Brand Designer Resume Example
If you're hoping to start a career as a brand designer, you'll need experience in creating visual content and collaborating with UX/UI. If you want to stand out with your brand designer applications, you'll need to create a professional resume that makes a strong impression on employers. In this article, we'll explain how to write a winning resume for brand designer applications that best showcases your skills and experience.
This complete guide to a brand designer resume will equip you with the tools you need to compete in your applications. The guide will show you practical examples of how to structure your resume to show off your best and most relevant skills and career achievements. It will also show you how to tailor your resume according to the job description and your unique skill set. Continue reading to discover how to showcase your creative skills in your resume, with tips from careers experts from Jobseeker.
What to include in a brand designer resume
Although the content of a brand designer resume may differ according to your experience and seniority, the main sections will remain the same.
For junior and entry-level brand designer positions, you may be short on work experience to include in your resume. Select a resume layout that emphasizes your skills and qualifications, such as a functional format. Draw attention to your soft and transferable skills, as employers will value these highly for entry-level roles. You could also mention any internships, training or volunteer work that helps you showcase skills relevant to the position.
If you're already working as a brand designer, concentrate on proving your credentials with your work achievements. Use a reverse-chronological resume format to place work experience prominently in your resume. In your resume work experience section, outline your relevant achievements and showcase the impact you've made in your career to date. Make sure everything you include is relevant to the job description.
For senior brand designer applications, concentrate on your work experience and any accolades or achievements that prove your status as a highly experienced candidate. Use a reverse-chronological resume format with additional sections. Your senior resume will likely be more comprehensive than resumes for more junior roles. You can add extra details about your career, such as awards, publications presentations, professional memberships or certifications.
The order you present these sections can vary according to your career stage, but it's still essential to include each of the following:
Resume Header
In your brand designer resume header, list your name, email address, phone number and address or location. You can also add your LinkedIn, if you have one, to help employers better understand your work history and skills. While in some countries, you might include additional personal information or a photo, these aren't necessary. Be aware of the amount of space your resume header takes up. You don't want your contact details to take space away from the main content of your resume, so keep this section as brief as possible.
Use an email address that's professional and appropriate for professional communication. Typically this would be an email address based on your first and last name, or your initials. If necessary, you could include your profession or another unique identifier. Avoid using old email addresses that could be considered unprofessional or inappropriate. Additionally, always check your contact details before sending your resume to ensure they're up-to-date.
Scott Lopez
scott.lopez@example.com
(111) 222 33 444 55
1313 Webfoot Walk, Duckburg, CA
linkedin․com/in/scott–lopez123
Resume Summary
Next, write a short paragraph to introduce yourself. You could also call this section 'resume summary' or 'personal profile'. In two or three sentences, explain your professional background, achievements and key skills. If you choose to write a resume summary, this focuses on your career experience to date. On the other hand, a resume objective addresses your future plans and career ambitions. Furthermore, when writing your profile, focus on two or three key skills and achievements that showcase your suitability for brand designer roles.
Alternatively, you could use this section to reference your objectives and ambitions, and how this role would fit into your career journey.
A good resume summary reflects the job description and highlights some of the key skills required for brand designer roles, while leaving the reader with an impression of your unique qualities and strengths. The most effective resume summaries also provide evidence to back up the claims made in them. The graphic below showcases some good examples of what to include in your brand designer resume summary.
Results-driven Brand Designer with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Graphic Design and extensive experience as a Visual Brand Designer. Skilled in creating cohesive visual identities, developing brand guidelines, and executing strategic design solutions. Proven ability to enhance brand perception and drive engagement through innovative visual storytelling. Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite, typography, color theory, and digital media. Adept at collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver impactful design projects on time and within budget
Brand designer with some experience in art and design. Worked on creating visual things and guidelines. Tried to make brands look better and get more attention through design. Familiar with design software and concepts like color and typography. Worked with different teams to finish design projects on time and within budget
Conversely, an ineffective resume summary would include generic, unspecific information on your skills and experience, while failing to provide any useful information on what makes you a unique and interesting candidate. See above for some examples of things to avoid when writing your brand designer resume summary.
Work Experience
In the next section, list your employment history focusing on the most relevant previous roles and achievements that showcase your brand designer skills. Include any relevant jobs you've held in reverse-chronological order. Start with your current or most recent roles and work back through previous roles. For each job, list your title, the name of the company, its location and the dates you worked there.
