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Brandon Cole
Graphic Designer
✉ camila.rosales@email.com📱 +1 555 0826📍 Portland, OR
Profile
Graphic Designer with 6 years in brand identity and social content. Work across the Adobe suite and Figma, handling six concurrent client accounts with weekly deliverables.
Skills
Illustrator
Photoshop
Figma
InDesign
Brand identity
Social media design
Education
B.A. in Graphic Design Northland University · 2018
Languages
SpanishNative
EnglishProfessional working proficiency
Professional Experience
Senior Graphic Designer
Central America Brand Studio · 2021 – Present
Develops complete brand identities — logo, palette, typography and usage guidelines — for retail and services clients.
Produces social campaign assets across six concurrent accounts with weekly deliverables.
Prepares print-ready artwork, verifying colour, bleeds and specifications with the vendor.
Presents concepts to clients and manages revision rounds through final approval.
Junior Designer
Central Print & Advertising · 2019 – 2021
Laid out printed material: brochures, catalogues and corporate stationery.
Adapted existing assets to different formats and media per client requirements.
Supported production file prep and colour proof quality control.
Certifications
Adobe Certified Professional — Illustrator, 2023
💡 Why this resume works
Real workload: six concurrent accounts with weekly deliverables.
Specific tools: Illustrator, Photoshop, Figma, InDesign — what the ATS looks for.
Full craft: concept through print-ready artwork, including vendor liaison.
No empty adjectives: no "creative and passionate".
Verifiable certification: Adobe with year.
How to write a graphic designer resume when the portfolio decides
In graphic design, the resume exists to get your portfolio opened. Nobody hires from a CV; they hire from what they see. But a poorly designed resume closes the door before the portfolio, because it is your first assessable design piece. And the most common mistake is not the layout — it is failing to explain what problem each project solved.
What the art director evaluates
The portfolio, first and foremost. Visible, working link with 6–10 selected pieces. Fewer and stronger. A twenty-piece portfolio gets judged by its weakest work.
A real specialty. Brand identity, editorial, packaging, digital/UI, motion, illustration. Unfocused generalists compete worse than specialists.
Tools with honest levels. Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Figma, After Effects. And the real level: producing independently is not the same as assisting.
Production knowledge. Print preparation, color profiles, bleed and formats, adapting across media. A design that cannot go to press is not finished.
Judgment, not just aesthetics. Explaining why you made a design decision outweighs the piece alone. It separates a designer from someone who operates software.
Mistakes that get a designer resume rejected
An overloaded resume. Trying to prove creativity through the CV usually produces an unreadable document. Restraint is a design skill.
Portfolio without context. Showing a piece without stating the client or the problem turns your work into decoration.
Software skill bars. "Photoshop 90%" means nothing and reads as filler. State years and type of use.
Broken link or a heavy PDF portfolio. If it does not open on the art director's phone, it does not get seen. Use a light web link.
Unadapted class projects. Academic exercises are recognizable. If they are all you have, present them as cases with a problem and a solution.
Keywords design ATS filters look for
Use them only where they are true for you: the filter searches for them, but the recruiter verifies them in the interview.
Want to know whether your current resume uses these keywords and whether ATS filters can read it? Analyze it free — three checks a day, no sign-up.
If you are a junior or self-taught designer
Your portfolio is everything, but it must be a portfolio of cases, not a gallery. Take three projects — even self-initiated or for a local business — and present them with problem, process and outcome. Rebranding a real local business and explaining each decision beats twenty class exercises. Specialize in something: juniors who claim to do everything compete worse. And treat your own resume as a design piece: it is the first evidence of your judgment and it will be judged as such.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a graphic designer resume with no experience?
With three well-presented cases — problem, process, outcome — even self-initiated or for a local business. Specialize in one area and treat your resume as a design piece.
Should the resume be highly creative?
It should be impeccable and readable. An overloaded CV suggests you cannot prioritize information, a core design competency.
How many pieces should the portfolio have?
Six to ten, curated. It is judged by the weakest, so remove anything below the level of your best work.
Should I include university projects?
Only if they meet the bar and are framed as cases with a problem and solution. Context-free exercises subtract.
Do I need UI and digital design skills?
Increasingly, yes — many graphic roles now include digital deliverables. If you use Figma, list it; if not, it is the tool to learn first.
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