Top Graphic Design Resume Skills for 2026

Use a simple, clean format that highlights your skills and experiences. Focus on readability by using bullet points and short phrases to present your skills. Properly organize your resume into education, experience, and skills sections.

“Adding a skills section to your resume is a great way to draw the recruiter’s attention to your most relevant strengths and competencies.”

– Ashley Watkins, NCRW, NCOPE, Job Search Coach

For example, a graphic designer’s bullet points might look like this:

• Skilled in various Adobe software to create comprehensive design solutions.
• Skilled in Photoshop for image manipulation, color correction, and retouching.
• Designed engaging graphics that increased social media engagement by 30%.

Hitting all the top job requirements with your skills list will help you rank highly for a keyword search within an applicant tracking system. But don’t stop there. Add context for every skill elsewhere in your work experience. If a recruiter is excited by adobe creative in your skills section, the first thing they’ll do is skim your work experience to figure out when, how, and how much you used that skill.

As a graphic designer, you must emphasize your skills and accomplishments in the work experience section of your resume. This will make you stand out to potential employers and show them you possess the expertise they seek.

As you list your responsibilities, it’s also important to highlight your specific achievements wherever you can.

“For soft skills, it’s often more effective to demonstrate them in the context of your past work experience. Instead of merely stating “excellent team player”, you are better off saying “collaborated with a cross-functional team of 6 on a new product launch that boosted sales by 30% in one year”. Examples of specific accomplishments or business outcomes speak louder than buzzwords.”

– Ana Lokotkova, Career Coach and Advisor

Instead of saying,

“Created graphic designs for print and digital media.”

You could say,

“Designed engaging graphics that increased social media engagement by 30%.”

Using these detailed and quantified statements, you can effectively highlight your graphic design skills and achievements, making your resume more attractive to potential employers.

If you’re applying for a role requiring a broad skillset, categorize your skills.

“If you opt to include a designated skills section on your resume, include up to 10 of your core competencies. Excessive skills lists are overwhelming and sometimes confusing to the reader.”

– Kelli Hrivnak, Marketing and Tech Recruiter

For instance, someone applying for the role might benefit from segmenting their skill lists as follows:

Design and Creativity Skills:

• Creative Thinking: Excelled at generating innovative design concepts that elevated the visual appeal of various digital and print marketing materials.
• Graphic Design: Demonstrated proficiency in creating compelling visual content for diverse marketing campaigns.
• Creative Design: Excelled in creative design principles to create unique and visually stimulating designs.

Technical Proficiency Skills:

• Adobe Suite: Demonstrated expertise in Adobe software, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, for creating high-quality visuals and comprehensive design solutions.
• Adobe Creative Cloud: Proficient in utilizing Adobe Creative Cloud tools to deliver comprehensive design and editing tasks.
• Indesign: Proficient in Adobe InDesign for crafting engaging layouts for various print and digital media.

Marketing and Branding Skills:

• Marketing: Effectively incorporated design principles to create visually stimulating marketing collateral that increased brand awareness.
• Branding: Expertise in designing and maintaining a consistent visual identity, effectively enhancing brand recognition across various marketing platforms.

Typography Skills:

• Typography: Applied a keen understanding of typography to improve the design’s readability and aesthetic appeal, enhancing overall user engagement.

Communication and Teamwork Skills:

• Collaboration: Effectively collaborated with cross-functional teams to ensure design alignment with overall marketing strategy.
• Presentation: Demonstrated strong communication skills in presenting design ideas and receiving feedback.

Please note that while the skills are largely the same, the way they’re categorized and presented can make a significant difference in how they’re perceived by potential employers.

This method of categorizing skills allows potential employers to understand your diverse expertise quickly and makes your resume more readable.

Use numbers to quantify your achievements wherever possible. This helps potential employers understand your abilities and the impact you can have on their organization.

“Recruiters and hiring managers are looking for relevancy of how and when you applied those skills, so provide examples of this in your experience section. Bonus tip: Don’t just insert the skill like a task–include results.”

– Kelli Hrivnak, Marketing and Tech Recruiter

Instead of saying,

“Created engaging visuals.”

You could say,

“Used creative design principles to create engaging visuals that increased web traffic by 20%.”

Using numbers gives hiring managers a better sense of your value and demonstrates your expertise in graphic design.

Quantifying your achievements makes your resume more compelling and effectively communicates the impact you can have on a potential employer’s organization.

Read the description carefully and emphasize the relevant skills and experiences. Highlight the skills that the employer seeks and provide examples of how you’ve used those skills in your previous roles. Doing so can demonstrate that you’re a strong fit for the position and increase your chances of being invited to an interview.

“The ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach doesn’t work when it comes to your resume. For every job application, tailor your skill set to match the job description. Most companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that filter candidates based on keywords and skills listed in the job description. So, research the role you’re applying for and distill the skills required.”

– Ana Lokotkova, Career Coach and Advisor

In order to do this, “you must first understand what skills are most important for the target role,” says Ashley Watkins.

Job Title: Graphic Designer at a Digital Marketing Company

Requirements:

Experience with digital design projects, ability to work independently, and skill in various Adobe software.

Tailored Resume Description:

• Successfully managed and independently executed a diverse range of digital design projects for a leading marketing agency, resulting in a 20% increase in client satisfaction.
• Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Utilized these tools to create high-impact visual content, improving engagement by 30% across all digital platforms.
• Worked autonomously on multiple projects concurrently, maintaining high-quality standards and meeting all deadlines.

“Focus on the sought-after and in demand skills. A great way to figure out what is currently in demand is by researching current job openings from your preferred companies and reading through the posting. Pay close attention to the preferred requirements section and build your skills section based on this list.”

– Chelsea Jay, Career & Leadership Development Coach – Seasoned and Growing

By tailoring your resume in this way, you can demonstrate that you have the specific skills and experiences the employer is looking for, thus increasing your chances of getting an interview.

Start each bullet point with an action verb. An action verb expresses an action, such as “create,” “build,” “manage,” “lead,” or “implement.”

Action verbs grab the reader’s attention and paint a vivid picture of what you accomplished at work.

Action verbs make your resume more interesting to read. They also show the kind of can-do attitude that employers are looking for.