Position your craft and brand context in the summary
Open with a short summary that states your focus—brand identity, campaign creative, packaging, editorial, social design or motion-adjacent graphics—and the industries you know, such as consumer products, SaaS marketing or nonprofit. Mention in-house versus agency experience when that distinction helps a reader place you.
Mirror language from the job description only when it matches work you have done. Listing every Adobe tool without evidence weakens trust. Point readers toward the campaigns and brand systems that best prove the skills the posting emphasizes.
Write bullets that connect creative decisions to campaign or brand impact
Strong design bullets name the brief, the deliverables and the result. Include brand guidelines shipped, campaign asset packages, production constraints and collaboration partners when they clarify difficulty. Prefer measured outcomes—engagement lift, conversion on a landing creative, production time saved or consistency scores—over vague claims that you are “creative.”
The fictional examples below illustrate wording only. They are not Make.CV performance claims and should not be copied as your own. Replace every figure with results you can walk through in a portfolio review. If you lack a clean metric, describe the brand problem you solved and how stakeholders adopted the system.
Make the portfolio and tools support the CV, not replace it
Place a working portfolio URL near your contact details and make sure linked projects match the bullets on the page. Recruiters often skim the CV first; the portfolio should deepen the story, not be the only place outcomes appear. Keep confidential work behind password pages when needed and say so clearly.
Group skills into readable categories such as brand systems, campaign production, typography and layout, and collaboration. Prioritize tools named in the posting when you have genuine experience. Saying you use Illustrator or Figma is more convincing when a bullet explains what shipped and how the team reused the assets.
Choose a clean layout and review the export
Use a readable template with standard headings so portfolio links, campaign outcomes and tools stay easy to find. Keep dates consistent and leave room for quantified bullets. Browse Make.CV templates if you want to compare layouts before writing—prioritize clarity over decorative CV chrome that can confuse ATS parsers.
Build your CV in the free maker with live preview, then download a PDF with no watermark. Check that URLs, brand names and software labels wrap cleanly. Confirm the exported text remains selectable and that portfolio links open before you submit.
Frequently asked questions
Should every bullet point to a portfolio project?
Not every bullet needs a link, but your strongest shipped work should. Match CV claims to projects a hiring manager can open during screening.
What if my best client work is under NDA?
Describe industry, deliverable type and approved outcomes without revealing restricted marks or copy. Offer a passworded case study when permitted.
Do personal or student brand projects belong on a graphic design CV?
Yes when they show relevant systems thinking, campaign craft or production quality that your employment history does not. Label them clearly and keep descriptions concise.
How is a graphic designer CV different from a UX designer CV?
Graphic design CVs emphasize brand, campaign and visual production outcomes. UX CVs emphasize research, interaction and product usability. Use both lenses only when the role truly mixes them.