With the explosion of so many different kinds of publishing options to choose from, there are more ways than ever to create eye-catching resumes. Unfortunately, with all these options, from fonts to layout styles to color and highlighting, it’s important to keep some fundamental ideas in mind in order to keep your resume both legible and effective as a piece of advertising. These issues are best addressed by the following five graphics design ideas.
Typeface
There are three different kinds of typefaces to choose from: Script, Serif and San Serif. Resembling cursive writing, Script is the hardest of the three to read and in general should be avoided. Serif typeface is recognizable by its small “feet” at the ends of each letter. Times New Roman is the most common Serif typeface and though it is legible it’s not as clear as San Serif. With its block letters and absence of “feet”, this font is by far the best choice; think of Helvetica, Tahoma and Arial.
Text Blocks
This refers to the three ways text is aligned on the page; Align Left – Ragged Right, Justified Block and Align Right – Ragged Left. The first option is the standard default when typing any text, like this paragraph for instance, and should be used for the first column of information on the left hand side of the resume. At the other side of the page, usually reserved for listing the theatre and director of the project, use the Align Right option to give the column a crisp edge as it runs down the page. Down at the bottom of the resume, where you’ll be listing your special skills, for example, you can evenly spread the text out by using the Justified Block option.
Font Size
Just as your resume should resemble the front page of a newspaper in its layout, you should also make use of the different font sizes to give emphasis to certain information. It should be, from largest to smallest – Your name, stats and contact info, category headings, credits and finally education and skills, etc. Although you can select as large a font as looks appropriate, the smallest one to use is 12-point. This will keep the text easy to read and help prevent you from overcrowding your resume.
Contrast
Though not often used on resumes, this option of placing white text on a dark background, or dark text on a shaded background, can be a very effective way of clearly defining certain information. Think of using it for category headings (Theatre, Film, etc.) or special information (Union status or awards). But be aware that there should be a fair amount of contrast between the text and the background and that using a patterned background can make the text much harder to read.
Color
Finally, when using color to call attention to certain information, be sensitive that some colors are better used as a highlight and some make a better text color. For example, bright yellow makes for a great highlight over black text but is next to impossible to read when used as a text color; the opposite, however, is true for dark red. Also, use color sparingly, both in frequency and number of colors, as it can become too “noisy” and affect the resume’s legibility.
- “Clarity affords focus.” – Thomas Leonard
To read another article on this general topic, go to: The Problem With Actor Resumes
Sean Pratt - A 25 year veteran, I teach actors about the business of the Biz; holding workshops, writing articles, posting videos & career coaching. ...
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