In preparation for seeking a placement and our future employability, the aim of this assignment was to research and reflect on various roles within the broader Animation industry, and to design and develop a range of forward-facing materials. These were to include a Curriculum Vitae (CV), a cover email to a local creative studio, and an edited showreel and up-to-date online portfolio which would not only showcase our talent and the range of technical skills acquired during the course, but effectively promote ourselves to ensure employability in our desired role.
With placements and roles within the local animation industry fiercely contested, studios often receive hundreds of applications for each post. Therefore, for a recent graduate, a standout CV that goes beyond highlighting your skills and projects to show your personality and what makes you unique, can be the key to unlocking the door.
Therefore, before considering which information I should include, it was important to first think about personal branding, including powerful design elements such as a custom logo, which, when used consistently across my materials, could boost visual appeal and leave a more lasting and memorable impression.
Having researched local Animation studios and finding that, in the main, they created content for a younger target audience of pre-school children and those aged 6 to 9 years old, I made a conscious decision to create my personal logo in an art style that would reflect this playful, child-friendly aesthetic. Therefore, taking inspiration from a recent photograph, and following advice from my Placements Tutor who suggested, that if not using a headshot, to create creating an eye-catching logo with a high level of contrast, I drew the Pixar-like logo below, and having ensured it was scalable, and visually appealing across platforms, this now features across all of my industry-facing materials to reinforce my brand.
With my personal logo created, the next step was to choose a CV layout and complementary colour scheme that would not only provide a snapshot of my skills and experience within a one-page A4 document, but at the same time establish a hierarchy, enhance readability, and convey my personality.
Having first reviewed the guidance shared in lectures and by our Placements Tutor, before experimenting with layouts of my own, I searched online for CVs posted by a range of creative professionals. However, while they provided insight into which sections to include, such as contact information, an ‘About Me’ section, education, job experience, software proficiency, and soft skills, I noticed a surprising trend. Making me realise how design choices can impact clarity and first impressions, contrary to the recommendation received to increase readability by using a neutral base, and an accent colour to highlight key sections, as can be seen below, many instead used a black background.
With a few ideas in mind, I then began experimenting with the layout and design of my own CV, with a few variations found below:
However, with this an important document that could feasibly shape my future, unconvinced, and remembering a comment made by our Placements Tutor of how after initially being drawn to a logo, the eye should be guided to the ‘About Me’ information, I decided to research the psychology of how a CV is read, and what structure would enable the reader to identify relevant information more easily.
As my research found that Hiring Managers only spend around 6-7 seconds skimming a CV before deciding if a candidate is suitable for a position (Indeed Editorial Team, 2025), understanding three key elements related to the layout/flow of a CV is essential:
1. Knowing where the viewer’s eye will initially focus
2. What will influence how their eyes move and where their focus will go next
3. How to use design to control their focus and quickly guide them to vital information within the CV
As shown in the examples below, eye-tracking studies by the Nielsen Norman Group revealed that CVs are typically read in an ‘F-pattern,’ where starting at the top left-hand corner, the reader’s eye scans horizontally across the top of the CV. Next, the eye moves lightly down the left-hand side of the page and across in a shorter horizontal movement, before finally scanning vertically to assess the content on the left-hand margin (Woodrow, 2021).
Heat maps demonstrating the ‘F-pattern’ Source: Woodrow, 2022
With this in mind, while browsing through a range of websites offering free, customisable CV templates, I came across the Canva designs below, which, if combining elements from both, would create the required ‘F-pattern’ to hopefully guide the Hiring Manager’s eye intuitively, and keep them reading.
Source: Canva, n.d.
With colour capable of evoking specific emotions, and known to influence decision-making processes (Sanders, 2024), having chosen an eye-catching, bright yellow background for my personal logo as it is bold, energetic, and reflects how I see myself – creative, optimistic, and always open to new ideas, my original intention had been to use purple, its complementary colour, in my CV design, and having researched its meaning in colour psychology, found that purple represents qualities such as creativity, intuition, and a willingness to help.
Source: Colorsexplained.com, 2021 Colorsexplained.com, 2022
However, finding purple a popular choice in creative CVs, to allow my CV to stand out from the crowd, I researched alternative colour schemes, and decided upon cyan – a complimentary pairing to yellow in the subtractive colour model, which also has psychological links to creativity, innovation, and mental clarity, but most importantly, as can be seen below, is frequently used in brands targeting a younger demographic (Figma, 2025).
Source: Marinchuk, 2023
Cyan also features prominently in content produced for this younger target audience by successful local Animation studios such as JAM Media and Flickerpix.
‘Hop N’ Zip’ Source: Flickerpix, 2021
‘Baby Jake’ Source: JAM Media, 2013
Also, keeping in mind that I might be designing for a global audience, I took time to research the meaning of my chosen colour scheme in other cultures, finding that in China, cyan is a lucky colour associated with hope and honour.
As by adjusting the hue and saturation values I could use cyan within my CV as a lighter background to increase readability in text heavy areas, or a bold accent to highlight key sections, such as my contact details, skills, software proficiency, and achievements, my next step was to create a monochromatic colour palette in Adobe Color, which would create a harmonious and cohesive appearance.
