Essential Graphic Design Skills to Add to Your Resume

As you prepare to write your graphic design resume, you will need to consider the best skills to highlight your experience. Nearly all job descriptions note the technical and soft skills that interested candidates must possess, so listing essential skills will make your graphic design resume stand out. In this article, you can explore some of the best graphic design skills to add to your resume so that you can showcase your unique skills and competencies.

Essential graphic design skills to add to your resume

Here are the top graphic design skills that you should add to your resume:

Communication

Good artistry begins with excellent communication. The more clearly you can communicate, the better designer you will be. As a designer, you will be expected to communicate ideas mostly through images and text. You will also be articulating ideas to companies, employers and clients through email, phone and video. Team members who communicate effectively tend to find it a lot easier to share and sell ideas and work on a project with others. You can gain such communication skills through involvement in public speaking, participating in seminars or offering to instruct or teach. If you can include such elements on your resume, it will help prove your communication skills. 

Understanding of typography and visual style

A good knowledge of typography is mandatory for a graphic designer. You should include details on your resume such as your ability to combine letterforms and words through the use of flair and style to show that you can create content that’s both attractive and easy to read. Try to demonstrate that you are knowledgeable about how to choose fonts, create a logo, create a storyboard, represent figures in space and modify designs. 

Designing for social media

Employers are always interested in knowing how far you can go in your social media design. This extends to your social media accounts such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter and your knowledge of how to create useful design elements for such platforms. You should have a good grasp of the major platforms, the key differences that exist among them and the visual elements that each one uses. You should always include social media links to your professional or public profiles to show your design skills in this area. 

Design software competence

Skill in the use of design tools is a critical item for a graphic design resume. Be sure to mention all software programs that you have particular expertise or certifications in. Include your skills with design software such as Adobe Creative Suite, as many companies use it to produce both print and online content. You should also be able to demonstrate a basic knowledge of web design and be familiar with web design content management system platforms. You should have basic knowledge of design programming languages such as HTML, Adobe Flash and CSS. 

Marketing

As a graphic designer, you should have some background knowledge in marketing to sell your design projects and services to an employer or client. You should also know advertising and SEO concepts and how companies target and reach customers. Your knowledge of these areas will impress employers and help you channel your skills into effective designs. 

Print design

Although there has been a significant rise in online media, print media still holds great importance in graphic design. As a designer, you need to understand how to set up your digital designs for the print world. You can acquire such skills by visiting print production houses where you can gain knowledge and experience in the use of color, artwork, print processes, paper stock and finishing. 

Coding

An employer may not expect you to build a website from start to finish, as that would make you more of a web designer than a graphic designer. The more you understand about coding, however, the better you will collaborate with programmers and developers on your digital designs. Learning to code at some level can help you generate ideas that can be used easily in digital content. Coding skills are in high demand, and some employers will provide you with opportunities to learn them. 

Photography

The ability to capture still images is a valuable skill for a designer because you don’t need to rely on stock imagery. You will be able to use photography in most of your projects and get the exact shots you need. If you are going to work in a studio where you would commission other photographers, your knowledge of photography can help you better communicate with members of your team. 

Image editing

The fact that the world is becoming more visual in the age of Snapchat and Instagram has made the retouching and editing of images a more critical part of graphic design at all stages. Graphic designers primarily edit images using Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. Image editing involves everything from small-scale cleanup and cropping photos to major image manipulation. 

Expansive thinking

The ability to think expansively is a necessary skill for every designer, as it entails the way you see and relate to the world from various perspectives. You can develop this skill through constant, daily practice as opposed to formal study. Employers appreciate graphic designers who can produce novel, imaginative projects.