management

• User experience (UX)

• Data analysis

• Client success

• Motivational leadership

• Communication

• Training & development

• Cross-functional collaboration

• Adobe Creative Suite

• Sketch

• MS Office Suite

How to select the most impactful visual designer resume template

Your resume should be clean, organized, and easy to understand—after all, it should reflect who you are as a professional.

A visual designer resume should use a modern design that is straightforward and eye-catching. It’s okay to add a bit of color—after all, you’re in a creative field—but make sure you don’t go overboard. Remember, it’s a resume, not computer animation! The sample visual designer resume uses our Madrid template that has a pop of color at the top and bold section headers but is still clear, uncluttered, and professionally elegant. 

A visual designer resume should be no more than two pages, depending on your level of experience. Keep it concise and to the point. You can include a link to your portfolio in the contact information, so don’t include any thumbnails in the body of the resume. 

We’ve got a large range of resume templates to choose from in our resume builder, so you’re sure to find one that works best for you. We also have over 100 available resume examples.

Copyable visual designer resume example

Key takeaways for writing a visual designer resume

1. Your visual designer resume should showcase your creativity and technical skills requiring graphic design, 3-D modeling, and project management expertise.

2. A good resume isn’t just a list of your talent and expertise; it’s a roadmap that gives the hiring manager a sense of your career path, including relevant achievements and areas of interest.

3. Tailor your resume by including keywords from the job description in each section, like “3-D & 2-D Graphic design,” “Strategic planning,” or “Project management.”

4. Take advantage of our online resume builder to create your visual designer resume with expert-tested templates and AI-powered content.