Modern · Single column · ATS 3/5
Modern Creative CV template
A two-line name over a diagonal accent wash, with numbered sections below.
The design work here is in the spacing and the hierarchy rather than in ornament, which is why it reads as contemporary without dating the way a heavily styled CV does. It is a single-column layout with a portrait, so it suits markets where a photo is expected and stays readable if you switch the photo off.
Live preview of the Modern Creative template, rendered at full page size with an example CV. The preview is the same code that generates your PDF.
The design
About the Modern Creative layout
Who it’s for
The readers and situations this layout was drawn for.
- Designers, art directors and photographers
- Marketing, brand and content roles
- Portfolio-led applications sent straight to a hiring manager
Key features
What is actually different about this template on the page.
- Two-line name with accent surname
- Diagonal accent wash behind the hero
- Oversized numbered section headings
- Project cards and tag-style skills
ATS score 3/5 · Moderate
How this layout behaves in an applicant tracking system
A middling 3 out of 5: this is a designed page first and a data file second, and while nothing is unreadable, you should assume some of the presentation is lost in extraction.
Sections stack in a single flow, so the order you set in the editor is the order the parser records: summary, then experience, then education, then whatever you put next.
A photograph is invisible to a parser and occasionally counts against you in US and UK screening. Turn it off for portal applications and keep it for the version you email directly.
Use this one where a person opens the file: a direct approach, a studio, an agent, a client, a networking introduction. For anything uploaded to a careers portal, build a second version from the ATS CV templates — the same content, a layout that survives extraction, and no need to write anything twice.
- Reading order
- Single flow
- Headings
- Real text
- Tables
- None
- Images
- Photo only, optional
- Selectable text
- Yes
Scores are our own assessment of how a parser handles the layout — never a guarantee about one specific employer’s system.
In practice
Three situations Modern Creative is the right answer to
A direct approach to a small team
Emailed to a founder, a studio lead or a head of department who will read it themselves. There is no screening layer to satisfy, so the design gets to do its job. The reader it was drawn for: Designers, art directors and photographers.
A career that reads in order
One uninterrupted flow suits a history where the last three roles are the argument: a reviewer reads titles, dates and outcomes downward, without correlating a sidebar with the job it belongs to.
A brand-led or public-facing role
When the job involves being seen — presenting, hosting, teaching, selling — a portrait is content rather than decoration, and this layout treats it that way. If the employer asks for a document without one, the photo toggle in the editor removes it and Modern Creative re-balances the header on its own.
Make it yours
Customising Modern Creative
Accent colour
Modern Creative ships with #7c3aed as its accent. The accent drives headings, rules and any highlighted detail. A deep navy, a slate or a saturated brand colour all hold up — the hierarchy does not depend on the hue, so choosing is a taste decision rather than a legibility one.
Fonts and heading style
A humanist or geometric sans throughout gives the intended look. Setting a serif for headings only is the one substitution that changes the personality without breaking the spacing. Heading case — uppercase, capitalised or as typed — is a separate switch, and it changes the character of the page more than most people expect.
Spacing and density
Font size, line height, section spacing and page margins are all sliders. On a single column they behave predictably: reduce section spacing first, margins second, and only then the type size — a CV set below 9.5pt starts to look like an attempt to hide its length.
Sections and order
Summary, experience, education and skills carry the weight. Projects and certifications drop in without upsetting the rhythm, and anything you are not using can be hidden rather than left empty. Every section can be renamed, reordered or hidden, and Pro adds custom sections for anything the standard set does not cover.
Photo
The portrait can be circular, rounded or square, and it can be switched off entirely — the header reflows rather than leaving a hole, so one CV serves both a market that expects a photograph and one that does not.
Paper size and export
Switch between A4 and US Letter and the document re-flows to the new page instead of being scaled into it. The exported PDF is rendered from the same component as the preview, so nothing shifts between the screen and the file.
Modern Creative: common questions
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Keep exploring
- All modern templatesEvery design in the Modern family, side by side.
- One-column templatesThe full single-column range, across all six categories.
- CV templatesFormats, page counts and conventions by country and career stage.
- ATS CV templatesWhat a parser does with your file, and the layouts built to survive it.
- CV examplesWorked examples by role, with the wording and structure explained.
- Pricing and plansWhat Pro unlocks, and how the one-off Lifetime plan compares.
Start your CV with Modern Creative
Open it with the example content already in place, replace it with your own, and download a PDF when it reads the way you want. Switching to another template later keeps every word you have written.
Free to start. A Pro or Lifetime plan unlocks this design and every other one.