A strong brand designer cover letter shows who you are and how your design thinking solves business problems. This guide gives practical examples and templates you can adapt to highlight your process, impact, and portfolio in a clear way.
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💡 Pro tip: Use this template as a starting point. Customize it with your own experience, skills, and achievements.
Key Elements of a Strong Cover Letter
Start with your name, role, phone number, email, and portfolio link so hiring managers can reach you and review your work quickly. Keep this section concise and professional, and match the formatting to your resume for a cohesive application.
Open with a two to three sentence hook that connects your strongest achievement to the company's brand challenge or opportunity. Use specific outcomes, such as increased brand recognition or improved user engagement, to show the value you deliver.
Describe one or two projects that show your approach to brand design and the results you achieved for the business. Explain your role, the design decisions you made, and the measurable impact to give context for your skills and thinking.
End by directing the reader to specific portfolio pieces that illustrate the work you described, and invite them to discuss how you could help their brand. Make it easy for them to click through by linking directly to relevant case studies or your home portfolio page.
Cover Letter Structure
1. Header
Place your name and job title at the top, followed by contact details and a clear link to your portfolio. Match the font and spacing to your resume so both documents feel like one package.
2. Greeting
Address the letter to a named person when possible, such as the hiring manager or creative director, to show you researched the company. If a name is not available, use a professional greeting that references the team or role.
3. Opening Paragraph
Begin with a concise hook that ties your strongest result to the companys needs or a recent initiative. Mention the role and one reason you are excited to contribute to their brand work.
4. Body Paragraph(s)
Use one or two short paragraphs to walk through a relevant project, focusing on your process and the impact for the business or users. Highlight tools or methods when they matter, and quantify outcomes such as engagement, conversion, or brand awareness.
5. Closing Paragraph
Close by calling attention to portfolio pieces that back up your claims and by expressing interest in a conversation about their brand challenges. Offer a clear next step, such as availability for a call, and thank the reader for their time.
6. Signature
Sign off professionally with your full name, role, and portfolio link so the reader can follow up easily. Include your preferred contact method under your name, like email or phone.
Dos and Don'ts
Do tailor each letter to the company and role by mentioning a recent project or brand challenge you admire. This shows genuine interest and makes your letter more memorable.
Do quantify your impact with clear metrics when you can, such as percentage increases or timeline improvements. Numbers help hiring managers understand real-world results.
Do link to specific portfolio case studies that match the job brief so reviewers can see the work you describe. Pointing to exact projects reduces friction for the reader.
Do keep language clear and professional, and write in the second person to address the reader. This keeps the tone supportive and focused on how you help the team.
Do proofread for typos, name spellings, and company details to avoid avoidable mistakes. A clean letter reflects the care you put into your design work.
Dont repeat your resume line by line; instead, expand on one or two highlights with context and outcome. Use the letter to tell the story behind your achievements.
Dont use vague buzzwords without examples that show what you actually did on a project. Concrete details are more convincing than empty claims.
Dont include every tool you have ever used, focus on tools that mattered for the projects you reference. Relevance keeps the reader engaged.
Dont make the letter longer than one page or more than three short paragraphs plus opening and closing. Brevity helps busy hiring managers read the whole thing.
Dont forget to customize the greeting and examples to the company, generic letters feel less thoughtful and rarely make a strong impression.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Skipping a portfolio link or sending an outdated link makes it hard for reviewers to verify your work. Always test links before submitting your application.
Focusing only on aesthetics without explaining design decisions leaves hiring managers wondering about your strategic thinking. Explain why a choice improved the brand or user experience.
Using passive language that hides your role can make your contributions unclear. Use active verbs to show ownership of outcomes and decisions.
Neglecting to address the companies needs or role description can make your letter feel misaligned. Mirror language from the job post to show fit and attention to detail.
Practical Writing Tips & Customization Guide
Lead with a client or employer result that aligns with the jobs goals to create immediate relevance. This frames your experience as a solution to their needs.
Keep one short case study in the body and save other examples for portfolio links to keep the letter focused and action oriented. This balances depth and brevity.
If you lack direct brand design experience, highlight transferable skills such as research, storytelling, or cross-functional collaboration. Emphasize outcomes you helped create.
Use a final sentence that invites next steps, such as a brief call or portfolio walk-through, to make it easy for the reader to respond. A clear ask increases the chance of follow-up.
Cover Letter Examples
Example 1 — Career Changer (Marketing to Brand Design)
Dear Hiring Manager,
After six years as a marketing strategist, I moved into brand design to turn positioning into visual systems. At GreenLeaf Agency I led a 10-week rebrand for a retail client that increased unaided brand recall by 22% in a customer survey and helped raise online conversions 14% in Q3.
I created a 28-page brand guide, introduced a type scale and color-accessibility rules, and trained three account teams to apply the system across 12 product lines. I design in Figma and Illustrator and run quick user tests to validate creative choices against business metrics.
I’m excited to bring both audience insight and visual craft to your team, especially as you expand into direct-to-consumer channels.
