Your visual designers are the creative visionaries behind your brands identity. Your customer’s first impression of your brand often comes from their work. Because of this, mis-hires cost you not only time and resources; they can potentially damage your brands reputation. Fortunately, you can avoid this.
This article talks about how to find the best visual designers by using a mix of tests before the interview, thorough portfolio reviews, and in-depth interviews. We know it can be hard to think of good interview questions, so we’ve also included a list of visual designer interview questions for you to use.
Before you invite someone to an interview, you should look at their visual design skills, including their UX/UI design skills. This will help you evaluate the full range of their abilities and ensure you like their creative style.
Landing a job as a visual designer takes skill creativity and the ability to impress potential employers during the interview process. With competition being fierce for talented visual design professionals, you need to enter each interview ready to showcase your abilities and experience.
In this article we’ll take an in-depth look at 10 of the most common visual design interview questions, why employers ask them and how to craft winning answers. With the right preparation and responses, you’ll be ready to land your dream visual design role.
Why Visual Design Interview Questions Matter
Visual design interviews allow hiring managers and recruiters to assess your skills, thought processes, and approach to projects. Their questions aim to determine if you’ll be a good fit for their team and the role.
Common visual design interview questions evaluate your:
- Technical skills and software proficiency
- Design process and approach
- Problem solving abilities
- Communication and collaboration skills
- Knowledge of best practices and industry trends
Preparing solid responses demonstrates your capabilities and commitment to producing high-quality work. It also allows your personality to shine through so interviewers get a sense of what you’d be like to work with.
With preparation and practice, you can enter each interview full of confidence, ready to take on whatever questions come your way.
10 Common Visual Design Interview Questions and How to Answer Them
Let’s look at some of the top visual design interview questions you’re likely to encounter, along with tips for crafting strong answers:
1. Can you walk me through your design process from start to finish?
This open-ended question allows you to provide an overview of your approach to visual design projects. Use it as an opportunity to demonstrate your methodical nature and strong organizational skills.
In your response, be sure to touch on key phases of the design process like:
- Gathering requirements and goals from stakeholders
- Conducting user research
- Developing mood boards or style tiles
- Creating wireframes and prototypes
- Designing and presenting drafts
- Gathering feedback through user testing
- Making revisions and finalizing designs
Example response:
“When starting a new project, I always kick things off by meeting with stakeholders to understand their goals, target users, brand style, and any technical requirements. From there, I conduct user research to gain insights into end-user needs.
Once I have a solid understanding of the project requirements, I begin ideation by developing mood boards and style tiles to establish the visual direction. Then I create wireframes and prototypes to test layout options and flows.
When I have design drafts ready, I present them to stakeholders for feedback. I also conduct usability testing to see how target users interact with the designs. Taking the feedback into account, I refine the designs and present final deliverables. Throughout the process I collaborate closely with developers to ensure designs are technically feasible.”
2. How do you stay inspired and aware of the latest design trends?
Employers want to see that you are passionate about design and dedicate time to continuously improve your skills. In your response, emphasize your enthusiasm for the field and provide examples of resources you rely on to stay inspired.
Some ideas to mention include:
- Reading design blogs and magazines
- Following influencers on social media
- Attending webinars and design conferences
- Expanding your skills through online classes
- Participating in daily design challenges
Example response:
“I’m passionate about design, so I make a point to immerse myself in the industry every day. I start my morning reading design blogs and newsletters like Design Milk. I also follow thought leaders across social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube.
When I have some free time, I enjoy taking online courses to expand my skills in areas like motion graphics and UX design. Attending local design meetups and events also exposes me to new trends and techniques. When I’m feeling uninspired, doing quick daily design challenges helps get my creative juices flowing again.”
3. How would you explain the value of good visual design to someone unfamiliar with the field?
This question tests your ability to advocate for the importance of visual design in a way that resonates with those outside the industry. When responding, use relatable examples and clear language to get your point across.
Be sure to touch on concepts like:
- Making complex data/information easy to digest
- Improving usability and the overall user experience
- Increasing customer conversion rates and ROI
- Reinforcing brand recognition and loyalty
- Enhancing accessibility
Example response:
“I would explain that in today’s crowded digital landscape, visual design is what makes websites, apps and products stand out, be usable, and drive business goals. For example, simple, intuitive interfaces mean users can navigate smoothly. Clean, consistent design builds brand recognition and trust. Beautiful visuals draw attention and create engagement.
At the end of the day, good visuals are what entice users to click, buy, subscribe or download. So while visual design may seem cosmetic on the surface, it plays a crucial strategic role in any company’s success by supporting core business objectives like revenue growth and customer loyalty.”
4. Tell me about a time you had to defend a design decision you made.
Interviewers often use behavioral questions to understand how you’ve handled real work situations in the past. This question evaluates your communication skills and ability to stand behind your work.
In your response, set up the situation by explaining the project background and design decision you made. Then detail how you politely but firmly stood your ground with stakeholders. Share the positive outcome as well.
