7 Designer Profile Tips With Sample Design Profiles

When a client is looking for the profile of a designer or graphic designer on Upwork, you want their first stop to be the profile that features … you!

Designer profile tips

Learn how to build a graphic designer profile that showcases your expertise in just the right way to attract attention from a client. Consider these designer profile tips and graphic designer profile samples to create a winning profile that will engage clients and increase your marketability.

Tips:

1. Build your brand with a professional photo
2. Brand yourself as a specific type of designer
3. Write a detailed designer profile description
4. Show off your design portfolio
5. Keyword optimize the design skills on your Upwork profile
6. Link other accounts to your Upwork profile
7. Get help from a pro
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1. Build your brand with a professional photo

As a visual artist, you may already understand the importance of having a professional photo to go along with your graphic designer profile. Every part of your profile leaves an impression that contributes to your overall brand, including your profile picture. Select an image that is eye-catching and a good representation of you.

Make sure your profile picture is:

• In-focus
• High-resolution
• Set against a plain background
• Free of illustration (It's against Upwork policy)

Graphic designer profile picture sample

2. Brand yourself as a specific type of designer

Think through, as you create your designer profile, how you want to present yourself to clients. Wanting to offer a broad range of skills is often the natural impulse, but many top earners on Upwork became successful only after streamlining what they offered.

Make it easier for clients to find you with a search and understand what you do by explaining the type of designer you are and the kind of work you can deliver. Keep your title short and impactful—we recommend fewer than ten words. Consider which designer type fits you best; we discuss some examples below.

Graphic designer

A graphic designer is a general term often used when referring to a designer. A graphic designer focuses on visual communication and uses software such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. They use typefaces, hierarchy, color, images, and placement to create a visual design. Some graphic designers specialize in logos or visual branding. Work may involve web page mockups, graphics, branding guidelines, style guides, etc.

Web designer

A Web Designer concentrates on a website's visual design and features by creating mockups and responsive designs. They use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, and some may know HTML and CSS and understand front-end web development. Certain designers specialize in content management systems (CMSs) such as WordPress or Drupal. Others may use drag-and-drop site builders to create websites or mockups.

UI Designer

A UI Designer defines how different elements like buttons or menus behave and how people use them to navigate the site on the front end. Work may involve interface layouts, interface designs, visual designs, interaction designs, and visual guidelines. Mobile UI designers focus on mobile apps and mobile versions of websites.

UX designer

A UX Designer focuses on the user's holistic experience. They explore how users interact with the product. UX designers make sure the experience is user-friendly from start to finish. Work may involve user research (including user testing and face-to-face interviews), task analyses, field research and detailed analytics, content strategies, user persona development, information architecture, wireframes, prototypes, and layouts. A mobile UX designer focuses on mobile apps and mobile versions of websites.

Motion Graphics Designer

A Motion Graphics Designer creates complex graphics, animations, and videos and works on conceptualizing, storyboarding, and editing. They use software such as Apple Motion, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Avid, Maya, 3D Studio Max, and Cinema 4D. Work may involve title and post-production, multimedia campaigns, promotional videos, animated illustrations, computer artwork, and more.

Animation Designer

An Animation Designer brings 2D and 3D images to life for TV, movies, video games, and other media. They typically create characters and add visual effects. Animators use software like Cinema 4D, Adobe InDesign, Adobe After Effects, 3D Studio Max, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, and UX wireframes.

Brand/Product Designer

A Brand/Product Designer oversees the creation of a product with an added marketing angle. They often act as intermediaries between designers, engineers, researchers, and other stakeholders. Brand and product designers often use tools like Sketch, Invision, and Adobe XD.

Interior Designer

An Interior Designer focuses on the inside of residential and commercial spaces, making them more functional and aesthetically pleasing with decor and other details. Interior designers often use tools like Adobe Capture, SketchUp, and Autodesk 3ds Max to create mockups for clients.

Industrial Designer

An Industrial Designer creates concepts for products, paying attention to appearance and functionality. They often work with engineering, marketing, and product experts to develop prototypes and determine marketability. Commonly used tools include Keyshot, SolidWorks, and Autodesk 3ds Max.

Art and Illustrator Designer

An Art and Illustrator Designer specializes in 2D art for books, magazines, websites, advertisements, and more. Illustrators may use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, and Vectornator to create digital renderings.

3. Write a detailed designer profile description

Your profile overview is your elevator pitch to potential clients. Why should a client choose you over another independent professional? Tell your story as a designer. Start by describing your real-world experience, design approach or philosophy, the types of clients you've worked with, and the work you're most passionate about.

Your overview should help clients answer these questions:

• What is your design specialty, niche, or area of focus?
• Which professional experiences or previous projects are you most proud of and best highlight your expertise? Include years of experience and well-known companies or agencies you've worked with.
• What type of work or projects are you interested in?
• Who are you passionate about working with?

