Professional Cover Letter Design [Examples + Expert Tips]

Professional Cover Letter Design [Examples + Expert Tips] Youve just written a cover letter with content thats going to make you stand out like a race horse at a donkey convention.Theres just one problem. Its the most boring cover letter design ever. Good old 12 point Arial on a plain white background is so vanilla it could sing Ice, Ice, Baby.But then again you dont want to put employers off with something too outlandish either. And the extent of your document design skills was the time you used lime green Comic Sans and glittery clipart for a school project.How do you strike that balance? Like so.This article will show you:13 cover letter design templates better than 9 out of 10 others.How to design a cover letter in no time.Want to write your cover letter fast?Use our cover letter builder. Choose from20+ professional cover letter templatesthat match your resume. See actionable examples and get expert tips along the way.Sample Cover Letter for a ResumeSee more cover letter templates and create your cover letter here.One of our users, Niko s, had this to say:[I used] a nice template I found on Zety. My resume is now one page long, not three. With the same stuff.Create your resume nowA good cover letter design template has to meet the following requirements:Use a clear and readable font.Use good layout to keep it easy on the eye.Keep any graphics simple so ATS software can read it.Youre going to see 18 templates that tick all those boxes. All you need to do is enter the text and our cover letter builder takes care of the design for you.But if you want to try designing a cover letter yourself then keep reading, weve got some tips to help with that, too.And dont forget, the cover letter designs come in matching sets with our 18 resume templates that will also work for a CV.1CubicCreate my cover letterWere starting off fancy with our first cover letter template. Cubic by name, this design shows you why its hip to be square. Lets take it from the top. Theres your name in lights, white text on a dark header. Then weve got a ll of the must-haves in terms of design. Clear font, great cover letter layout and ATS scannable. But theres a twist. It freshens things up with your personal info in a calming duck-egg blue sidebar.A design this perfect demands the perfect cover letter. Youll learn how to write it with our guide: How to Write a Cover Letter in No Time2CrispCreate my cover letterCrisp as a new banknote, and youll have plenty of those babies rolling in when you use this design for your cover letter. There are no fancy colors, but this cover letter design stays fresh with a two-column design and a subtle circular icon.Its also just the thing to make the recruiter remember your name. Putting it in the top left corner is the best place for it. Its been proven thats the first place your eye lands and where you pay the most attention to.3ConceptCreate my cover letterA very simple text layout with two discreet icons to add a subtle accent. But the real star of the show is the bold color stripe to the left of the page. It really elevates the whole look of this cover letter design and is just the sort of thing to make a bored recruiter stop and pay attention.Dont like the color? Change it! Weve got hundreds of color options and you can customize the cover letter font size, margins, and spacing, too.Ever wondered whether you even need a cover letter? Get the answers in our guide: Do I Need a Cover Letter? Are Cover Letters Necessary Anymore?4VibesCreate my cover letterThe hiring managers going to get good vibes only from this classic design. Its a great example of how white space is the best friend of cover letter and resume design.Personal info is placed discreetly to the right in a pure white sidebar, so theres no visual distraction. Combined with the white space next to the cover letter header it forms a frame for the text. People prefer plenty of white space when theyre reading and it improves their understanding, too. Thats a win-win for your cover letter!5DiamondCreate my cover le tterHeres a design thatll make you stand out like a diamond in a world of rhinestones. Theres a nice chunky top bar to fit your header in. In a nice twist the surname is in bold. Its subtle, but thats just the sort of styling tweak you need to help you stand out. Then youve got the benefit of the full page width below to fill with cover letter goodness.6EnfoldCreate my cover letterThis cover letter design will enfold recruiters in a warm hiring-friendly glow. Its unique selling point is in the sidebar. See where it says personal info. Theres a darker tone there for emphasis. The effect is one of pure professionalism and elegance.Its an elegant design, but what if youve got writers block so bad, you dont even know where to begin? Get started with our guide: How to Start a Cover Letter: Introduction and Opening Line Examples7MuseCreate my cover letterAnother example of white space as an effective frame for the body of the letter. Its almost a mirror image of Vibes, except the contact details go to the left, in a more traditional position.Its another two-column cover letter that looks great with its two-column resume twin. Also more in keeping with tradition, there are no graphical elements. This design would be a great choice for a conservative, corporate job application.This cover letter design looks exactly like our Modern cover letter template. Its another double up, but the resume template that it accompanies is unique.8CascadeCreate my cover letterCascade should look familiar, its a mirror image of Enfold. If you like this look then why not build your cover letter with both designs and see which you prefer. Print them out and put them side by side for