How To Interview A Designer
Choosing the right designer can be difficult, especially when you cant tell the difference between a vector and a bitmap graphic.
Not to worry. Ill teach you what you need to know to help you choose the right designer for your business or projectall without having to pay for an art school student loan. Lucky you!
First, Im going to assume youve already set up a meeting and are preparing for a few candidates to show up to your office.
You did? Good!
First things first: did the designer show up on time? Dont give them leeway because theyre creative. A good designer will have every bit as good a business sense as you do. Theres a chance that if they show up late to your first meeting, the pieces of your project will also come latewhich means a lot of calls to them so you can find out the progress of your project. Not the best use of your time.
Okay, now youve covered all the niceties , and the designer is sitting in front of you. Lets get started!
1. Dig into Their Portfolio
Have the designer present their portfolio. This can be printed, on a website, or presented to you on a tablet. It doesnt make any difference. What does matter is your opinion of their work. Theres a lot to be inferred from a thoroughly documented and well thought out portfolio. Heres a few questions to ask yourself as you get the presentation:
2. Make Them Walk the Walk
Ask them to be clear about what parts of the project they created.
Why Do You Want To Work For Us
Employers want to know that youre interested in working with them, specifically. This is your opportunity to show them just that.
Acme Agency is a vanguard in the advertising world. When applying for jobs, I keep an eye out for places where learning and retooling are encouraged. Acme struck me as a place where I could do just that with industry leaders
Tip: This is where you get to show that youve done your research talk about your compatibility with the company culture or any projects you admire. If you need more inspiration, Big Interview goes into greater detail on how you can answer this question.
Where Do You Go For Ux Design Inspiration
What they really want to know: Are you constantly learning and developing? Are you invested in the industry?
In such a rapidly evolving field as UX design, the only way to stay on top of your game is by constantly learning. Most employers will be curious to know how you go about this continuous learning process where do you turn to for inspiration? How do you make time for continued development?
Even if you follow loads of influential UXers on Twitter and have a shelf full of design books, the mind often has a tendency to go blank when asked to name them on the spot! Go prepared with a mental shortlist of your inspirational favorites this could be anything from podcasts and blogs to YouTubers or personal contacts. As long as you can talk about why theyre inspirational to you and convey that much-needed enthusiasm for learning, the interviewer will be all ears.
Mikes tip:
Keep your audience in mind. You may get inspiration and ideas from lots of places, but by talking about how they shape your approach to design and how this relates to their products and challenges.
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What Are Some Of The Biggest Challenges You Face As A Product Designer
One attribute of a great product designer is the ability to evaluate their work objectively. No matter what stage of their career, there will always be those challenges that every product designer strives to overcome in a meaningful way.
Listen for answers that not only describe the challenges they may face but how they overcome them. Also, listen for phrases like OKRs and KPIs , which product designers have to grapple with when evaluating the success of their product designs at the business level.
They may have a challenge justifying their product design process to specific stakeholdersit may seem too costly and take too long. How do they overcome these obstacles? How do they align their work with that of the goals of the business, the companys brand, and marketing efforts?
For example, convincing a company they need more in-depth user research before a product is designed, or incorporating proper usability testing during a product design lifecycle can be difficult. How do they advocate for those mentioned above in making their case?
Another challenge may be conducting user research in innovative ways. This can prove to be especially tricky for designers who work remotely because direct access to their end users is limited.
Follow-up questions on this topic:
- Can you tell me about a time you faced one of these challenges in previous projects and how you went about solving it?
- What were the outcomes of this approach?
Please Tell Us Something About Your Experience With Designing Games
The right answer to this question can be summed up in two words: Excellent portfolio. Thats exactly what you should prepare before the start of your interviewif you havent done so already.
Now, it doesnt matter if you worked for another studio before, or did just a school project, or designed something in your free time, or freelanced. Even drawings and ideas for games are good enough to get a place in your portfolio.
Once they ask you about your experience, you should take the portfolio from your briefcase. Showcase them the various games you participated on as a designer, and try to always explain your role in the process, programming languages you used , and the goal of each project, and whether it met the goal.
