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Recently I wrote an article on resume/CV templates available for free, or to purchase, from all across the web. They ranged from print media, to fully fledged, CMS run pages. That’s all fine and well, and they are all fantastic templates, but what if you want to express yourself through your CV? Plenty people do, and the result is some stunning CV’s that potential employers are reading. Below I’ve round-up 40 incredible resume designs that some great designers have created for themselves from DeviantArt, in the hope that they will inspire you to create your own stunning piece of work to represent yourself.Note: This article has been updated on May 29, 2012
If you are seeking for more experience on web designer portfolios you should be interested in new roundup we just compiled.
The designer here has used fruit, and the caption “Full of Vitamin Creativity” to appeal to
A lovely background texture with a spotlight effect creates a beautiful backdrop for this resume.
The paint splash here shows the artists creative side.
This resume has been lain out beautifully with lines, and the logo merging well.
I’m not sure whats with the tilting trend, but I love it here, especially with the name centrepiece.
This resume appeals to an employers humorous side with a horror film poster theme.
A personal favourite, beautiful colours, nothing over the top, and plenty information.
This resume also takes on the arty poster persona, and it works brilliantly!
With bold, attention grabbing titles, and the use of lime green, this is an eye catcher.
This artist uses the contrast between the black and white to separate the headings, and information which works incredible well.
Swiss Style Resume Set projects a modern and trendy look & feel with a minimalist approach.
Subtle but powerful, this resume puts typography to its uses with its awesome header.
An update to a previous resume, this time with less bold headers, but equally powerful.
Clever usage of colour and outlines mixed with a different choice of typeface make this resume stand out, but maybe less readable.
The fact that is an artists resume is instantly apparent with the media images alongside the persons skills and education.
Getting personal with rabbit/squirrel gives an insight into the personality of this resume’s owner.
The avatar here alone, and the bright colours used show this persons love for colour, and art.
This resume makes use of browns and greys, and along with the logo, and title font, gives a nice old feel.
Beautiful graphics are used here to get across the information in a pleasant way whilst showing off the authors skills.
A mix of gradients and splashes here work well alongside a personal picture to sell this person’s resume.
An absolutely stunning infographic style resume which shows Steve Duncan’s life in a sort of time-line.
Easy To Use, Customisable Template for a Company Job. Very easy to use and edit, change colors and create your professional resume that looks simple, not cluttered and to the point.
A interesting usage of a train/underground map to show this persons life paths.
Getting fairly personal with this resume which shows what the user has around them.
Making use of a waiters notepad to get a job as a waiter? Very clever!
This resume gives the feel of old school ink printing for this Graphic Designer.
This black and white CV shows creative things that interest the applicant.
Another life info-graphic here, though I did find it slightly harder to follow.
The oriental nature of this resume is perfect, especially in making it look more arty.
The curly brackets, texture, and drop shadow used in this resume allow it to have some depth, making it almost look like a scrap book style resume.
The bright colour, shades of purple, and beautiful typography here work. They work incredibly well!
Very bright and cartoony. It’s certainly an attention grabber.
This is as much a piece of artwork as it is a resume. Absolutely stunning.
Easy To Use, Customisable Template for a Company Job. Very easy to use and edit, change colors and create your professional resume that looks simple, not cluttered and to the point.
A less illustrative, but equally informative info-graphic here.
Again, the use of bright colours on the time-line gives an artistic feel.
Simple and to the point, this resume puts the information down, and subtly registers the persons interest in art.
I’m unsure how practical this is, but you can’t deny its intricate beauty.
Rotation here is used to split up the text, and create easily definable sections without having to create dividers.
Very personal, this takes the approach of being cartoony and artistic, but it doesn’t offer much of a professional feel.
A purely lack and white CV that gets across all the info in a clean and precise way.
A very creative approach to a resume. Instead of a piece of paper, what about slide out cards?
The grungy texture, and flowing icons really top this resume off.
