Brand Designer Resume Template: What to Include & Full Guide

Contact Info:

Ethan Vandike
[email protected]
1 (917) 330-0044
New York, NY 10009
linkedin.com/ethanvandike

Summary Statement:

Brand Designer: Highly creative and driven Brand Designer specializing in small business branding, brand re-design, and brand cohesion across platforms. Skilled at taking client ideas and designs from concept through to marketing. Experienced in developing innovative and straightforward branding strategies that increase brand awareness, customer engagement, and sales.

Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise

• Design Concepts
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Marketplace Research
• Team Environments
• Creative Thinking
• Attention to Detail
• Client Relationships

Professional Experience:

Staten Coffee and Brews | New York, NY
Lead Brand Designer | October 2016 – Present

• Managed entire branding process for launch of new business
• Produced concepts for product look and presentation
• Worked with graphic designer on consistency of logo and label design
• Developed branding strategies and approaches
• Took brand to market and attracted immediate customer base

West Village Mercantile | New York, NY
Brand Designer | January 2015 – June 2016

• Updated product branding through store redesign
• Reworked brand brochures and catalogue
• Collaborated with owners on marketplace research
• Saw brand revenue increase 10% during contracted period

Peabody’s Emporium | New York, NY
Brand Designer | June 2012 – December 2014

• Adapted brand from exclusive online presence to physical store location
• Simplified existing branding strategy through alternate product presentation
• Compiled designs and concepts for review by owners
• Organized customer surveys to direct branding ideas and focus
• Maintained and grew customer base during branding transition

Education/Certifications

Bachelor of Arts in Marketing
The State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY,
Class of 2011

As a brand designer, you know that what your resume looks like matters.

One of the main things to remember when it comes to resume design is that simple is best. Choose an easy-to-read font like Arial or Times New Roman and go with a format that is easy to understand.

Though creative professions, like brand designers, have a little more flexibility here than other roles, your resume is not the place to show off an over-the-top format — it will stand out, but not necessarily in a good way. Leave the complicated designs for your portfolio.

Avoid big blocks of text and make sure you use white space and bulleted lists to help guide the eye (more on this topic later). Double-check to make sure your margins are aligned, and as always, remember to proofread for misaligned margins, typos, and spelling errors.

Another key point to remember is that the formatting of your resume really matters. Did you know that the average hiring manager typically only looks at a resume for six seconds? That means you need to prioritize what information will be seen first by putting everything in the correct order.

Throughout your resume, you should utilize a format called reverse chronological order, where you list your most recent, relevant experiences first and work backward through your previous roles.

So now you know that you only have six seconds to get the hiring manager’s attention and keep your resume from getting tossed to the side. How should you do it?

A resume summary is the ultimate attention-grabber. A resume summary is a short paragraph at the top of the page that shares your top attributes, skills, and experiences. This section acts as your “greatest hits” and is what will convince the hiring team to keep reading through your materials.

Your summary should only be about two or three sentences in length, so be selective about what you’re including here and choose only your most relevant experiences.

Let’s look at an example of what that looks like for brand designers:

What puts the first example in the Yes! category?

The first summary is specific and tells us about the work experiences you’ve had and the skills you’ve learned over time. It inspires confidence in your abilities as an excellent brand designer.

The second example does not inspire the same confidence because it does not really tell us anything about you. It not only uses repetitive language, but it also is in the first person, which is not typical for resume writing. It is very general and not impressive.

Once your resume summary gets the attention of the hiring manager, they will need a quick way to make sure that you are qualified enough for the position.

That’s where your key accomplishments come in.

Because your resume summary is in paragraph format, this section will take the form of a bulleted list in order to give the busy hiring team something they can quickly scan. So what should you list here?

This list should include the skills you have that would give you an advantage over the other candidates. An employer looking for a good brand designer will probably be looking for knowledge of particular software programs or other computer skills, so make sure you carefully read the job description to see what is required.

PRO TIP: Print the job listing out and highlight the key skills the employer is looking for. This will help you make sure you didn’t forget to include anything important!

Example:

• Design Concepts
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Marketplace Research
• Team Environments
• Creative Thinking
• Attention to Detail
• Client Relationships

While you’re working on this list, be sure to think about hard and soft skills, because a good brand designer will have a mix of both.

What’s the difference?

Hard skills are the technical skills that you can learn in school or on the job. They are objective and you can get better at them with practice.

Soft skills are more subjective, but just as important. You may have heard them called “people skills” because this category includes things like communication and leadership.

(Below is a helpful table of some suggested hard and soft skill ideas for brand designers to inform your skills section.)

Up next is the central section of your brand design resume, your work history.

While the first two sections of your resume get the hiring manager’s attention and show your qualifications, it’s your work experiences that show them that you are the best candidate for the job.

In the formatting section, we talked about reverse chronological order, which is going to come into play here. Because your most recent position is probably the most relevant to the job you’re applying for, you want to list it first and then work backward through your work experiences.

It’s important to keep in mind that most resumes should only be one page in length, with very few exceptions. Don’t worry if you have a long work history! You don’t need to include every job you’ve ever had — just the most relevant ones.

In three to five bullet points, describe each position using action words to start each point off. Be as specific and descriptive as you can, while still being brief. Remember, you don’t have a lot of space.

Here’s an example:

Notice how repetitive and general the No! example is. It shares some of the basic duties of brand designers, without telling us anything specific. These descriptions are not memorable in any way.

The first example uses unique bullet points, starting off with action words that share your accomplishments and abilities. It is specific and gets the point across without being overly wordy.

