Designer Interview Questions
A designer can work in a variety of capacities, including graphic design, web and app design, fashion design, interior design, and software design. Designers apply their creative skills to create visually appealing and engaging elements. When interviewing for design positions, interviewers often ask questions that relate to specific knowledge and skills.
Top Designer Interview Questions & How to Answer
Here are three top designer interview questions and how to answer them:
Question #1: How do you overcome a creative block?
How to answer: People in creative roles, such as design, often have to apply unique skills and can run into blocks when they feel stuck or unsure of how to proceed. When answering this question, describe how you avoid procrastinating when you feel stuck creatively and what fresh concepts you use to break out of a creative slump.
Question #2: Describe a time when a client wasn't happy with your work.
How to answer: Designers often run into situations when their vision doesn't align with the client's vision. Prior to the interview, think about a specific situation when you had to adjust your work to adhere to what the client wanted. Use the STAR method: Describe the situation, task, action, and result.
Question #3: How do you balance multiple projects with competing priorities?
How to answer: A designer regularly has to balance multiple projects, often with competing priorities. Use this question to talk about how you manage stressful situations, especially when you have ongoing work supplemented by urgent client requests or needs. This answer can also outline your organizational method for meeting deadlines and managing tasks.
Tell me about your favorite project.
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Where my computer crashed and I recreated all my projects with a new eye for design. Sometimes it’s about revamping instead of recollecting and my new project was better than the project that was lost. I am a creator and I want to always create🥰 Less
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This is a common question so prepare thoroughly. Run through your creative process, iterations, and outcome of the project. Less
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I ran into my portfolio and talked about that project/process.
Your work is very masculine, how will you work to accommodate our style which is typically more feminine?
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Wow, that is an illegal question! Please don't answer this.
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As a designer my style works to match the projects needs. Additionally, my interest in this position is partially based on the opportunity to expand my experience and show that I can work in other styles. Less
Say there was a function that took 1 second to execute and you needed to run this function 10 million times, how would you cut down on the execution time?
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Build a system that would run the functions concurrently.
Who determines user standards, you, the company, someone else?
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Usability standards are not established by a person or place, but it is what is adopted by the user community at large. It is difficult to change or establish new standards, but it is more important for usability to follow standards that are studied and identified by usability experts, such as Jakob Nielsen or Steve Krug. Less
The collaborative task included choosing an existing digital product with a 'freemium' subscription model similar to Spotify and thought-storming ideas/solving issues around it.
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I initially worked collaboratively with a panel of designers and developers to talk about the problem and capture thoughts. I was then left to my own devices for an hour to present some ideas/solutions, which I presented back to the panel. Less
My exercise was to redesign the Netflix homepage for desktop. The Global VP of Design at Spotify happens to be Rochelle King, formerly of Netflix. I thought that was clever.
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I asked questions about available user data and what problems we were trying to solve with the redesign. I proposed solutions and an additional recommendation to remove the horizontal scrolling rows. (Users expect vertical scrolling on the web, and using both vertical and horizontal scrolling requires users to move their viewport in two dimensions, which is difficult with a trackpad device or smaller viewport.) Less
How do you deal with a group of twelve or more people who all have a different opinion about what looks good and what doesn't
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One must establish what 'look and feel' works best for the end user, or target market. The purpose is to strengthen the brand, not necessarily try to design something that everyone is going to like. That's impossible to accomplish, it's just too subjective. It is better to instill better usability as a standard and use colors and graphics that are compelling but are not overstated. Always think of the old saying "form follow function." Less