Example response:
“I was designing a homepage hero banner for a client website. Based on my research of top-performing hero banners, I chose a prominent call-to-action with minimal supporting text to create a clean, uncluttered look. However, the client insisted we overload the banner with multiple messages.
I explained that while I understood the desire to communicate a lot upfront, an overly busy banner would likely overwhelm users, reduce clickthrough rates, and dilute our primary CTA. I showed examples of effective hero banner design best practices to support my approach.
In the end, the client agreed the clean layout I proposed would be more effective. After launch, we saw excellent clickthrough rates on the homepage CTA, proving the value of my design direction.”
5. How do you handle situations when you have a disagreement with a developer or engineer on the team?
Visual designers work closely with developers and engineers to bring products to life. Expect differences of opinion or conflicts to arise occasionally. With this question, interviewers want to see that you can resolve issues collaboratively while keeping the project’s end goal in mind.
In your response, acknowledge that disagreements happen when cross-functional teams work together. Provide an example where you maintained a solutions-focused mindset during a difference of opinion with an engineer. Share how you identified a compromise that served the success of the overall product or project.
Example response:
“When collaborating closely with developers and engineers, it’s natural that there will be differing opinions sometimes. My approach is always to keep an open mind and focus on finding solutions together.
For example, I once had a disagreement with an engineer about whether to include hover states across all interactive elements on a website. After a helpful discussion of each of our perspectives, we agreed that maintaining hover states only for the primary CTAs would meet UX needs while balancing development time.
Having constructive conversations to identify compromises that work for the product and users is key.”
6. Tell me about a time you had to manage competing priorities with a tight deadline. How did you handle it?
Working under tight deadlines is common in agency settings or at startups. This question reveals your time management skills, as well as your grace under pressure.
In your response, explain the scenario and competing priorities you juggled. Provide details to demonstrate your organizational abilities. Share the positive outcome of your efforts. Make sure to highlight how you kept stakeholders updated on progress.
Example response:
“When I was designing a website rebrand for a client, halfway through the project they asked us to pivot and instead focus on designing their upcoming campaign landing page for a tight 2-week deadline. With the rebrand work still needing to get done, I had to figure out how to deliver both projects on time.
I met with my manager and the client to re-prioritize deliverables and adjust timelines. I worked with my team to rebalance tasks between us. I also set up daily check-ins with the client to provide visibility into progress. With excellent planning and collaboration, we successfully completed both the rebrand designs and campaign landing page on time, despite the competing priorities.”
7. How do you create designs and layouts that work well across different devices and platforms?
Responsive design is a must-have skillset for visual designers today. Interviewers will be assessing your technical abilities with this question. Avoid vague claims, and instead provide specific examples of techniques you leverage and tools you use to create responsive, multi-platform experiences.
Example response:
“With users accessing content across a growing range of devices, creating responsive, adaptable designs is essential. Some key techniques I use are:
- Mobile-first design strategy
- Flexible layouts using CSS grid, Flexbox and responsive units like %, em,
How do you keep on top of your professional development?
Professional development is an essential part of every career. But because the industry is always changing, candidates need to keep up with their own growth. One way to do this is to keep learning new software, research and follow industry trends, or go to workshops and conferences.
Candidates who can show what steps they take show that they want to improve their careers and are able to do well in a field that is always changing.
1 How do you prioritize your task list to achieve tight deadlines?
Creative industries like visual design often come with tight deadlines. If you want to know if a candidate values hard work and setting priorities the same way your company does, ask them how they organize their workday.
A useful answer will provide clear strategies for prioritizing tasks, like breaking larger projects into manageable tasks. If a candidate gives a vague answer to this question, it could make you wonder about their ability to handle time well in a fast-paced setting.
Graphic Design Interview Questions with Answer Examples
FAQ
What does a visual design include?
What is an example of visual design?
What questions should you ask a visual designer?
In this article, we’ve curated a selection of common interview questions tailored for aspiring visual designers, along with strategic advice on crafting responses that will highlight your unique talents and passion for the field. 1. How do you balance user accessibility with high-end aesthetic in your designs?
Why should you ask a visual design interview?
Asking visual design interview questions is important because it demonstrates that you are actively staying informed and knowledgeable about the latest trends, tools, and techniques in the field. Visual design is an ever-evolving field, and this question allows a potential employer to see that you are committed to staying competitive and relevant.
Are You Nervous for a visual designer job interview?
You’ve been called in for a visual designer job interview—congrats! You’re likely to feel excited and nervous at the same time because you want to make sure your portfolio is on point and that you have the answers to any questions they might throw at you.
What are the graphic design interview questions and answers?
The Graphic Design Interview Questions and Answers serves as an indispensable resource for graphic designers seeking to excel in their careers. This comprehensive guide is tailored to meet the needs of both beginners and seasoned professionals, covering a wide range of topics essential for success in the dynamic field of graphic design.
