About me

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to apply for the role of Junior Graphic Designer as recently advertised online. I am pleased to include my CV and portfolio in this application. I graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 2013 with a high 2:1 in Illustration.

I recently worked as a full time graphic designer and sign maker for Chillipepper Signs, Monmouth. However the graphic design was a smaller part of the role than I would like, the emphasis being on production and manufacturing. I passionately want to pursue a career in graphic design where my main strengths lie and the opportunity you are advertising would enable me to do this. I have also been working as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator for the past two years and I have been involved in a wide range of projects including media, marketing and advertising work for a variety of exciting clients. This involves a mixture of working from home and inhouse within a team.

My current design experience involves creating a wide range of marketing materials including posters, flyers, business stationery, photo editing and packaging as well as web graphics and gif animations. One of the companies I have been working freelance with for over a year is a retail company called Guru Fresh Break and I have solely been designing work for print and web for their range of beverages. During this time I adhered to their brand guidelines, often providing creative design solutions for complex ideas and I always met tight deadlines on time. I have a very good working knowledge of typography and print layout which enabled me to meet their high specifications.

I am a very fast, highly efficient worker; I am self motivated and very good at managing and prioritising multiple projects from start to finish. I work well within a team or on my own initiative; I enjoy sharing ideas with colleagues and understanding the importance of the roles involved in a project. I possess outstanding artworking skills and can take a client's simple wireframe sketch and transform it into a finished digital design. I am also an excellent proof reader and have contributed articles to publications including Advanced Photoshop magazine of which I was featured.

I possess over eight years of experience with the Adobe Creative Suite including Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign and Acrobat Pro with some proficiency in After Effects and Flash. I am very confident with the software and can use it to follow any brand guideline with a firm belief that I can bring someone else's concept to life. I am also proficient with the Microsoft Office suite and have a basic knowledge of html and css coding.

With regard to personal qualities I consider myself to be highly motivated, organised, very reliable, honest, responsible, a good sense of humour and with an innate desire to succeed. I am eager to learn new techniques, always looking for opportunities to improve my work.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours Sincerely,

Tom Manning