a better feel of which one suits you.9IconicCreate my cover letterIconic is another design that offers you maximum space to craft the perfect cover letter. No sidebar, no top bar. Just a clean, one-column canvas. Theres also a delicate bit of graphic design to give it a hint of modernity. Can you spot it? That s right, two neat little icons for the contact details.10PrimoCreate my cover letterPrimo is Italian for first and were sure itll be the first choice of cover letter design for job hunters who want to make an impression. It uses a bold monogram style graphic for the header which brings to mind a seal of approval. What better way to send a subliminal message to the recruiter to approve you for the job vacancy.11InitialsCreate my cover letterYou may think weve just done a Missy Elliott on our Primo design. But we didnt just flip it and reverse it. There are two round icons in the personal info section instead of one. Being quite similar you might want to try swapping the cover letters. Try Primo letter with Initials resume and vice versa. Either way, theyll look great.12SimpleCreate my cover letterIts so simple you could name it Simon and introduce it to a pieman. The cleanskin two-column design makes a tasty appetizer to your resume main course. Clean cover letter designs like this a re something of an all-rounder in fact. Theyll look good with any resume template so feel free to mix and match.13MinimoCreate my cover letterThis design sounds like Mickey Mouses pet name for Minnie, but its actually another super simple cover letter layout. It has a distinctive matching resume but its so simple itll go with anything.Minimo strips back the formatting to the bare minimum for a look thats more classic than a 1964 Ford Mustang.How to Design a Cover LetterAre you confident enough to try designing a cover letter yourself? Read on. Heres some tips to make sure you get it right.Its all about striking a balance between making your letter stand out, while keeping it ATS readable and following standard business letter format. Heres the basics.Follow Cover Letter Design RulesSet one-inch margins on all sides.Set your spacing to 1 or 1.15.Choose an easily readable font set at 11 or 12 point in size.Double space between paragraphs.Use a digital copy of your handwritten signatur e to end your cover letter for an extra professional touch.Save your cover letter in PDF with the right cover letter title. Its the best cover letter file format because it keeps the design intact.Find more tips here: Proper Cover Letter Format [20+ Examples]Optimize Your Cover Letter HeaderYour cover letter header is the first place people look when they read your letter so it has to be perfect. Your cover letter is just like an advertisement for you so youve got to make the product stand out.Emphasis is key. Write your name in a large font. 46 points bigger than the body text and bold.Try out font pairing. Set your name in a different font to the rest of your cover letter. Fontjoy is a very cool tool to show you what fonts can look good together.Immediately below your name, enter a headline, which should be your job title. If your experience backs it up, use the same title listed in the ad for the job youre applying for.Heres how it should look.Header Design ExampleMichael Sanchez Business AnalystThen move onto your contact details. For a classic feel use the template below, and put the details in the top left corner just under your header.Contact Details Design Example[Street][City, State][Phone Number][Email][LinkedIn Profile][Date][Hiring Managers Name][Hiring Managers Job Title][Company Name][Street][City, State]Feeling fancier? Take your design lead from our templates.Create a separate section for your contact details with the title Personal Info and make use of icons.Place this section directly under your header or at the top of a sidebar like many of our two-column designs do.Keep the hiring managers contact info simple and address your cover letter correctly. Make this info left aligned, immediately above the body of the letter.Make use of color, but make sure your letter stays readable. If in doubt, print a test copy on your resume paper of choice, screens can be deceptive.Choose a color scheme of dark, complementary tones. No more than three shades on a page, sorry E.L. James. Try this color calculator if youre stuck.Read more:How to Start a Cover Letter?Now lets design the main text, your cover letter body.Find the Best Cover Letter Body DesignKeep it plain. You need a nice simple block of text laid out according to basic cover letter format rules.Left align. Dont use justification as its against standard business letter rules.Lastly, lets take a look at your cover letter ending.Explore Cover Letter Closing IdeasUse an alternative to sincerely, try Thank You, Best Regards or Kind Regards instead.Include a digital signature when submitting online and sign by hand with a good quality pen when submitting on paper.For an email cover letter you can skip the signature.Make sure to include your cover letter enclosure.Last of all, use a P.S. to include a powerful call to action.See more cover letter ending ideas: How to End a Cover LetterThats all there is to it. And remember, always print out a copy of your letter to check how it lo oks on paper. Career fairs and job interviews are two situations where you need a paper copy.The last thing you want is to print out your cover letter, find out it looks awful on paper and have to redesign it in a panic.Want more of a deep-dive into different resume styles? Check out our guide here: Resume Styles Best Suited for Your Needs [20+ Tips]Need more design guidance? Want to discuss a design youve come up with yourself? Ask away in the comments section and thanks for reading.