Well there you have it; 40 truly inspiring examples of how you can get across more than just your life achievements in your CV / Resume, but show off your creative, and illustrative side as well. If you know of further fantastic examples of inspiring Resume designs, then as always, get them down in the comments for us all to see!
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Matt is an 18 year old web designer from Scotland, UK. He loves creating beautiful websites across different platforms. High on his things to learn fully are Jquery and php. He is extremely excited by css3 and html5 and can't wait to see them rolled out fully. To learn more about Matt, follow him @QwibbleDesigns, or check out his portfolio.
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012 07:47
Resumes shown here are created with a wonderful ideas and i believe they will surely rock.
I would love have a resume of such kind for myself.
They really have a very creative mind and I appreciate their talent.
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 23:48
Ok, so what if you have a creative mind but don’t know how to put pen to paper? Do you think a website like this is a good thing or bad? I want a creative resume but don’t even know how to draw a stick figure.
Thursday, April 5th, 2012 23:54
Sorry, I’m with Tribune Creative and I would toss all of these. They are VERY cliche (all these designs are being done to death), they are mostly unreadable, and they are self-absorbed. If you are branding yourself with a logo, it better be the best logo you’ve ever created. In reality, resumes are simply for background information, and your portfolio or website is what will showcase your work. Keep your resume simple, and get your points across. If you can’t get simple, important points across in a readable fashion, why would I hire you to do real life work? Do NOT put a cat head, a paint splash, or bad font on there. Make it classy and professional, not “hey I just graduated from ITT”, even if you just did. MAYBE these might work for a specific company, but I can’t think of one. Don’t make one like this and use it as your primary… trust me.
Monday, February 6th, 2012 17:38
My piece of work:
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Infographic-Resume/3074793
Thursday, April 5th, 2012 23:56
Too hard to glean information from. A resume should not be an exercise in your ability to clutter a page, it should be a simple, easy to read and professional document.
Saturday, February 4th, 2012 23:33
HI, Nice post.
I did my super creative resume also, you can see it here
lukaszdesign.com/LukePawliszyn-Creative-Resume.jpg
and you can post it on your site as well
Thanks.
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012 11:36
Great look :) Nice idea to use programs’ icons.
Thursday, January 5th, 2012 13:58
Hey guys! Check out my resume and let me know what you think! Feedback welcome.
Link: msdesigns.me/resume.html
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 20:07
awesome creation…you have a very bright future…..Good Luck Friend….
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 23:09
Ok, I am a manager and get many many CV’s a week and here is my honest opinion. These CV’s are a great breath of fresh air, I get hundreds of CV’s over the Christmas period which are all pretty much exactly the same, black writing on white paper and do they stand out? No.? Do they get the job? Most of them don’t. By making their CV stand out they are already demonstrating to me that they are different from others, determined and creative. If any one of these CV’s came to me I would interview them. To the rest of you who think these CV’s are rubbish…well..you are obviously part of the majority of boring CV’s who don’t even get to the interview stage let alone get employed.
Thursday, April 5th, 2012 23:58
I’m with Tribune Creative, and most of these are rubbish.
Friday, November 4th, 2011 03:20
do you have templates for these very creative and artistic resumes?
looking forward to a prompt reply
thanks so much :)
Monday, August 15th, 2011 19:06
Garbage. All of them. If i need to tilt my head or rotate a page to read your resumé you’re going right into a garbage bin. If i print your resume in black and white and it is illegible i’m trashing it and if you have gradients in your resumé i’m going to do my best to end your bloodline.
Monday, October 17th, 2011 20:42
Says the man with a slightly tilted avatar, with over used Photoshop paint splatter brushes.
Thursday, October 20th, 2011 06:11
Clearly a creative resume wouldn’t be sent over email, so you don’t need to worry yourself about printing gradients. I love when people like you have no idea what you are talking about, very humorous! If you do not appreciate creativity then you sir are in the wrong area.
