Graphic Design Cover Letter Examples (+ 2023 Guide)

You know how to stand out in a crowd. How to captivate with design. But do you know how what capitvates hiring managers to pick up the phone?

Below, you’ll find a graphic design cover letter that speaks volumes to project managers and hiring people—a letter that shows that you know what really matters—budgets, results, turnarounds, deadlines, and happy clients.

This guide will take you through writing a top-notch graphic design cover letter that will set your application apart. You'll also get expert graphic designer cover letter examples to let your creativity flow. 

Use the LiveCareer cover letter builder and your cover letter will write itself. Choose a professional template, answer a few easy questions and the creator will generate a professional cover letter for you with just one click.

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 Need a different cover letter? Check these samples:

• Administrative Assistant Cover Letter
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• Internship Cover Letter Example
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• PhD Cover Letter Example
• Project Manager Cover Letter Example
• Retail Cover Letter Example
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Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our cover letter samples.

Graphic Design Cover Letter Example

This is a rough stock file for a graphic design cover letter. Follow the steps below to craft your own. Here's how to structure a cover letter: 

1. Start your graphic design cover letter with a proper header and salutation

Most CVs sent to these jobs will have an artistic twist to them, some of which will impress with clever, simple and efficient design—others over-complicated and destined only to be the object of ponderment of a baffled project manager.

The portfolios will also speak for themselves. The work within, and the way you structure it both speak volumes about you. However, that’s all subjective. Let’s not complicate the graphic design cover letter (also called a motivation letter). Use a simple template, follow the business letter format and include objective results, and you’re sure to get to interview.

Your contact details should be aligned to the right. Don’t forget your portfolio links, such as Behance or your website. The hiring person’s details should be aligned to the left below (if you don’t know them, you can use ‘Dear Hiring Manager’). Include a date, the subject (the position you’re applying for) and start your cover letter with a first-name salutation.

Check against the graphic design cover letter example:

Graphic designer cover letter examples—header

You can adjust every cover letter created in the builder to meet the job requirements. Choose the name of your profession and the company to which you’re applying, and the LiveCareer cover letter builder will automatically adapt the content for you. Create a cover letter faster than you ever thought possible and apply for the job in record time.

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2. Make a strong opening for your graphic design cover letter

Any project manager worth their salt will tell you the same thing. It doesn’t matter if you like it. It doesn’t matter if I like it. It only matters that the client is happy. It is imperative that their requests are fulfilled, and it is within their time and money expectation.

This is why your cover letter should include data-driven points to illustrate the volume, rate and speed at which you can complete work, and what results have you historically contributed to with your design. In a general cover letter, this approach is particularly crucial to stand out among other applicants.

Right away, state your experience (years and value of projects being good metrics), and demonstrate that you can handle their most important priority. Scour the job ad to determine what that is, and display evidence that you can handle it with ease.

This opener should end up between 40 and 80 words.

Graphic design cover letter examples—opening example

3. Show experience in the second paragraph of your graphic designer cover letter

Don’t lose your reader by discussing your influences, preferences, likes, dislikes, opinions or style. These are all interview-stage topics that will help you and the employer both work out whether you’re right for each other.

For now, you’re trying to get there. The best way to do that is to focus on the results, not the substance of your work. What impact or contribution did you make to your company’s or client’s progress with your work? This is particularly important in a speculative cover letter, where you need to capture the employer's interest without a specific job listing to guide you.

Focusing on this is the best way of allowing the prospective employer to imagine how you will slot into their team and what kind of results you will produce. The word count should end up somewhere between 120 and 200 words.

Graphic design cover letter examples—main paragraph

You don’t have to create any content yourself. The LiveCareer cover letter generator will automatically suggest the best content for your cover letter with ready-made examples and expert tips.

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4. End your graphic design cover letter with a call to action

Add another short paragraph for typing loose ends and summing up how your experience will—not can—benefit your new employer. Use 60-80 words to make your final argument for your suitability.

Ask for a call or a meeting to discuss an achievement or your portfolio, and close your cover letter formally, with ‘Best regards’.

Graphic design cover letter examples—closing

5. Use a standard graphic designer cover letter format

The cover letter needs to be a certain length, so you’re limited in the artistic spin you could put on this document—save that for the CV and portfolio if you must. To convey the maximum amount of information, follow the classic cover letter format. 

Graphic design cover letter length rules

Your cover letter should be short and consist of: 

• 200 — 350 words total
• Strictly limited to 1 page of A4
• 1st paragraph—40-80 words
• 2nd paragraph—120-200 words
• Closing paragraph—60-80 words

Match the CV format

Make sure your fonts and general style of your graphic designer CV, letter of application, and portfolio match perfectly. It would be difficult to trust a designer who can’t even make up his own visual identity.

“Creative professionals should format their CVs to balance creativity with professionalism by avoiding excessive use of photos, colours, or icons. Instead, focus on clarity and conciseness, ensuring the CV conveys information effectively to both technical and non-technical readers. Reserve more creative elements for your portfolio while keeping the CV clean and straightforward to highlight your skills and experience”.

Use an easy-to-read font

Choose an elegant but simple font in a 10-12 size. Readability is of far more importance here than novelty, or standing out.

Use even margins and white space

For a neat cover letter layout, use 1-inch margins on all sides. Space out sections and paragraphs with white space. If there is a block of text offending your aesthetic senses, consider some bullet points for your key achievements. 

One cover letter for one job

There aren’t that many dream jobs going. There will be a few companies where you’ll really want to work. There will be several companies where you’ll really enjoy working. Those may not necessarily be the same place. Do thorough research to save your time, and theirs.

The best graphic design jobs appear on the Design Jobs Board, and you should then use the employer sites to learn more about them, and display genuine interest in their company or project in your personal cover letter.

Once you have a good understanding of each place, craft each cover letter exactly to their requirements, and focus the experience you discuss on the type of projects they’re going to be handling.

Save as PDF, unless...

With larger companies and corporations, check that they don’t request a cover letter in *.doc format for their applicant tracking software. Otherwise, save your perfectly crafted cover letter in *.pdf to protect the formatting (unless you're writing an email cover letter).

A cover letter alone simply won’t be enough—you need an impactful CV, too. Create your CV in minutes. Just follow our wizard and fill in every CV section with ready-made content. Get started by choosing a professional CV template.

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Does this answer how to write a cover letter for graphic design? Got any more questions on what to include? Did you find the graphic designer cover letter examples helpful? Let us know in a comment!

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Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.