Graphic Design
RÉSUMÉ
CREATION
Summary Notes
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Contents
3 What is a Résumé?
4 The foundation of an effective résumé
4 Top résumé design tips
6 Choosing a colour scheme
7 Gathering the most important info
7 Introductory paragraph
8 Education
8 Skills
8 Software
8 Demo and Demo Steps
9 Conclusion
10 Bibliography
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Lesson outcomes
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
• Identify the foundation of a design résumé
• Gathering the most important information
• Designing an infographic résumé
Practical lesson outcome:
Create a résumé making use of the skills learnt in this course.
Introduction
A résumé is a document created to showcase your background, skill and achievements. Even though we can use résumés
for various reasons, it is mostly used to secure employment. As a graphic designer, you can’t have a dull looking résumé
and will need to make sure that your résumé stands out. Easier said than done because you will compete with other highly
skilled graphic designers.
In this lesson, you will learn from the best in the industry. Get the grips on what to add to your résumé to make you stand
out and also how to research for ideas. This lesson will end off with an exciting demo on creating your own infographic
résumé.
Our lesson today will kick off with identifying the foundation of an effective graphic design résumé. We want to create a
résumé that stands out from the crowd, so a solid foundation is key here.
We want your résumé to represent you best. Saying that in a stack of résumés we want your résumé to be the one that gets
picked up. How do we do this? What will make you résumé stand? Throughout this lesson we will conduct the research to
help us to create your unique design.
Ending off on a high as always, a practical demo on creating a fun infographic résumé with the help of Adobe InDesign.
Identify the foundation of a design résumé
Research is key when designing anything and the process of creating your own résumé is no different. You always start
with research. Don’t expect ideas to just fall from the sky.
What is a résumé?
A résumé is a document created to showcase your background, skill and achievements. Even though we can use résumés
for various reasons, it is mostly used to secure employment. The difference between a CV or curriculum vitae and a
résumé, is that a résumé is a summarised version of your CV and normally only one, sometimes two pages long.
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The foundation of an effective résumé
By understanding what a résumé is and when to use it, we will look at the key aspects to consider when creating your
résumé. Applying the following steps will make sure that your résumé will stand out.
Start off by keeping it as simple as possible. Less is more. Make sure there’s plenty of white space. An overstuffed résumé
is hard to read and will exhaust your viewer.
Use a summary statement instead of an objective. A résumé objective for example “Seeking a senior graphic design role in
the fintech space” tells the recruiter what you want. A summary statement, on the other hand, explains what value you can
bring to them. So, instead of saying seeking senior graphic design role, state that you are an experienced designer that
specialises in corporate design.
Accentuate your key skills, specifically for the role you are applying for. Make sure the skills you list match the
requirements for the job you’re applying to. It is crucial to read through the job description and to make sure that you have
highlighted those skills.
Put your most recent experiences first. Recruiters still prefer the traditional reverse chronological format, where you list
your current or most recent job first. It makes the process of scanning through numerous résumés a lot quicker and will
inform the recruiter or potential employer whether you are capable of doing the job.
Break it down. For each job, list out your responsibilities and accomplishments in easy-to-skim bullets, not in paragraphs,
which look denser and harder to read. Make sure you start each of these bullets with a strong action verb.
Consider adding volunteer or other experience. Listing volunteer work or other interests can add personality to your
résumé and help you seem more three-dimensional.
Quantify your experience and skills. Wherever possible, add numbers and results to your experience or skills to show the
impact you had in a role.
Lastly, stating that you will take any job whether you are overqualified or not is a big turn off for potential employers. You
seem desperate and they will wonder how long you will stay in this role until they need to start all over with the
recruitment process.
Top résumé design tips
• Use a complementary font
• Set even and generous margins
• Use consistent line spacing (leading)
• Have clear section headings
• Have sufficient white space
• Make use of clean graphics, simplistic graphics
• Stick to one page
When on the hunt for your dream job, you need your résumé on top of the pile. I would like to share with you some
creative résumé tips you can put into practice. These tips are linked to mostly graphic design but will work for a number of
different creative fields. This minimalistic résumé is super-versatile, and you can mix up with different the colours and
fonts for an even more unique look.
Things to remember when preparing your creative résumé include
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Making use of good font choices. You have learned this throughout this course, don’t have too many fonts and make sure
your fonts are legible and fits the style of your résumé.
Not only should you be generous with your margins but make sure they are evenly set and consistent.
On the topic of consistency, make sure your line spacing also known as your leading is consistent
Your topic or section headings should stand out and be easy identifiable leading the viewer’s eye through your document
Remember that white space is your friend, and it should form part of your design – you cannot have enough of it.
If you are making use f graphics, an avatar or a photo on your résumé, make sure that it fits in with your theme, is
professional and clean – this means that the graphic should not over power your résumé but rather complement your
design.
A résumé is a summarised version of a CV, so try make it only one page. If you cannot get all your information on one page,
consider summarising even more.