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012 00:58
He has a point though. You can be creative, but you need to cater to the possible employer. There’s a very fine line between creative to stand out, and ending up in the trash. The tilt is a very good point, one of the things you’re taught in design is to remember where you’re guiding the reader’s attention and if you’re making them tilt your head. With the right accompanying graphic/layout, a tilt is ok to some of it, but for example, the gray one with his picture and EVERYTHING was perfectly tilted the same, it almost made me feel sick trying to look at it, so I didn’t even read it. You want to make your future employer want to read it, not just look at how pretty it is. If it isn’t easy to read, they won’t read it. If they don’t know what to look at first, they won’t read it. You DO need to consider how it will look in black and white. Often times copies are made for either your interviewer, an extra copy to keep on file, for anyone else who might need to see a copy, and they aren’t going to print everything in color, that costs money.
Like I said, there’s a balance to creativity and functionality.
Monday, January 9th, 2012 15:54
Nope, Chuck Testa
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 13:39
Nice Post :) This is very useful for website designer
Friday, February 25th, 2011 06:47
Very creative design and information. Would you say this type of resume is being generally accepted or laughed at?
Friday, February 25th, 2011 12:16
Well everyone has own taste of creativity and design, IMHO they are cool and should be accepted and appreciated.
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011 21:11
Hey I work for Orange Resume, the only thing I do is create resumes for people. I have to be honest, it depends on your job. Medical professionals will most likely not be taken seriously. I created the waiter one above and I know for a fact, that resume was passed around the restaurant and landed him a job. Most companies see resumes like these as a “nice break” from looking at the plain white sheet over and over. I’m not saying the resumes get you jobs, but they get you noticed. The rest is up to the individuals experience.
Sunday, January 1st, 2012 12:22
Getting noticed is the first step. I’m struggling to get that full time job after having kids. I’m going to take pieces of these creative designs and use them to get noticed! Fabulous!
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 21:48
Nice post, but these CV are from really nice designers? i look creative a few of them.
Maybe, with a little more explain a search you could improve that post.
:)
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011 20:03
It’s funny, I designed the “waiter” resume that’s on this post. But a lot of these resumes are out of date. I see the same ones over and over on every creative resume site.
Sunday, January 9th, 2011 05:48
These resumes are great. Thought I would throw mine out there for praise, bashing or criticism. Here is a link to it :: stapleydesign.com/resume_2011.pdf
Thanks, Craig
Tuesday, December 28th, 2010 18:12
This is definitely a mix of good and bad resumes. I see a few that are not only creative, but functional. I especially like the one with the “scale of skill”; it not only tells potential hirers what you know, but how well.
There are some mediocre websites as well. A lot of them actually. Just because you know a cool graffiti type doesn’t mean you need to use it, and you don’t have to just arbitrarily use shapes and images. They need to be there for a reason that is relevant to the project. Legibility is huge in some of these. Just because you scrambled the text like an egg, doesn’t mean much, especially in an instance where you want your information to be conveyed to a potential employer.
Monday, December 13th, 2010 09:31
most of theses are beyond bad design, putting your text on a tilt doesnt make it cool, it makes it harder to read and less functional as a CV
Friday, November 26th, 2010 14:46
Some are nice designs, but the most important of a resumé is: clear and brief information. Nice post to see what to do and what not to do in a resumé ;-)
Thursday, November 18th, 2010 04:33
I’m sorry but most of these are just absolutely terrible. I mean…#23 uses comic sans. I seriously question the judgment of anyone who would call this list “inspiring.” There are maybe 3 in that list that I wouldn’t throw out right away.
Good resumés are judged on their ability to effectively and efficiently communicate pertinent information about the individual to a potential employer. This is especially important when you are applying for a design position because it’s a design position. Design is not art; it has to function. Your CV should feature subtle typography with clear hierarchy that displays your ability to create beautiful, normative layouts.
Form follows function: Design 101
Friday, November 12th, 2010 20:31
Most of these are completely impractical and ridiculous. I mean really, who the hell is going to pick up one of these pieces of shit and spin it around 360 degrees just to read someone’s work experience?
