Creative and infographic resumes: when design helps, and when it gets in the way.
A designed resume can show taste and craft, especially in creative fields. It can also hide your evidence behind charts and columns that a reader or an applicant tracking system struggles to follow. The answer depends on who is reading it.
Use a creative or infographic resume only when design is part of the job, such as graphic design or other visual roles, and when you can hand it to a person directly. For online applications, use a plain single-column version that any system can read, and link to your portfolio for the visual work. Skill bars, ratings and icons rarely add evidence.
How to decide and design
- Ask who reads it first. A person at a portfolio review, or a system that parses text? Plain wins for systems.
- Keep the evidence readable. Experience and results should still be clear text, not charts.
- Avoid skill bars and ratings. A bar that says you are 'eight-tenths' good at something tells the reader nothing.
- Prefer one column for applications. Two columns can be read out of order by some systems.
- Keep a plain version. Send the plain file to online applications and keep the designed one for in-person use.
- Let the portfolio do the showing. Link to your visual work rather than turning your resume into it.
Illustrative examples to adapt
Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.
Two-version plan
When to use: Deciding which file goes where.
Designed version: for [portfolio reviews, in-person events, direct emails to a hiring manager] Plain version: for [online applications and job boards] Both include: [same content, same dates, same results] Portfolio link: [URL]
Readable designed layout
When to use: Keeping evidence in text while adding design.
[Your name] [Title] · [email] · Portfolio: [URL] EXPERIENCE [Job title], [Employer] | [Year] to present - [Result you can prove], shown in [case study name] SKILLS [Tools in words, no rating bars]
Disclosure: TryHired makes HIRED, a paid job-search program, so we have a conflict of interest when we mention it. Every sample on this page is free to use without buying anything.
When to use a designed resume
| Situation | Designed resume? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Graphic or visual design role, in person | Yes | Design is part of the evidence. |
| Creative role, online application | Plain version | Systems may not read the design. |
| Most office, technical or healthcare roles | No | Readability matters more. |
| Career fair or networking event | Optional | A person reads it directly. |
| Infographic with charts of skills | Rarely | Charts replace evidence with decoration. |
| Two-column layout | Use with care | Can be parsed out of order. |
The same line, rewritten
Illustrative example with placeholders.
| Version | Example |
|---|---|
| Weak | A skills chart showing 'Photoshop 90%' and 'Teamwork 80%' in coloured bars. |
| Strong | Skills: [design tools you use] · Case studies: [portfolio URL] with [number] projects for [client types]. |
Why it matters: Percentage bars are decoration with no meaning. Named tools plus a link to real work give the reader something to judge.
Before you send it
- The designed version is used only where a person will read it.
- A plain single-column version exists for online applications.
- Results are in text, not charts.
- No skill bars or ratings.
- Both versions have identical facts.
- A portfolio link is included.
Mistakes to avoid
- Sending a heavily designed resume through an online application system.
- Using skill bars, ratings or charts instead of evidence.
- Letting design push results off the first page.
- Using colours or fonts that are hard to read when printed.
- Keeping different facts in the two versions.
Build yours
Questions people ask
Are creative resumes a good idea?
Do infographic resumes work with applicant tracking systems?
Is a two-column resume bad?
Should designers use a creative resume?
How this page is built
Written by Maid Dizdarevic, a career coach and 8x LinkedIn Top Voice. Advice is labelled as advice. Every sample uses a fictional person marked '(illustrative)' or a 'Your name' placeholder, and every employer, school, date and result is a bracketed placeholder for your own true details.
- What a specific employer screens for: always read the posting.
- Your results: we never invent numbers, and you should never copy a result you did not achieve.
- Outcomes: no resume, letter, profile or program can promise an interview or a job.
- TryHired editorial guidance by Maid Dizdarevic, career coach, Nov 4, 2026.