No, write “graphic design” in lowercase unless it’s part of a proper name, course, degree, job title before a name, or headline style.
Writers ask this all the time in emails, résumés, portfolios, and brand guides. The short rule is simple: in regular sentences you keep it lowercase because it’s a common noun. You only use caps when the words belong to a specific, named thing (a program, team, event, company, or course) or when a style guide tells you to capitalize words in a heading. The details below show exactly when to use uppercase, with clean examples you can copy.
When To Capitalize The Graphic Design Phrase
Use the table as a quick decision aid. Scan the left column, pick your context, and match the example.
| Context | Capitalize? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| General skill or field in a sentence | No | “I work in graphic design.” |
| Named degree, major, or program | Yes | “B.A. in Graphic Design (Parsons).” |
| Course titles in a catalog | Yes | “Graphic Design I meets on Mondays.” |
| Department, school, or lab name | Yes | “School of Graphic Design” |
| Company, brand, team, or event name | Yes | “Graphic Design Summit opens Friday.” |
| Job function in running text | No | “She leads graphic design for retail.” |
| Job title used before a person’s name | Yes | “Graphic Design Manager Carla Ruiz” |
| Job title used after a name | No (house styles vary) | “Carla Ruiz, graphic design manager” |
| Headlines using Title Case | Yes | “Graphic Design Trends for 2026” |
| Headlines using sentence case | Usually No | “New graphic design trends for 2026” |
Lowercase In Regular Sentences
In ordinary prose, the phrase names a discipline rather than a specific entity, so it stays lowercase. Treat it like “web design,” “product design,” or “marketing.” If you’re writing a bio, a pitch, or a portfolio caption, use lowercase unless you switch into a section title or a branded label. In short form copy—social captions, alt text, figure notes—the same rule holds.
Capitalization In Headlines, Titles, And Headings
Headings follow the style guide you use. Two common patterns appear across publishing and academic writing:
- Title case (capitalize major words): used by many editors and schools. See the official APA title case guidance for a crisp list of what counts as a “major” word.
- Sentence case (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns): common in blogs and tech docs.
Pick one approach per document and stay consistent. If your heading style is title case, the phrase becomes “Graphic Design.” If your site uses sentence case for headings, it stays “graphic design” unless it starts the line.
Course Names, Degrees, And Departments
Academic labels are proper names. Capitalize named degrees, majors, departments, centers, and formal programs. In catalogs and transcripts you’ll often see constructions like “B.F.A. in Graphic Design,” “Graphic Design II,” and “Department of Graphic Design.” In narrative text, keep the generic field lowercase: “She studied graphic design in college.”
Job Titles And Business Names
Capitalization flips on titles that sit directly before a person’s name in a formal line: “Graphic Design Director Ren Ito.” In plain sentences, many guides switch to lowercase: “Ren Ito, graphic design director.” Companies, agencies, conferences, and teams with that wording in the name get caps: “Graphic Design Collective,” “Graphic Design Week,” “Graphic Design Studio, Inc.”
Email Subjects, Slide Titles, And UI Labels
Apply the same logic you use for page headings. If your product or brand style uses title case for subjects and slide titles, capitalize both words. If your style sheet uses sentence case for interface labels, keep them lowercase unless a label starts a sentence or includes a proper noun.
Capitalizing The Graphic Design Term In Titles And Résumés
Portfolios and résumés mix sentences and headings, so a quick plan helps:
- Section headers: follow your chosen heading style. Title case yields “Graphic Design,” sentence case yields “Graphic design.”
- Bullet points: in fragments, use lowercase unless your résumé template requires title case for every bullet.
- Project names: if the name itself contains the phrase, keep the original casing: “Graphic Design Capstone: Retail Systems.”
- File and folder names: pick a pattern once (e.g., “graphic-design-portfolio-2026.pdf”) and stick with it across platforms.
Style Guide Snapshots (Quick Compare)
Editors often align with a named guide. This table gives a fast overview so you can match your house rules. For deeper reading, the Purdue OWL page on capitalization is handy for the basics of proper vs. common nouns; here’s the link to Help with Capitals.
| Guide | Headings | Notes On “Graphic Design” |
|---|---|---|
| APA | Title case for titles/headings; sentence case for reference titles | Capitalize in headings using title case; lowercase in sentences unless part of a proper name |
| Chicago | Headline-style title case or sentence case by house choice | Capitalize in headline-style headings; lowercase in sentences unless a proper name |
| MLA/AP | Title case in headings (MLA); AP varies by headline style | Capitalized in title case headings; lowercase in sentences unless a proper name |
How To Decide In Tricky Spots
When a phrase feels like a brand or a label, ask two questions:
- Is this a unique, named thing? If yes, use caps. If it’s a generic field or service, use lowercase.