If you want your resume to show that you are a professional, choose a clean typeface and use proper formatting and grammar. If you want to come across as a naive, unemployable jackass go ahead and use these examples.
Thursday, November 11th, 2010 04:22
Often we don’t. 10-15 seconds per resume by a recruiter or large HR shop. That being said, I would love someone with the above talent to work in our communications division, but these are best for a portfolio.
These are excellent for small design firms etc. where resumes are actually read. A large firm, or a role in PR/Advertising/Corporate Design and you are most likely better off using traditional resumes and bringing a nice portfolio to your interview.
Monday, November 8th, 2010 22:28
In some countries, a photo is standard on a resume, but your point is well taken.
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Katie
Friday, August 27th, 2010 05:51
These are beautiful but some of them are just so impractical. Resumes should be easy to scan – designers can showcase their creativity in their portfolio.
pinguino
Saturday, August 28th, 2010 01:35
What? Who scans resumes? Half the time I have to enter the exact same info into every job site, recruiter site, and corporate career site. I’m not sure that anyone actually reads the resume I attach anymore.
robert
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 03:11
I agree. Don’t make me have to learn to read your resume. Keep it simple for fast scanning of pertinent data. Unless of course you’re trying to hide behind bells & whistles. They do get looked at, especially for the interview.
Ish
Monday, September 6th, 2010 19:43
Eew, number 23 is using comic sans. Note to self: Don’t hire her.
Simon Ashley
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 15:34
Wow – so much anger for a simple “I like these” post.
What it demonstrates is that design is subjective – one man’s meat etc…
As an employer what I look for is enthusiasm! If someone has gone to a lot of effort to “design” their CV (resume) what it says to me is that they are passionate about what they do. Their design skills will be refined as they work in the agency world, what they can’t learn (if they don’t have it) is enthusiasm.
I once received a CV written on a light bulb. It wasn’t very neat but I loved the idea.
All you old pro’s out there stop being such design snobs and just appreciate the effort! Remember your design skills when you were fresh from college?
Roberto
Saturday, September 4th, 2010 08:04
I think that many people are overlooking the fact that none of this resumes were made by the author of the post, he just thinks that those are good, so all the advices should go to the people doing the resumes; but I surely hope that he will listen when the time comes for him to do his own resume.
On the resumes themselves, I didn’t take the time to read all the text, just saw the designs and obviously there are some that are very good and others not so; the one with the skull made me think of a kid and I wasn’t disappointed, in the text reads that the author of that resume is an 18 year old looking for a part time job in order to save for college. So, to end this comment, a very good post that I liked.
VT
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 05:54
I found another stunning CV on the net, which is strikingly look-alike the CV of heeeeman (No 21) so I don’t known which is the original and which is the copy. Or maybe both?
Compare the two:
- http://thenextweb.com/shareables/files/2009/11/resume-infographic.jpg
- http://heeeeman.deviantart.com/art/Personal-Resume-2010-137853267
That is another risk of being creative. You may just copied it from someone else!
Jason
Saturday, September 4th, 2010 15:34
Great design work…… too bad its completely impractical. You got to figure your resume is probably going to be printed off a crummy black and white printer, or worse be sent via fax(which really destroys readability). Color, gradients, transparency, all that stuff is just going to ruin your design when the employer goes to print a copy of your resume, or requests you to fax them a copy. You most likely will not land you that job because they simply can’t read your resume. Save the fancy textures and gradient for your next poster design or website. Dont forget about functionality, simple black and white design, and clean typography
Adam T. Reis Lunde
Saturday, September 4th, 2010 00:51
Maybe I’m all old-fashioned now, but tilting the content so that it is not parallel to the page seems counter-productive. You don’t tilt your book whilst reading. Design at points needs to be subtle, but again, perhaps that is just me.
By comparison, this is my resume. http://www.adam.reislunde.com/docs/mmd.pdf and I think you’ll notice it’s much more content heavy and much less designed.