Did you know?
Did you know that Leonardo da Vinci is credited as the first person to use a resume in 1481. He used it the exact same
way we would use it today, in that he approached a potential employer hoping to find work. The word resume
originates from French and means summary.
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Choosing a colour scheme
Consider your colour context and make use of a colour scheme. There are various ways to get your hands on colour
schemes. A fast way to generate harmonic colours is to make use of a super-fast colour schemes generator! Create the
perfect palette or get inspired by thousands of beautiful colour schemes. By using: https://coolors.co/,
https://color.adobe.com/create or the mobile app Adobe Capture for some colour inspiration.
How do you know which colour scheme to choose?
Well, triadic colour scheme creates a vibrant résumé that is sure to draw your attention. A monochromatic résumé is more
sophisticated and might work well when applying for a corporate role. It all depends on the job at hand and doing
sufficient research on your colour schemes. Also, consider your personality and convey this message making use of
colours.
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Gathering the most important info
Throughout this lesson we will look at references of one-page resumes. Studying their layout, margins and structure to
formulate our own resume. To design a one-page creative resume layout is based on a simple grid structure with two
columns, and plenty of white space. The different sections are clearly marked out and divided from each other with
subheadings and lines.
Introductory paragraph
Infographic design details are a great way of introducing a more unique look to your résumé, while looking data-driven
and professional. This is getting a bit far ahead; we will cover all of this in our practical demo. First let’s look at what is
essential for an Introductory Paragraph.
The appropriate content for your résumé introduction is published in the job description for the position. Hence, before
writing the introduction, you should study the job description to understand the skills, knowledge, and abilities that are
essential for success on the role that you are seeking. An example of the kind of opening paragraphs we are trying to create
might be something in the line of “A highly motivated individual with proven leadership skills and 5 years of graphic design
experience is looking for the position of lead designer. Bringing exceptional coaching and interpersonal skills to inspire,
and technical and business skills to provide superior design and illustration.” As mentioned before make a statement with
the part of your résumé and link it to the specific job description you are applying for.
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Education
What’s the best way to include your education on your resume? In the education section of your resume, list the schools
you attended, the qualifications you obtained, your degree or certificate if you’re a student or a recent graduate, and any
special awards and honours you earned. You should tailor the education section of your resume to fit your circumstances,
including whether you’re still a student, and the nature of any academic achievements you’ve accrued. By including the
right information in the education section of your resume, you can impress your employer and secure an interview.
Skills
Writing a good resume is a difficult balancing act. You have to keep your resume length short and sweet, but still include
enough quality information to make an impression.
Other essential skills that companies look for in designers may include:
Problem-solving ability, effective communication, teamwork, organising skills, being creative, have attention to detail, be
responsible, have knowledge on the relevant computer software including a variety of design software.
Some other great skills employers love to see on your resume if you are looking for work are: written and verbal
communication, the ability to work independently, time and task management, organisational skills, comfort with
technology.
Speaking of technology…
Software
Most employers look for some form of qualification of computer skills when hiring candidates. If you want to demonstrate
your computer skills, you should mention them on your resume, with examples of when you used those skills. By using
your graphic design skills, you can turn a simple document or presentation into something that is more visually appealing
and engaging. Excellent knowledge of the Adobe Suite, desktop publishing, social media marketing, MS Office.
Designing an infographic résumé
In this demo we will create an infographic resume.
Once we have all our information ready, we will begin our resume layout in Adobe Indesign. How to achieve the
infographic look?
First, divide your resume layout up into a grid with two columns and four or five rows. Focus on placing one section of
‘data’ into each square of the grid, whether that is your list of awards and certificates, or your educational history.
Demo Steps:
We will start by creating our template with margins and guides in Adobe Indesign.
Placing place holder text and image holders to design our basic layout and structure.
Create a simple shape-based avatar of yourself using Adobe Indesign.
Add colours and details to your character to make it uniquely you.
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Using Illustrator we will design icons for our skills section.
We will design software icons for our résumé.
Design any design elements still needed for our infographic style résumé.
We will add all our icons into our Indesign layout template.
We will add all our information into the text boxes.
Create headings.
Add final details to our layout and export to pdf.
Conclusion
Recapping on what we’ve learned today; we looked at what a résumé is. We then moved over to a colour schemes for your
infographic style résumé. Then we discussed the information needed to create a résumé that stands out in the pile.
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Bibliography
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introduction-examples-you-can-use/#:~:text=The%20first%20section%20of%20your,that%20you%20are%20applying%20
Dewanto, B., 2020, Accessed from https://www.shutterstock.com/g/bamdewanto
Doyle, A., 2019, Accessed from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-to-include-in-the-education-section-of-a-
resume-4169507
Fabrizo, n.d., Accessed from https://coolors.co/
Fussel, G., 2020., Accessed from https://business.tutsplus.com/articles/11-creative-resume-designcv-tips-with-template-
examples-for-2019--cms-25478
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