Creative Industry CV Examples: 6 UK CVs for Design and Media
By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published · Updated
10 min read
A creative industry CV is a normal two page CV with three additions near the top: a portfolio link, a line naming your specialism and the clients or briefs you worked on, and a software line that matches the advert. The constraint is that the design must never hide the content, because many studios and agencies still screen with software before a person looks. Prospects puts it plainly: "while the presentation is important nothing takes precedence over the content." Below are six complete creative industry CV examples for UK jobs, from a graduate designer to an art director, checked in October 2026, with the layout and the mistakes that cost interviews. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.
You spent an evening choosing between two shades of off white for your CV. The studio opened it on a laptop with the brightness turned down, read the first third, clicked the portfolio link and never scrolled back. That is the whole audience for your colour choice, and it was in a hurry.
What a creative CV has to do in the top third
Prospects says creative CVs still have to "ensure the most important, relevant and impressive information is found in the top third of the CV." In practice that means four things before the first job title: your name and specialism, a working portfolio link, a three line profile naming the kind of work you do and one result, and your main tools. Everything below that is evidence for those four lines.
The first example is a graduate graphic designer, the most common creative CV a studio receives.
Entry level: graduate graphic designer applying to a branding studio (173 words)
MAYA OKONJO Graphic Designer | Leeds | 07700 900214 | maya.okonjo@example.com | Portfolio: mayaokonjo.design
PROFILE BA (Hons) Graphic Design graduate (First) specialising in brand identity and packaging. My final major project, a rebrand for a local food bank, was shortlisted for a regional student design award. Looking for a junior designer role in a branding studio.
SOFTWARE Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Figma, After Effects (basic)
EDUCATION BA (Hons) Graphic Design, Northgate School of Art, 2023 to 2026, First Final major project: identity, signage and donation packaging for Kirkgate Food Bank
EXPERIENCE Design Intern, Fernhill Studio, Leeds, summer 2025 (8 weeks) Built social media templates for two retail clients from their brand guidelines. Prepared print files for a 24 page event brochure and checked proofs with the printer.
Freelance Designer, 2024 to present Designed logos and menus for three independent cafés in Leeds, from brief to final files.
EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDS Degree show, Northgate School of Art, June 2026 Shortlisted, regional student design awards, 2026
INTERESTS Screen printing; running a zine with two friends.
Creative CV examples for writing and video roles
Not every creative role is visual. Copywriters, content writers and video editors work in the same agencies and get read by the same creative directors, so the CV follows the same rule: the portfolio link goes up top, and every bullet names a brief, a client type or a result.
Junior: copywriter moving from in-house content to an advertising agency (165 words)
OLIVER PRYCE Copywriter | Manchester | 07700 900385 | oliver.pryce@example.com | Portfolio: oliverpryce.co.uk
PROFILE Copywriter with two years writing for a national homeware retailer: product pages, email campaigns and in-store signage. Wrote the email series for the spring sale, which became the retailer's template for later campaigns. Looking to move into an agency writing across more than one brand.
EXPERIENCE Junior Copywriter, Hallam Home (in-house), Manchester, 2024 to present Write around 40 product descriptions a week to the brand tone of voice guide. Wrote the subject lines and body copy for a weekly email to the customer list, testing two subject lines each send with the CRM team. Wrote shelf and window copy for 60 stores with the visual merchandising team.
Content Assistant, Hallam Home, 2023 to 2024
EDUCATION BA English Literature, University of Salford, 2020 to 2023, 2:1
SKILLS Tone of voice guidelines, email copy, short form social, CMS (Shopify), basic HTML for email.
AWARDS D&AD New Blood entrant, 2023 (shortlisted brief)
Mid level: video editor for branded content and social (178 words)
PRIYA NAIR Video Editor | London | 07700 900497 | priya.nair@example.com | Showreel: priyanair.video/reel
PROFILE Video editor with five years cutting branded content, short documentaries and social edits for a production company. Edited a twelve part series for a sportswear client that ran across their social channels for a season. Fast on deadline, careful with music licensing and client notes.