Andy
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 08:26
I hate to break it to you mate but thats a really ugly CV. If I were applying for a design company (which I’m not, I already work for one) I would at least use attractive colours and fonts.
Jules
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 09:23
Matt mate, you’re doing your job. You made all these ppl open an honest conversation about what you put up. So well done.
As for the designs…most employers won’t spend a second digging for info on a prospect’s resume. Not in this job market where there are 10 qualified ppl for every opening. In fact, I’d say not in any job market.
Granted some of these are for designated employers with specific criteria in mind and if you can definitively aim an elaborate resume design at a specific employer, go ahead, put pink polka dots all over it if that’s what will float said employer’s boat. But in general, a big part of a designer’s daily grind is spent on figuring out how to convey information that is both accessible and easy on the eyes.
Most of these fail at that although I think #16 was good except for those damn cyan dates.
kd
Saturday, September 4th, 2010 04:16
The majority of these are completely awful, especially so for designers. Sideways text, text blocks that go in all different directions, busy backgrounds, difficult to read graphs… Seriously?? Nobody wants to see this when they’re shuffling through 100′s of resumes, this is the type of shit that gets trashed. You need to be able to quickly identify key points while shifting through them. Making the human resources department squint and turn your paper all sideways just to find out what school you went to doesn’t make their lives any easier.
Graphic design is about presenting information in a very quick and easy to understand way, most of these resumes fail at that. Less is more. There are much better ways to stand out with a resume then tilt it 20degrees left.
#’s 16, 17, and 25 are fantastic, though.
08EI8HT
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 08:05
Fail! Spelling mistakes, irrelevant info, photos and bad design. Keep it simple kids and let your portfolio do the talking.
Sara
Sunday, September 19th, 2010 21:45
I would have to agree, bad spelling and irrelevance are two very good reasons not to be hired.
beadee
Friday, September 17th, 2010 05:36
they’re all stunning, however based on my experience i did something like this before in my resume but doesn’t help at all.
***employer’s would still base on your creativity test NOT on how decorative your resume is…
takyar
Sunday, September 19th, 2010 13:10
Yummy! I didn’t know you could write your resume in so many ways. Hopefully the HR department finds these acceptable!
Nate
Monday, September 13th, 2010 21:31
Why not just take a sh** on a piece of paper and mail it in?
Brook Adyn
Thursday, September 30th, 2010 03:16
Lol! What an amazing answer! I had full visual on that one
Joe
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 02:12
One consistent thing I see across all of these resumes is they’re all for entry-level and junior people. To me, all the cuteness and clever design just looks like an attempt to fill an empty page because they have no work experience and no accomplishments to list — lots of sizzle and not a lot of steak.
I’m an engineer so I have no idea what’s the standard in the design field, but I can see how having the resume be a sample of your work might be a good idea. I could also see how it could work against you if you’re applying for a design job in corporate world.
Amber
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 05:17
These are terrible examples of resumes. Most of them are too busy with terrible choices in typefaces. If I were a hiring manager and received any of these, the person would never be hired. I actually wouldn’t even read the resume, just trash it. Designers sometimes focus too much on standing out & not enough on what the item they are designing is being used for. You can see my resume online at amberjosey.com. Simple, clean & easy to read.
Waqas Alvi
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 06:34
Amber! u chk these resources at ur point of veiw but these are fantastic and really innovative. u r doing bechelor but have to be creative not immitative. graphics areever creative its ur veiw to look and thnk.
abayomi sopein
Saturday, September 11th, 2010 19:37
these are out of this world resume,highly creative and attention catching
hardly you can ignore the candidate…….good job,keep it real
njmehta
Monday, September 13th, 2010 06:59
some of these are hard to read. you need to take readablity over pretty
jaine
Monday, September 13th, 2010 23:17
some of these are nice-ish, most are terrible. just because someone uses different “fonts” or graphics on their resume doesn’t make it good.