In addition, include a few bullet points under each job, highlighting your key achievements so the hiring manager can see how they led to successful outcomes. Back up each point with evidence to show how you meet the job description.
The best resume work experience sections focus only on the most relevant previous jobs, and link each bullet point back to a skill or experience listed in the job description. It's also critical to provide evidence that shows the value you added to each role in a quantifiable way, such as project outcomes, key performance indicators or feedback from customers, colleagues or managers. There are some examples of strong resume work experience sections below.
Visual Brand Designer, January 2022 - Present
PixelCraft Studios, Mesa
- Redesigned brand identity for a global tech company, resulting in a 35% increase in brand recognition and customer engagement
- Developed cohesive visual guidelines for a multi-channel marketing campaign, boosting conversion rates by 20% across all platforms
- Led a cross-functional team to create award-winning annual reports, enhancing the company's reputation and winning industry accolades
Visual Brand Designer, January 2022 - Present
PixelCraft Studios, Mesa
- Worked on various design projects for different companies, improving overall brand presence and customer satisfaction
- Collaborated with teams to enhance marketing materials, contributing to company goals and objectives
- Assisted in developing design strategies, supporting brand consistency and recognition across multiple platforms
Above, you can see a weaker example of a resume work experience section to best avoid. Ineffective work experience sections tend to focus too much on everyday responsibilities over skills and achievements. If you use vague descriptions of activities and fail to back up your achievements with evidence, you're likely to fail to make an impact on the reader.
Portfolio and Work Samples
It's a great idea to show examples of your work, including any successful projects or campaigns you've worked on. This might include a portfolio, a website or other work samples you can share to show your brand designer skills.
Portfolios and work examples are most useful for roles in creative sectors, such as graphic design and web development. You could either include a link to your portfolio or website in your resume header, or add a separate section towards the end of your resume with links to published work. Conversely, if you work in a non-creative sector but have evidence of your work and successful projects published online in some other way, you can include links to that here.
Education
In your education section, include details of your most relevant brand designer qualifications and educational achievements.
Opportunities as a brand designer and similar roles in the sector usually require a specialist degree. If you have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design degree, be sure to mention this in your resume. You might also want to list any qualifications that highlight your digital illustration tools or graphic design software.
List your relevant qualifications in reverse-chronological order. Add the name and level of the award, the institution, its location (if this isn't obvious from the name) and your dates of study. Include bullet points to show any specialist modules you studied, awards or exceptional grades and achievements that can set you apart from other candidates. These will all contribute to creating a positive impression on employers.
Membership or leadership of any societies, clubs or causes while studying can also make a positive impression on hiring managers. Consider adding these to your education section for more insight into how you used your time as a student.
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Graphic Design, 2017 - 2020
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Hard and Soft Skills
The skills section is one of the main ways to show employers you've got the skills required for brand designer roles. Whether your skills include UI/UX design, attention to detail or any other useful skills for the role, you'll want to list them here. Once more, review the job description and pick out any key brand designer skills listed that match yours. Focus on these skills and any other key transferable skills that make you a strong candidate for the job.
How to list hard skills on your brand designer resume
Hard skills are specific skills related to the job you're applying for. They include particular abilities, technical skills and industry knowledge that relate directly to jobs as a brand designer. Furthermore, these skills are essential for a brand designer resume as they showcase your expertise in the field. Include around four or five key hard skills that are listed in the job description. These skills will help to convince the hiring manager that you're a good fit for the position.
Your resume hard skills list should reflect your unique and specific industry expertise and experience, while also fulfilling the requirements listed in the job description. See the examples below for an idea of what an effective brand designer resume hard skills list looks like.
- Graphic design software
- UI/UX design
- HTML/CSS coding
Adding soft skills to your brand designer resume
In your soft skills list, include any personal characteristics that make you a good fit for a brand designer job. Soft skills tend to be more universal than hard skills, but they're no less important. In fact, you can develop soft skills throughout your career, and they tend to be suitable for various roles and professions. Aim to include approximately five soft skills that reflect the skills listed in the job description.
An effective brand designer resume soft skills section should be targeted to include skills that reflect your personality and unique characteristics, while also matching the job description. The graphic below includes some examples of good resume soft skills.