Share the type of design work you do. If you are creating a graphic designer profile, for example, share information about the projects you’ve worked on and the success you’ve achieved. Keep it concise. You can show more of your expertise in the skills section.

Graphic designer profile description sample

See Mateja M’s profile
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4. Show off your design portfolio

The portfolio section of a graphic designer profile is the most important part. A portfolio that displays your best design work helps clients get a sense of your design style. Spend time creating a great portfolio to win the proposals you want, and to get noticed by clients you want to work with.

Marcela V’s profile (with portfolio)

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First impressions matter. Pick your favorite and highest-quality pieces for the first four tiles of your portfolio. Highlight projects you've worked on while on Upwork and before joining.

Feature work most similar to the jobs you want. If you want to specialize in a specific area, showcase projects that highlight those skills.

Tell a story with your portfolio. Turn each portfolio piece into a case study. Upload multiple screenshots and descriptions for each tile and walk potential clients through your process. Categorize your skills (e.g., Web & Mobile Design vs. Graphic Design). Include the tools and technologies you used both in the project description and the project skills section.

Update with new work. Update your portfolio as you finish new projects and retire pieces that no longer represent your best work.

Secure permission and cross promote. Make sure you have permission from your clients before you post any work you’ve done for them. If you maintain a personal portfolio, make sure it links back to your Upwork profile. Link your portfolio to completed contracts, so future clients see your positive feedback.

5. Keyword optimize the design skills on your Upwork profile

Make the most out of the skills section by adding new skills as you develop them or take on new projects. Don't forget to remove old skills as they become outdated. Place your strongest and most relevant skills at the top. Skills can include overarching themes (e.g., web design, UI design, graphic design) or specific design tools (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator, Bootstrap, wireframing).

6. Link other accounts to your Upwork profile

Linking your graphic designer profile to your Behance, Dribbble, DeviantArt, and LinkedIn accounts will establish your online presence and enable Upwork to match you to jobs better. Build a cohesive online brand identity as a designer. You can do this by going to your My Profile page and scrolling down the Linked accounts section.

Upwork profile linking sample

7. Get help from a pro

The first step in winning the clients you've been dreaming of getting is to create the perfect graphic designer profile. Your designer profile should clearly describe what type of work you do and show great examples of your best designs.

Starting from scratch? If you still need to create your Upwork profile, take it step by step and start by filling in the basic information. After you've completed your profile, you can work on making it stand out with these Upwork profile tips.

If you don't love your current profile, have a User Profile Creation Expert help with the finishing touches. These independent professionals have experience creating Upwork profiles that win projects and attract clients.

Creating an Upwork profile sample

Top designer profile examples

The key to winning proposals and working with top clients is to create a stellar graphic designer profile. After reading your profile, future clients should know exactly what type of design work you do. They've reviewed your best projects and can tell whether or not you'd be a good fit for their project. Check out the profiles of Expert-Vetted and Top Rated Upwork designers. Consider these profile examples as well:

Profile example 1

Mateja M.'s Upwork profile.

Mateja M. came to Upwork after working for 15 years as an editorial designer in the corporate world. His last salaried position was as an art director for Serbia’s largest publishing company. Mateja works with clients on a variety of projects. Since coming to Upwork, he’s kept up on his graphic design skills through online courses and by staying on top of graphic design trends. An impressive 92% of Mateja’s clients hire him again for new projects.

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Profile Example 2

Oleksii S.’s Upwork profile.

Oleksii S. was the creative director at a Ukrainian ad agency when Russia occupied Crimea. The domestic ad agency market imploded and Oleskii found his way to Upwork. On Upwork, Oleskii grew his roster of design clients, including companies like Johnson & Johnson and Upwork itself. He regularly produces 2D and 3D animations, NFTs, GIF animations, and even print assets to help his clients reach their audiences in an omnichannel environment. One trick he’s learned that he shares with others is to offer clients multiple concepts to contribute to a productive partnership.

Profile Example 3

Zsuzsi P.’s Upwork profile.

Zsuzsi P. is a top-rated plus talent on Upwork, which represents the top 3% of talent on the platform. Most of her clients have in-house marketing teams who work with her to gain an advantage. One project she worked on for a client required building a 50-slide exploratory brief for a senate campaign in California. Zsuzsi enjoyed the creative challenge of applying a consistent aesthetic for visually complex information using tables and statistics.

Work as a designer or hire one

Ready to start your Upwork journey? Join the world's work marketplace and work as an independent designer. Many clients on Upwork specifically search for a graphic designer profile, while others search for different types of designers. As you complete each successful project, you'll define your designer niche and build your portfolio so you can build a dream client list.

Need some design help? Find the right designer for your project on Upwork. You’ll find many independent design experts who can't wait to start creating for their next client. Meet designers who are genuinely passionate about what they do.