It is also important to talk with enthusiasm. They should get an impression that you enjoy your work immensely, and will continue enjoying it while working for their studio.
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How Would You Deal With A Difficult Client If They Went Over Your Head To Discuss Interior Design Changes With Your Supervisor
Some clients may be difficult to work with, and an interior designer must know how to deal with them appropriately. This question tells you more about a candidate’s demeanour and ability to manage difficult situations. What to look out for in an answer:
- Ability to remain calm in difficult situations
- Politeness and respectfulness
- Excellent interpersonal skills
Example:
“If a client chose to discuss changes with my supervisor or manager instead of me, I’d first reach out to the customer. I’d politely ask why they didn’t want to talk about the issue with me. I’d listen actively to their response and use their feedback to develop my skills or personality traits.”
What Do You Think Will Be The Next Big Thing In Ux Design
What they really want to know: Are you passionate about your craft? Have you got your finger on the pulse?
Employers not only want to see that youve got the skills to do the job. They also want to see that youre passionate about your work and that you do the ongoing work of keeping your UX skills in shape.
Dont get too hung up on making the most accurate prediction for the future this is more about showing that youre aware of whats going on around you and the direction in which the industry is moving.
This is a good time to talk about any books or UX design blogs youre currently reading. If you talk about , for example, you can mention your favourite articles, videos or podcasts that talk about this topic. This demonstrates that youre constantly learning and keeping your finger on the pulse.
Mikes tip:
If youre truly passionate about a particular trend, relate it to the employers business needs and goals. How do you see it contributing to their success?
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Tell Me About Yourself
While this is asked of interviewees across all industries, it carries an added weight for creatives because you are your brand. Open-ended requests like these can leave even the most seasoned interviewees stumped if they havent prepared. Key points to share are recent successes, strengths and abilities that relate to the job or company, and a statement on your current situation. That could look something like this:
Ive been in the graphic design field for two years this March. My most recent project was with a confectionary company I was tasked with redesigning their logo, press kit, and packaging. Since it was a branding overhaul, it required a lot of attention to detail and a balance between retaining the original design and updating it for the 21st century. I particularly enjoy working in this industry because no two days are the same. When things feel new it becomes easy for me to throw myself into the work.
Tip: Rehearse your script until you can say it off by heart nailing the first part of the interview will give you an added boost for the rest of the questions to come.
If you dont have any formal graphic design training, check out our article on presenting your informal education.
List Of Ux Design Interview Questions: Technical Skills Questions
To create pleasant and effective user experiences, a UX Designer needs to be equipped with the right set of skills.
Employers may ask a series of questions that put your UX skills to the test. You may also be asked to complete a hands-on design challenge, either on the spot or as a take-home assignment. Remember to show your design process and thinking throughout any technical questions or challenges.
Technical skills interview questions for UX design job interviews may include:
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Do You Prefer To Work Independently Or As Part Of A Team
This is a tricky question. Most graphic designers will end up working as part of a team at least some of the time. That said, employers may also hand off smaller projects to individual designers on the team.
While its important to be truthful in an interview, emphasize that you can work either way. Whether you emphasize working independently as your preference but are also willing to work with others should reflect how you actually feel.
Ready to hire a Graphic Designer?
Art by Justina Leisyte
What Is A Css File And What Are Some Benefits Of Using It
CSS is commonly used in web design. Employers want to know you are familiar working with it and will require little to no training.
Example:”CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets and helps control and oversee text dimensions and textual styles, like fonts and colors. It’s easy to maintain and update, offers more formatting options, has great SEO benefits and much faster download times since the code is lightweight.”
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Interview Tips For Fashion Designers:
During an interview, a person has to answer various tough and easy questions about fashion. The queries can be like the following:
What Is Color Theory And Why Is It Important In Graphic Design
Colors play an intricate role in establishing a strong brand identity.
Interviewers aim at understanding your knowledge of color palette and if it matches their brand.
Observe the color theory of the company you are interviewing for and accordingly discuss:
The importance of color. Application of color theory to enhance visual communication.
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What Kind Of Research Methods Do You Use
What theyâre really asking: How do you validate your design decisions?