Here, the final colours include:
- #353A38 – Very dark greyish cyan
- #025E73 – Dark cyan
- #66C4D9 – Soft cyan
- #F7FCFC – Light greyish cyan
- #FFF500 – Vibrant yellow
With the colour scheme now decided, my next task was to research the essential and desired criteria for my chosen industry role – in this case, a 3D Artist/Generalist, so I could ensure these were met within my CV. I therefore scanned the available resumes on sites such as qwikresume.com (https://www.qwikresume.com/resume-samples/3d-generalist/) and searched for job opportunities on online sites, including LinkedIn and Indeed.com, for keywords, phrases, or skills within the job specifications, which an ATS scanner (a software tool used by recruiters to automatically screen and filter CVs) might require.
Source: LinkedIn, 2025
Source: Qwikresume.com, 2022
In addition to the advice provided by my Placements Tutor, when creating my ‘About Me’ synopsis and detailing the relevant experience gained from various university projects, I also sought guidance on the appropriate language and phrasing to use from websites such as Teal (https://www.tealhq.com/resume-example/entry-level-3d-artist) and blogs, including those posted on Bowwe (https://bowwe.com/blog/3d-artist-resume). Before starting to write, I also created a list of active verbs, adjectives, and soft skills that I believe reflected my work ethic, qualities, personality, and aspirations to integrate into my ‘About Me’ and ‘Skills’ sections, and when writing I used assertive and active language.
Next, having created headers, I completed each section, remembering to detail both my achievements and academic background in chronological order (most recent first) and to include the institute, course taken, years studied, and qualifications. It was also essential to include not only my current contact details, but a link to both my showreel and online portfolio. Also, as opposed to creating a typed list of software I felt confident in offering, increasing the visual impact and making this information easier to process, I chose to use logos instead, and of course, included the names and contact details of referees who could be contacted to provide a reference.
To ensure the ‘Experience’ section was clear and easier to scan by time-pressured recruiters, I formatted the content using bullet points. Finally, I was sure to proofread my entire CV, and had I wanted, free online ATS Resume Checkers were available to check for the required keywords, skills, and phrases.
With my draft complete, I forwarded it to my Placements Tutor for comment, with the feedback received that the typeface could be a little more professional, and that I should use a font from the Sans-Serif family. Being receptive to critique, I immediately downloaded new fonts from the Adobe Marketplace, and chose ‘Monserrat’ because of its clean lines, readability, and minimalist aesthetic, and used this throughout.
With that, my 2024-25 CV was finalised, but it is important to update it on an ongoing basis, and when applying for a position, to tailor it to show how the essential and desired criteria are met. As you can see, my logo is positioned in the top left-hand corner (where the viewer’s eye will initially focus), important information is contained within colour-blocked sections, and the design follows the ‘F-pattern’ to guide the reader’s eye.
A copy of the finalised version can be seen below:
References:
Colorsexplained.com (2021). Favorite Color Yellow: What Does It Say About You. [online]. [Accessed: 29 April 2025].
Available at: https://www.colorsexplained.com/favorite-color-yellow-personality/
Colorsexplained.com (2021). Favorite Color Purple: What Does It Say About You. [online]. [Accessed: 29 April 2025].
Available at: https://www.colorsexplained.com/favorite-color-purple-personality/
Flickerpix (2021). Projects: Hop N’ Zip [online]. [Accessed: 28 April 2025].
Available at: https://www.flickerpix.com/projects/hop-n’-zip
Figma (2025). Cyan Color: Hex Code, Palettes & Meaning. [online]. [Accessed: 30 April 2025].
Available at: https://www.figma.com/colors/cyan/
Indeed Editorial Team (2025). ‘How Long do Hiring Managers Look at a Resume?’ [online] Indeed.com, 3 March. [Accessed: 30 April 2025].
Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/how-long-do-employers-look-at-resumes
JAM Media (2013). Shows: Baby Jake. [online]. [Accessed: 28 April 2025].
Available at: https://www.jammedia.com/awards/baby-jake-wins-broadcast-award/
LinkedIn (2025). BlueBolt: 3D Generalist. [online]. [Accessed: 1 May 2025].
Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4271483449/
Marinchuk, l. (2023). ‘Yellow Elephant,’ [online] color.adobe.com. [Accessed: 29 April 2025].
Available at: https://color.adobe.com/search?q=yellow%20elephant
Quikresume.com (2022). 3D Generalist Resume Samples. [online]. [Accessed: 1 May 2025].
Available at: https://www.qwikresume.com/resume-samples/3d-generalist/
Sanders, M. (2024). ‘Exploring the Best Colour Combinations for Cyan in Graphic Design,’ [online] sandersdesign.com, 7 November. [Accessed: 29 April 2025].
Woodrow, L. (2022). ‘Psychology of reading a CV – F & Z Patterns,’ [online] Bigger Fish Executive Branding, 7 September. [Accessed: 28 April 2025].
Available at: https://www.bigger-fish.co.uk/post/psychology-of-reading-a-cv-f-z-patterns