What makes this effective: concrete metrics (22% recall, 14% conversions), clear role transition, specific deliverables and tools, and focus on business outcomes.
–-
Example 2 — Recent Graduate
Hi Sara,
I graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Communication Design and completed a 6-month internship at BrightCup Bakery where I redesigned packaging and social templates. My redesign increased Instagram engagement by 45% and helped the bakery track a 12% sales increase over three months from a new seasonal line.
For the internship I produced 30+ assets, set up a reusable template system in Figma, and documented handoff notes that cut asset turnaround time by 40%. My portfolio (link) highlights packaging comps, logo studies, and motion tests.
I’m eager to join a small brand team where I can keep iterating and learning.
What makes this effective: uses measurable impact, shows practical output and process (templates, handoff docs), and includes portfolio link and eagerness to grow.
–-
Example 3 — Experienced Professional
Dear Hiring Team,
I’m a brand designer with eight years of experience building systems for B2B SaaS. At Nimbus Software I led the visual redesign of the onboarding flow that correlated with an 18% lift in trial-to-paid conversion and reduced support tickets by 9%.
I managed a team of three designers, introduced a biweekly design review that cut the redesign cycle from 10 to 6 weeks, and partnered with product managers to align visual work to KPIs. My strengths are art direction, component libraries, and aligning visual decisions to conversion goals.
I’m interested in your Senior Brand Designer role to scale brand consistency across product and marketing.
What makes this effective: senior-level impact with metrics (18% lift), leadership details (team size, process changes), and clear alignment to company goals.
Actionable Writing Tips
1. Start with a concise hook.
Open with one sentence that states your role, years of experience, and a specific result (e. g.
, “Brand designer with 6 years who drove a 14% rise in conversions”). This grabs attention and frames the rest of the letter.
2. Quantify accomplishments.
Use numbers (percentages, timelines, counts) to show impact. Hiring managers remember metrics like “reduced turnaround by 40%” far more than vague praise.
3. Mirror the job posting.
Pull 2–3 exact phrases or skills from the listing and address them directly. That signals fit and helps your letter pass recruiter filters.
4. Show process, not just outcomes.
Briefly describe how you achieved results (user tests, prototypes, cross-team reviews). This proves you can repeat the work.
5. Keep paragraphs short.
Use 2–4 sentence paragraphs and 3–4 per letter. Short blocks improve readability on mobile and for busy reviewers.
6. Use plain, active language.
Choose verbs like “designed,” “led,” “tested,” and avoid overblown adjectives. Active voice reads stronger and clearer.
7. Include 1–2 portfolio links tied to claims.
Point to the specific project and line—e. g.
, “see onboarding redesign (case study, 18% conversion lift). ” That lets reviewers verify quickly.
8. End with a direct next step.
Close by proposing a call or review of your portfolio and state your availability. A clear ask increases response rates.
9. Tighten with an edit pass.
Remove filler words, check tense consistency, and read aloud to catch awkward phrasing. Aim for 200–300 words.
10. Match tone to the company.
Use formal language for banks and clinical clients; be brief and energetic for startups. Tone alignment increases perceived cultural fit.
How to Customize Your Letter by Industry, Company Size, and Level
Strategy 1 — Industry focus (Tech vs. Finance vs.
- •Tech: Emphasize product thinking, prototyping speed, and A/B or analytics results. Example: “I shipped a component library used across three products and increased onboarding completion by 12% in 6 weeks.”
- •Finance: Stress clarity, compliance awareness, and reliability. Example: “I redesigned investor pitch materials with standardized color usage and reduced review cycles from 7 to 3 days.”
- •Healthcare: Highlight accessibility, trust signals, and privacy awareness (HIPAA where relevant). Example: “I applied WCAG contrast rules to patient-facing screens and cut task errors by 21%.”
Strategy 2 — Company size (Startup vs.
- •Startups: Showcase multi-role experience, rapid iteration, and measurable short-term wins. Mention tight timelines and cross-functional work (e.g., worked with founders to deliver a 2-week landing page that drove 1,200 signups).
- •Corporations: Emphasize stakeholder management, governance, and system thinking. Note experience with design systems, documentation, and coordinating across 4+ departments.
Strategy 3 — Job level (Entry vs.
- •Entry-level: Lead with portfolio projects, internships, and concrete outputs. Show curiosity and learning: cite courses, mentors, or freelance clients and provide exact links.
- •Senior-level: Lead with strategy and outcomes (people managed, KPI improvements, process changes). Quantify team size, cost or time savings, and lift in conversion or retention.
Concrete customization tactics
1. Mirror the job’s top three keywords in your first two paragraphs.
2. Link to 1–2 portfolio pieces that directly match the role and call them out by name and metric.
3. Use the company’s tone in one sentence (formal, playful, or mission-driven) to show cultural fit.
4. Swap one paragraph to address likely stakeholders (product managers for tech, compliance lead for finance, clinical ops for healthcare).
Actionable takeaway: For each application, pick two points to customize—one measurable result and one portfolio link—and tailor the tone and stakeholder mention to the role.