- Creative problem solving
- Time management
- Attention to detail
Hear from experts:
On your creative resume, focus on the results of your work, such as "drove a 30% increase in client engagement through custom branding visuals" or "sold 50+ pieces in an online gallery launch." (1) Back this up with a curated portfolio that showcases these impactful pieces. (2)
Certifications and Training
Under this section, list any relevant certifications or licenses that are relevant to brand designer jobs. Add any official certifications or accreditations that increase your level of qualification and suitability for working as a brand designer. Therefore, add any necessary licenses and certifications in this section, along with valid dates so employers can see you're still qualified for the job.
Below you can find several examples of certifications for a brand designer resume:
- Adobe Certified Expert, 2022
- Certified Brand Strategist, 2022
- Google UX Certification, 2022
Optional Resume Sections
In addition to the core sections of a brand designer resume, there are several optional sections you could include to enhance your chances. Take a look at the sections below and add any that help you show how and why you're right for the job.
Personal Interests
Adding your hobbies and interests is a legitimate way of showing off your skills and personal qualities. These are particularly useful for your resume if you're short of work experience and need to showcase a particular skill or experience. Only include hobbies and interests that showcase your personality and personal qualities, and add something different to your application.
Volunteer Experience
Adding voluntary roles can be a useful way of showing relevant experience and skills for brand designer roles beyond your main employment history. List your volunteer job title, the organization you volunteered for, its location and the dates of your involvement, alongside a brief explanation of your responsibilities in the role.
References
Although it's rare to include references on a brand designer resume, some employers may ask for it. Don't add references unless they're specifically mentioned by the employer in the job advert. Add two or three professional references, and be sure to approach each referee before you include them.
Please contact me for a list of references.
Best action words for your brand designer resume
Action words can help illustrate to the hiring manager the difference you made in each of your previous jobs. Choose from the list of words below to make the best possible impression.
- Create
- Develop
- Design
- Innovate
- Collaborate
- Strategize
- Execute
- Visualize
- Implement
- Refine
If you want to create a resume that stands out from the crowd, use Jobseeker's expert-designed resume templates. You can also find cover letter templates that work to get you noticed by employers.
Example of a brand designer resume
Now we've covered the main sections to include in your brand designer resume, let's take a look at how it all comes together in the example below:
1313 Webfoot Walk, Duckburg, CA
•
scott.lopez@example.com
•
(111) 222 33 444 55
•
linkedin․com/in/scott–lopez123
Creative and detail-oriented Brand Designer with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and extensive experience as a Visual Brand Designer. Proven ability to develop and execute compelling visual identities and brand strategies that resonate with target audiences. Skilled in using design software to create cohesive and impactful brand elements across various media platforms. Strong collaborator with excellent communication skills, adept at managing multiple projects and delivering quality results on tight deadlines. Passionate about innovative design solutions and dedicated to enhancing brand recognition and engagement.
Visual Brand Designer
2020
-2022
Illuminate Creations (Madison)
- Led a rebranding project resulting in a 30% increase in brand recognition and 20% boost in website traffic
- Designed award-winning campaign visuals that elevated client engagement by 25% across social media platforms
- Developed a cohesive brand identity for a top-tier client, enhancing visual consistency and increasing customer loyalty by 15%
Graphic design software
UI/UX design
HTML/CSS coding
Creative problem solving
Time management
Attention to detail
Adobe Certified Expert
Certified Brand Strategist
English - Fluent
Spanish - B2
Do's and don'ts of a brand designer resume
- Review your resume thoroughly and correct any errors before sending it, to avoid unnecesary harm to your chances.
- Create a positive impression with a well-written resume summary or objective that highlights your key strengths for brand designer roles.
- Reference your key qualifications and educational achievements, including grades if these help you stand out from other candidates.
- Use action words that show how you've made an impact in different brand designer jobs (e.g. develop, strategize, implement).
- Keep your brand designer resume as brief as possible. Aim for one page for an entry-level role, and two pages for more senior jobs.
- Don't use jargon or acronyms that can make your brand designer resume more difficult to read.
- Don't include hobbies unless they help you prove a skill or experience that's necessary for the job.
- Don't include irrelevant work experience in your resume because it takes up valuable space and is unlikely to improve your chances of success.
