In this lesson, we reviewed example creative CVs and assemble our own using our previously-created CVs as reference.
What is a Creative CV?
Creative CVs are precisely what their name suggests: a creative version of your curriculum vitae. They are also official documents, but instead of following the more simple, plain format style, they use effective design and eye-catching visuals to grab the attention of anyone reading. They are most often used to demonstrate skills for a role which includes elements of design, art, technology, animation, VX/FX or production, meaning they need to be designed carefully to reflect the individual as a brand. Showcasing creative skills can be hard to do without evidence of work, which is another big reason why creative CVs can be so effective, allowing an employer or business to see originality, personality and creative flair through the artistic arrangement. More often than not, these documents will also be created to reflect the job role of the person or their desired position and this can make a real difference!
Here are two examples, both creative and visually appealing, yet strikingly different from one another. Belinda has made her CV in a way that perfectly reflects her job as a florist. The beautiful flowers along the edges are eye-catching and relevant and the flowing design of the background makes you think of water and life (also reaffirming that she is a nature-loving, positive person). Even the text is consistent with the style since the curving font reminds you of vine tendrils and flora. Underneath is the CV of graphic designer, Hoang, who has chosen a much more structured format to mirror the combination of mathematics and art in his job. The text and icons are organised but still fun and interesting to look at, showcasing his skills instantaneously, and the cartoon version of himself adds another level of appeal. Finally, we can note the balance of colours and concise use of text (key information relayed without any massive paragraphs) which all mirror the way in which a graphic designer works, creating appealing visuals but maintaining their purpose and design justification throughout. As we can see, although they don’t look similar and utilise different combinations of CV elements, both examples are functional and convincing.
To further cement our understanding, we also analysed an ordinary CV alongside a creative one. I will be using my own two examples for this and looking into the key differences.
I could have found an even more stereotypical CV since the layout of this first one is a little more interesting and ‘jazzed up’. Nevertheless, the contrast between the two couldn’t be more obvious, even at a glance. The creative CV is clearly intended for an illustrative, artistic role because it presents a cartoon character (presumably an impression of the artist) daydreaming or thinking about the information in the form of a creature cloud. The background is a blotchy, purple watercolour texture and the title is curved in a way that resembles the smile of the creature, both of which show creativity. If we compare this to the normal CV, we will see none of those elements, with a basic white background and solid-colour strip, minimal use of imagery (icons, not sketches) and primarily text, methodically structured on the page. We could look even further into the details, such as the san-serif font and use of lines and barcharts in the CV versus the dark-fantasy style font and scratchy linework of the creative CV. One is clearly intended for a professional, minimal outlook whilst the other means to show imagination and individual artistry.
Based on this analysis, we can note the following design considerations which make a good creative CV:
Layout & Spacing
No matter if it is creative or not, a good CV must be easy to read so that a recruiter can quickly glance at it and get the information they need. Increasing the paragraph and line spacing and using a slightly larger font helps massively with this.
Font
In continuation to the point above, the font should be clear and decipherable, but depending on the application, either san-serif or serif can be used (serif fonts have decorative strokes whilst san-serif ones don’t).
Images, Graphics and the File
No blurry, fuzzy or pixelated photos – remember, this is a professional document! Include high-quality images and preferably vector-based graphics, although this can be altered depending on the job role and relevant style. Also, prepare for a CV to be printed: choose an A4 size, change colour management from RGB to CMYK if possible and export the document as a PDF with high DPI (Dots per inch, 150 – 300).
Inspiration
Here are some more examples that I found and saved, either because I liked certain elements or because the overall style was eye-grabbing. I scrolled through a lot of different styles and took mental notes of some of the formats that I liked, such as sketched-out icons in the interest/skills sections or overlapping imagery that interacted with some of the text boxes. Here are my favourites ~
My Creative CV
When I set out to assemble my own creative CV, I knew that I would need to have two things at hand: my CV, for reference, and a colour palette, which needs to be decided before even making a start on the layout. As always, my most trusted website for palette generation is Coolors, which is where I went to create a simple, three-colour combo for the document. I made sure to include colours I liked but also one which would balance them out and add a professional quality to the CV (charcoal).
Using this, I then drew myself in photoshop in a cute, cartoon style. I knew that I wanted to include a profile picture and creating it myself would be a fun way to showcase my drawing skills and add some more flavour to the document. When I had an outlined sketch ready, I used the pink from my palette to fill in the turtle neck and coloured in the rest of it as well. It was missing something though, even at this point, so I downloaded some flower vectors and inserted them behind, along with a circle in the lavender colour I had chosen.
Finally, I went to Canva for a quick template where, CV in hand, I filled in the information and added all of the above elements together. I changed up a significant amount from the original layout using my own accumulated knowledge. For example, I didn’t like how the text on the side didn’t line up properly and also touched the box on the right, which is something I fixed when adding in my own data. I also changed the colours and the elements that framed the document to suit my style more, arranging and automatically considering balance and variety. Whilst the graphic elements were fun though, it didn’t feel enough like a junior animator’s CV. I wanted to add some more ‘spice’ and what better way to do so than by including cute graphics? From a website that I frequently use to download matching icon packs for my Notion (flaticon), I got some cute chibi objects that reflected my key skills and added those in instead of the circular bars that were included in the template. With that, I felt that my creative CV was complete and I am immensely happy and proud of the result! I believe it reflects my personal style and dream job well and delivers the information in an aesthetic, artistic manner.