User research is a key part of the UX design process, so interviewers will sometimes want to gauge your familiarity with the process and methods.
You can approach this question in a couple of ways. Be sure to walk through any user research methods youâve used in the past . Talk about the benefits and limitations of each method.
If you have limited experience in UX design, you can also frame your answer in terms of research methods youâd like to try and why.
Other forms this question might take:
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Have you conducted user research in the past?
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How do you decide which research method to use?
Talk About The Experience A Graphic Designer Brings To The Table
When you are unsure how to interview graphic designers, one thing is for sure: the best way to gauge experience is to compare apples with apples. In other words, first understand what you want your graphic designers to design, and get an idea of their experience with similar companies and designs. The fact is that, in many cases, a graphic designer specializes in a type of client or product such as book jackets. Resumes and cover letters are good starting points to get an impression of a candidates experience, and you should ask interview questions that probe even further. Possible questions include:
-Have you designed X products before
-What types of clients have you designed for
-How large or how small are the previous clients youve done work for
-What website design experience do you have
-What programs do you use to aid in your design
-What is your design process like
-How do you stay on top of the latest graphic design technology
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Interviewing My Potential Boss Or Someone Up The Chain
Ive interviewed potential bosses a number of times from both sides of the table. The first few times wereweird, admittedly. The shift in dynamic took me a bit to get used to, but as I gained experience, I became comfortable asking hard questions and digging in. I now know that I can only be successful working for someone who expects and values being challenged , so I look for that in my potential boss along with several other factors. I want to know:
Whats The Biggest Frustration You Deal With As A
This helps me understand the level at which theyre currently working and helps to uncover some innate preferences or biases. Answers may range from technical/tactical roadblocks to communication and collaboration issues. How they communicate these frustrations is critical. Do they fall into griping about other people or do they acknowledge that there is a frustrating situation and shift into how they handle the frustration in a smooth manner?
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Q: What Is Your Biggest Design Challenge
If you were confronted by a tough challenge, we want to hear about it. Why was it the biggest challenge in your career? What happened, what did you do to overcome it, what tools and processes were employed?
Most design work goes unseen and behind the curtains in the design process. We want to hear your design hero story. Alternatively, describe your dream challenge and how you would design a process to help you deal with it.
Describe A Time When Youve Used Data To Solve A Problem
The ability to demonstrate data-driven decision making is important in any role, but especially product design. Ideally, this question will lead the candidate to talk about a time when they noticed some type of user friction and then proposed a change to make the experience smoother.
For example, a product designer who uses FullStory might see in their Dashboard that an element on the login page is causing a frustrating user experience. The designer can build a case that this issue should be fixed by combining the qualitative data of Session Replay to provoke user empathy with metrics that quantify how many users are having this frustrating experience.
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To What Degree In The Past Have You Been Involved In The Conceptual Or Strategy Phase
Is the person accustomed to being included from the very beginning? Or is he used to being handed a creative brief to work from? This might also show you how interested the candidate is in working face-to-face with clients, his level of experience, and if he has an interest in working through the entire design process.
Why Do You Think You’re The Best Interior Designer For This Position
This question helps you find out whether a candidate is the best fit for your organization. It offers an interior designer the opportunity to emphasize their skills, experience, training, education, and other qualifications. What to look for in an answer:
- Passion for interior design
- Drive to work in your organization
- Relevant training, skills, education, and experience
Example:
“I think my skill set is a perfect match for your organization’s needs. I’m aware you need a creative designer and I’m confident my skills and experience would be valuable to you. My education, training, and ability to work well with others are also exceptional. I’d love the contribute to your exciting interior design projects.”
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Tell Me About A Time You Received Harsh Criticism From A Client How Did You Respond To It
Employers ask this question because they want to know how you solve problems and respond to feedback.
Example:”Last year I did a new web design for a client in the restaurant business. They were upset and felt the design was too plain. They wanted more patterns, colors, images and text. I knew too much would clutter the webpage and make it less appealing and user-friendly, but was happy to adjust some design elements for them. I explained why I felt simple would work well, and we came to a compromise that paired simplicity with the extra flair they wanted.”
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