- Don't use passive language - avoid phrases like 'I was tasked with' and use strong action verbs instead.
- Don't clutter your brand designer resume with too much information. Keep everything focused on showcasing your relevant skills and achievements.
How to make an ATS-friendly resume
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is just one of the tools employers and recruiters can use to streamline their hiring practices. This typically includes screening candidates by scanning and ranking their resumes based on their likely suitability for any vacancy. When drafting your brand designer resume, there are a few guidelines to follow to give you the best chance of passing the ATS screening stage and progressing with your application.
Follow these simple rules when writing your resume, to make sure it's ATS compliant:
- Adopt a traditional structure for your resume, such as a reverse-chronological format or a functional format. These are likely to be the easiest layouts for ATS software to scan.
- Use of job description keywords throughout your resume will help it rank higher in the ATS scanning stage, as it will more closely match the requirements laid out in the job description.
- Include clear headings that make it easy to identify each section of your resume. This will help any ATS software navigate your resume during the scanning process.
- Use design elements that help make your resume more readable. These might include white space, clear, professional fonts and subtle color accents to help certain elements stand out.
- Use simple, concise language to keep your resume to a maximum of one to two pages in length. This will make it easier for ATS software to read.
If you need help creating a professional resume, take a look at our expert career articles and variety of resume examples created by careers experts.
A brand designer resume FAQs
Most of the time it's not recommended to add a personal photo to your resume. While a photo can add to the visual appeal and design of the document, it can also risk introducing bias into the selection process.
The only time it's acceptable and recommended to add a photo to your resume header is when a creative role requires a certain level of personal presentation. This might be for meeting clients, appearing on camera, acting, modelling or making public appearances.
As well as writing a professional brand designer resume, you'll need a cover letter to introduce yourself and emphasize your credentials.
Check the job description to see whether a full, formal cover letter is necessary. In some situations, it might be more suitable to simply send a brief email to introduce yourself and accompany your resume.
If you decide you want to write a traditional cover letter, follow the standard letter-writing conventions around layout and structure. In the main body of the letter, write an opening paragraph to introduce yourself and explain why you're applying for the brand designer role. Your second paragraph is typically where you highlight your key relevant skills and achievements. Finally, close by expressing your enthusiasm for the role and leave a call to action to encourage the hiring manager to make contact with you.
For help creating an eye-catching cover letter that impresses recruiters and hiring managers, use Jobseeker's professional cover letter templates.
Even if you have no work experience, following a few simple tips for your brand designer resume can ensure you make a strong impression on employers. Use a functional resume format instead of the standard reverse-chronological structure. This emphasizes your skills and education over your work experience. Utilize additional sections at the end of your resume to show you've got what it takes to do the job. These include hobbies and interests, voluntary roles, certifications and internships.
Choosing a suitable typeface for your resume is a key decision, as it will help to set the tone for your resume. Go for a font that gives your resume a professional, readable look and feel, including serif or sans serif font groups. Select a font size that makes your resume easy-to-read (typically size 10 to 12). For jobs in the creative sector, sans serif fonts can often be more suitable as they evoke a contemporary, dynamic style. As such, it's worth considering a sans serif font for your brand designer resume.
The best resume format for you depends on two things. Firstly, it depends on your experience level. Secondly, it depends on the type and level of position you're applying for. For applicants without much relevant work experience, a functional resume format tends to be best. This places the emphasis on your key skills and relevant qualifications. If, however, you have experience in your chosen profession, a traditional, reverse chronological resume format might be the way to go. This showcases your relevant skills and achievements in your work experience section.
Key points for your brand designer resume
The key to a strong resume is to showcase your relevant skills and achievements through your work experience and other activities. Choose the most suitable resume format for your experience levels, and focus on tailoring your resume based on the requirements listed in the job description.
Use Jobseeker's resume templates, other tools and resources to create an application that impresses employers. Sign up today to access a wealth of valuable resume and cover letter resources. To make the best possible impression with your applications, write a cover letter with the help of Jobseeker. You can also find plenty of expert-designed cover letter examples for inspiration.
Sources:
(1) Careers for creative people, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2015/article/creative-careers.htm
(2) Occupational Outlook Handbook, Craft and Fine Arts, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-design/craft-and-fine-artists.htm