SOFTWARE Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve (colour), Avid Media Composer, Frame.io
EXPERIENCE Editor, Northlight Films, London, 2022 to present Edit branded films and social cut downs for sport, food and travel clients, usually three to five projects at once. Take client notes through Frame.io and deliver revised cuts within the agreed rounds. Grade and deliver final files in every format the client's media plan needs.
Assistant Editor, Northlight Films, 2021 to 2022 Logged rushes, synced sound and built project files for two senior editors.
EDUCATION BA Film Production, Ravensbourne Arts College, 2018 to 2021
SELECTED CREDITS Twelve part social series for a sportswear brand, 2025 Short documentary on a community boxing gym, festival selection, 2024
Creative industry CV examples for digital and freelance work
Digital designers and freelancers have the hardest CVs to keep short, because they have the most projects. Pick the four or five that match the advert, name the client type when you cannot name the client, and keep a full project list on the portfolio site instead.
Mid level: UX and UI designer in a product team (162 words)
TOMAS WIERZBICKI UX/UI Designer | Bristol | 07700 900563 | tomas.w@example.com | Portfolio: tomaswdesign.com
PROFILE UX/UI designer with four years in a fintech product team, working from research to shipped screens. Redesigned the sign-up flow with the product manager and engineers, and ran the usability tests that shaped it. Looking for a senior product design role.
SOFTWARE AND METHODS Figma, FigJam, Maze, Hotjar; user interviews, usability testing, design systems, accessibility checks to WCAG 2.2
EXPERIENCE Product Designer, Brightpenny (fintech app), Bristol, 2022 to present Redesigned the sign-up and identity check flow after testing it with twelve customers; fewer users dropped out at the document upload step in the following quarter. Built and maintain the component library in Figma used by three product squads. Run a fortnightly design critique for four designers.
UI Designer, Halcyon Digital (agency), 2021 to 2022 Designed responsive websites for hospitality and education clients.
EDUCATION BSc Digital Media Design, University of the West Coast, 2018 to 2021
Mid level: freelance illustrator applying for an in-house role (156 words)
ROSIE ABERNATHY Illustrator | Glasgow | 07700 900671 | rosie@rosieabernathy.com | Portfolio: rosieabernathy.com
PROFILE Freelance illustrator with six years of editorial, picture book and packaging work for publishers, magazines and drinks brands. Illustrated two published picture books and the label range for a craft gin. Looking for an in-house illustrator role in a publishing or games studio.
SOFTWARE Procreate, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign; traditional gouache and ink
SELECTED CLIENTS AND PROJECTS Picture books: two titles for an independent children's publisher, 2023 and 2025 Editorial: monthly spot illustrations for a national lifestyle magazine, 2021 to present Packaging: six label illustrations for a Scottish craft gin range, 2024
EXPERIENCE Freelance Illustrator, self-employed, 2020 to present Take briefs from art directors, deliver roughs, final artwork and print-ready files to deadline. Manage quotes, contracts and invoices for about fifteen clients a year.
EDUCATION BA (Hons) Illustration, Clydeside School of Art, 2016 to 2020
EXHIBITIONS Group show, Glasgow illustration festival, 2024
Senior creative CV example: art director
At senior level the CV stops proving craft, because the portfolio does that, and starts proving judgement: the size of the team, the accounts you led and what the work did for the client. Keep it to two pages and let the portfolio carry the visuals.
Senior: art director at an advertising agency (164 words)
DANIEL ASANTE Art Director | London | 07700 900788 | daniel.asante@example.com | Portfolio: danielasante.work
PROFILE Art director with eleven years in integrated agencies, leading campaigns for retail, travel and charity clients across TV, outdoor and social. Led the creative on a charity fundraising campaign that the client ran for three years. Manage a team of four designers and work in a pair with a senior copywriter.
EXPERIENCE Art Director, Redbrook & Lane, London, 2020 to present Lead creative on four retail and travel accounts, from pitch to production. Pitched and won a national travel account with the copywriter and planning team in 2023. Direct photographers, illustrators and animators on shoots and edits, and approve every final asset. Hire and mentor junior designers; two have since been promoted to middleweight.