PRO TIP: If you have any quantifiable information, like sales data or other statistics, be sure to use it here. That kind of information makes it easy to understand the impact you had during your time at the company.

What About Bots?

Because it is so easy to find and apply for a job online, some employers will receive thousands of applications for just a few open roles. This means that it is sometimes impossible for the hiring manager to read the resume of every single applicant — even for just those six seconds we mentioned earlier!

That’s why some employers will enlist bots to help sift through the applications. These bots, a software program called Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), are programmed to look for keywords and set aside the resumes that use them for hiring managers to review.

That means in order to get through an ATS program and have your materials considered by a human, you need to be sure you’re using keywords. These keywords are usually pulled from the job description, so make sure you read the listing carefully!

You can be totally qualified for the role, but if you’re not using keywords, your resume might get tossed to the side. That’s why some applicants try to up their chances with a potential ATS by writing the descriptions of their work history in paragraph format, rather than in bullet points.

Let’s compare the two formats.

Standard Bullet Point Format:

Staten Coffee and Brews | New York, NY | Lead Brand Designer | October 2016 – October 2019

• Managed entire branding process for launch of new business
• Produced concepts for product look and presentation
• Worked with graphic designer on consistency of logo and label design
• Developed branding strategies and approaches
• Took brand to market and attracted immediate customer base

Paragraph Format:

Staten Coffee and Brews | New York, NY | Lead Brand Designer | October 2016 – October 2019

Managed the entire branding process for the launch of new business. Produced concepts for product look and presentation. Worked with a graphic designer for consistency of logo and label design. Developed branding strategies and approaches. Took brand to market and attracted immediate customer base.

As you can see, both formats are keyword-rich and would equally impress an ATS.

While they use the same number of keywords, the second example creates a big block of text, while the first example is better designed for a human reviewer. For this reason, Big Interview recommends using the bulleted list format.

Next up is your education history.

This section is formatted in a similar way to the work history section. Once again, you’re going to use reverse chronological order, listing your highest, most impressive degree first and working backward. For example, an associate’s degree would come before a high school diploma.

Be sure to share your field of study, the school you attended, and the year you completed your degree. If you graduated recently, you may also choose to include your GPA. Keep in mind that this will become increasingly less relevant to your resume the longer you are in the workforce.

Example:

Bachelor of Arts in Marketing
The State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY,
Class of 2011

If you have any other relevant certifications, feel free to include them in this section.

Example:

• Advanced Adobe Creative Suite, Weekend Course
  • The State University of New York at New Paltz
• “Leaders in Marketing,” Advanced Seminar
  • New Paltz, NY

Alternative Sections

If you have other experiences that you want to include and some extra space, feel free to add other categories to share skills that don’t necessarily fit into the other sections.

Alternative sections you could include are:

• Awards and honors
• Publications
• Noteworthy Projects
• Social Media Influence
• Speaking Engagements
• Hobbies/Interests
• Volunteer Work

What if You Have No Experience?

Contrary to what you might think, it’s totally okay to apply for a job if you have limited experience.

If you are new to the workforce or are just making a career shift, you need to start gaining experience somehow. With a little rearranging, you can still position yourself as a good candidate for the job you want.

Still kick your brand design resume off with a summary, followed by your list of key accomplishments. But instead of your work experience coming up next, switch it with your education section because it is more relevant right now.

When it comes to your relevant experiences, you might have more experience than you realize — it just might not be in the form of paid work. Think about anything you’ve done that shows your knowledge of the industry: internships, volunteer work, summer jobs, workshops, or even specific courses.

PRO TIP: Don’t forget about soft skills! A good brand designer should have a mix of hard and soft skills, so think about the experiences you’ve had that show leadership, team building, or strong communication skills.

Grab a friend

If you’ve been looking at the same document for hours and hours, it can be really easy to miss a mistake here and there. Get a friend with fresh eyes (who is also a good speller!) to read over your resume once it’s finished.

Stay on one page

Except in very rare cases, your resume should only be on one page, so be selective about what you choose to include. Converting your document to a PDF before submitting it electronically will help ensure the format won’t change once it’s downloaded.

Use strong language

Strong language, like action words, will help inspire confidence in your abilities. Your resume is a pretty short document, so don’t repeat yourself too often — it will be very noticeable!

Don’t forget the job description

The job description is crucial. Not only is it where you will find the keywords to get through an ATS, but it will also tell you everything you need to submit, like a cover letter or portfolio, in order for your application to be considered complete.

Don’t forget quantifiable information

Think about if you have any data or statistics you could include. This kind of information, when it’s easy to understand without a lot of context, can help make your abilities really clear.

Don’t forget white space

No one wants to read big blocks of text, especially busy hiring managers. Make sure you include white space and bulleted lists to help guide the eye and make the information digestible.

(Below is a handy table full of power words that brand designers can use for inspiration.)

Brand Design Resume Power Words

• Managed
• Developed
• Produced
• Strategized
• Reworked
• Compiled
• Updated
• Simplified
• Collaborated
• Maintained
• Oversaw
• Organized
• Increased
• Evaluated
• Adapted
• Initiated

Brand Design Resume Skills List

Hard skills: 

• Design concepts
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Marketplace research
• Google Calendars
• MS Office

Soft skills:

• Detail-oriented
• Client relationships
• Creative thinking
• Collaboration
• Team management

That’s it. Before we go, we have many other great resources available. Read the articles below for more information on resumes and cover letters.