- Is this in a heading styled in title case? If yes, capitalize both words by that style, not because of meaning.
That simple test covers nearly every edge case you’ll see in résumés, proposals, and web copy.
Many Real-Life Examples
Regular Prose
“Our studio offers graphic design, motion, and type consulting.” The phrase here labels a service, not a proper name, so it stays lowercase.
Headings And Page Titles
“Graphic Design For Packaging Teams” in a blog that uses title case for headings. A site that uses sentence case would write “Graphic design for packaging teams.”
Program And Course Names
“MFA in Graphic Design,” “Graphic Design III: Systems.” These are named academic items, so they get capitals even inside sentences.
Events, Conferences, And Awards
“Graphic Design Day at City College,” “2026 Graphic Design Awards.” Events are proper names; keep the original capitalization.
Teams And Departments
“She runs the Graphic Design team at Harbor & Co.” Teams with formal labels are often capitalized in org charts and press notes. In casual emails, many shops still lowercase: “graphic design team.” Pick one approach in your style sheet and keep it steady across docs.
Job Titles In Lines And Bios
“Graphic Design Lead Priya Shah” takes capitals because the title stands before the name as a formal designation. In a running sentence you’ll often switch to lowercase: “Priya Shah, graphic design lead, joined in 2023.”
Why Most Sentences Keep It Lowercase
English capitalization centers on proper names. A field such as “graphic design” doesn’t identify a unique entity. It’s the same reason we write “industrial design,” “civil engineering,” and “data science” in lowercase in the middle of a sentence. When it becomes the name of a degree, a course, or a branded unit, then it crosses into proper-name territory and earns capital letters.
House Style Comes First
Publications set their own rules for headings and titles. One magazine may use title case for every headline. Another may prefer sentence case across the site. Both can be correct; what matters is picking a standard and sticking with it. If you’re writing for a client, use the client’s style sheet. If you’re building your own, choose one model and apply it everywhere so résumés, decks, and the website read as a family.
Practical Rules You Can Apply Today
- Regular sentences: lowercase: “graphic design.”
- Headings in title case: “Graphic Design.”
- Headings in sentence case: “Graphic design,” unless the phrase starts the line.
- Named things: capitalize—degrees, departments, events, teams, awards, and any proper names containing the words.
- Job titles: cap before a name; often lowercase after a name unless your house rules say otherwise.
- Portfolios and résumés: match your heading style; stay consistent across pages and files.
Edge Cases And How To Write Them
Hyphenated And Compound Forms
“Graphic-design principles” hyphenates when used as a compound modifier before a noun (“graphic-design principles,” “graphic-design sprint”). In title case headings, many editors capitalize both words: “Graphic-Design Principles.” In sentence case headings, you usually keep only the first word capitalized unless a proper noun appears.
Brand And Product Names
If the phrase becomes part of a trademark or product name, keep the brand’s casing. If you add generic words around a brand name, those extra words usually stay lowercase: “the Graphic Design Pro™ bundle,” “the Graphic Design Pro™ toolkit.”
Lists, Captions, And Figure Labels
Lists that act like headings can follow your heading style. Lists that read like sentences can follow sentence rules. For captions, pick one pattern—title case or sentence case—and apply it to every figure in the piece.
Why Style Guides Differ (And Why That’s Fine)
Editorial standards split on headline formatting. APA outlines when to use title case vs. sentence case in headings and titles, and Chicago allows either headline-style title case or sentence case depending on house preference. The key is internal consistency: every heading within a document should match the chosen approach.
Quick Checklist You Can Save
- Write “graphic design” in lowercase in normal sentences.
- Capitalize in headings that use title case.
- Capitalize when part of a course, degree, department, team, event, award, company, or branded program.
- Capitalize a job title before a name; often lowercase after a name.
- Follow your style guide; keep headings uniform across the piece.
One-Minute Fixes For Documents
- Audit headings: choose title case or sentence case and apply it everywhere.
- Scan sentences: convert stray “Graphic Design” to “graphic design” unless it’s a proper name.
- Standardize titles: decide how you treat roles before vs. after names and update résumés, bios, and press notes to match.
- Lock a reference: bookmark your preferred rules page (APA title case or a reliable capitalization guide) for quick checks.
Trusted References If You Need To Double-Check
For title-case rules used in many schools and journals, see the APA title case guide. For a plain-English refresher on what to capitalize in regular prose, the Purdue OWL capitalization page is a solid bookmark.