Middleweight Art Director, Cobalt Agency, 2016 to 2020 Junior Designer, Cobalt Agency, 2014 to 2016
EDUCATION BA (Hons) Graphic Communication, Southbank College of Arts, 2010 to 2013
AWARDS Shortlisted, national advertising awards, outdoor category, 2024
Creative CV layout: the sections, in order
The National Careers Service says a CV should include "a section for your contact details, an introduction, your education history, your work history and references." A creative CV keeps those and adds two blocks.
- Header: name, specialism, town, phone, email and the portfolio or showreel link. Test the link from a phone before you send.
- Profile: three lines with your specialism, the kind of clients or briefs, and one piece of work you would show first.
- Software: the tools from the advert, written the way the advert writes them.
- Experience: reverse order, two to four bullets per role, each naming a brief, a client type or a result.
- Selected projects, credits or clients: the block that does not exist on most CVs. Four or five lines, matched to the job.
- Education, awards and exhibitions: short, with your final project for graduates.
Prospects lists what else belongs there: "any awards you've won and competitions you’ve been a part of", "exhibitions you've held or taken part in" and "details of volunteering and personal projects".
Designed CV or plain CV
Prospects is honest about the risk: "Creative CVs may not be compatible with these systems due to their design or format meaning organisations will discard them before they even fall into the hands of a hiring manager." It also notes that many creative employers expect visual polish. My rule is simple. If the application goes through an online form or a jobs board, send a clean one column file with real text. If you email a studio directly, a designed PDF is fine, as long as the text can still be selected and copied. The portfolio is where you show off.
In the pile I read, the applications that got a call answered the advert point by point. Design and length were not what separated them. For more on the visual side of a CV, our guide to CV icons shows which symbols survive an applicant tracking system.
Where to go next
The Prospects graphic designer profile is blunt about what matters most: "It's vital to build up a strong portfolio of work alongside your degree to show to potential employers." Your CV points to that work; it does not replace it.
For one role in depth, see the graphic designer resume page and the graphic design resume skills guide. Senior applicants can compare the creative director resume. When the CV works and the studio calls, prepare with our creative interview questions. Every role in the field is listed under creative resume examples.
Frequently asked questions
What should a creative industry CV include?
Contact details with a portfolio or showreel link, a three line profile naming your specialism, a software line matched to the advert, reverse order experience with briefs and results, a selected projects or clients block, and education with awards and exhibitions. Keep the most important information in the top third and the whole CV to two pages.
Should a creative CV be designed or plain?
Plain enough to be read by software, designed enough to show care. Use a one column layout with real, selectable text for online forms and jobs boards. A designed PDF works when you email a studio directly. Either way the content comes first, and the portfolio is where the visual work belongs.
How long should a creative CV be in the UK?
Two pages at most, and one page is fine for graduates. Prospects advises keeping the important information in the top third. Senior people should cut early roles to a title and dates and move the full project list to their portfolio site rather than adding a third page.
Do I need a portfolio link on my CV?
Yes, for almost every design, illustration, video and writing role. Put it in the header next to your email, use a short readable address, and check it opens on a phone. Prospects' graphic designer profile calls a strong portfolio vital, and many creative employers open it before they finish reading the CV.
What are good creative CV examples for graduates?
A graduate creative CV leads with the degree, the classification and the final major project, then internships, freelance work and the degree show. The graduate graphic designer example on this page is complete: profile, software, education, two experience entries, exhibitions and interests, all on one page with a portfolio link in the header.
Related articles
- Accountancy CV Example: 6 UK Accounts CVs by Career Level
- Accounting Interview Questions and Answers: 7 Full Examples
- Activity Resume Example: 6 Samples for College Applications
- Administration CV Example: 6 Admin CVs from Entry to Senior
More articles
- Creative Interview Questions With 6 Sample Answers
- Customer Service Resume: Metrics That Are Real
- Customer Service Skills on a Resume: What to List and Prove
Looking for a worked example for your job title? Browse the resume examples by job title.