Professional Graphic Designer Interview Preparation Guide

The question is genuine. In the field where you create something it often happens that your work does not get its deserving appreciation. This is due to the differing tastes of different persons. You can say that you take that criticism in a healthy manner. It offers you a challenge to do better. It enhances your experience and helps you to grow in your career field in a better manner.

A logo is the smallest entity that symbolizes a company. It is often treated as a marketing material. Designing a logo for a company demands great observation and creativity. A logo should be designed in such a way that a common man can easily relate it with the company. It should be memorable and eye catching. It should help in growing the company name into a brand. You can also cite examples of your work through your portfolio.

1. When you arrive in the interview give us your business card. It should be well designed, memorable, simple and hopefully have a great idea. It should be unique and you should be branded.
2. Have 8-12 pieces of work in your folio. Put the best pieces at the front and back.
3. Have at least six questions ready to ask (if you have less, you'll find they will be answered in the course of the interview).
4. Take a pad and pen, take it out at the beginning of the interview. You don't have to take notes, but it looks as if you are organized.
5. Talk about your work before you show it, but don't talk too much. This should be one short sentence to engage the interviewer with you. We will be looking at you as you speak. Then show us your work.
6. Have samples and mock ups.
7. Bring sketches. We are as interested in how you got to the final solution as the solution itself. You can show other concepts.
8. Have a copy of your CV (resumé) at the back of the portfolio. Offer it even if we already have it.
9. On your CV don't tell people about exam results or part-time jobs that have nothing to do with your chosen career. It pisses us off.
10. Don't talk about holiday or money in a first interview.
11. Give a firm handshake.
12. Tell us you really want the job (believe it or not, hardly anyone does this).
13. Ask for our business card(s).
14. When you get back home, send an email thanking us for the interview.
15. Make sure your branding is consistent on your business card, CV and email signature.
16. One for luck: Remember, 80% of design students are crap. We see lots of CVs (95% of which are crap). If you can get into the top 20% you will get a job.

Name some of the famous companies that you idolize. Tell about some of the best creations they have given. Give reason of your liking. Also add that you see yourself in the same competition. Be precise and confident.

This question should be framed in a very intelligent manner. Answer in the way that suits your working style. Remember your answer should be reflected in your portfolio. All the three things are correlated and efficiency in one yields in the better initiation of the other.

I've interviewed lots of prospective graphic designers - and I've learned a great deal about what to expect and what to look for in a graphic design interview. Here are some of the things which I find to be a complete turn off - some may seem obvious 'no-nos', but they happen again and again.

* Don't say that your grand plan is to learn as much as possible from your first job and then strike out on your own as a freelancer or to set up your own studio. Your ambition to steal your prospective boss's secrets and then set up in direct competition won't make you any friends.
* Don't appear desperate for the job - if you say that you've been to loads of interviews with no luck (and now you have to get a job or you don't know what you'll do) you won't get the job.
* Don't whisper - speak clearly. Don't fidget or look away while the interviewer is talking.
* Don't moan about how badly you were treated in your last job, or how much you hated your boss. If you do, your prospective employer may think you'll talk the same way about him or her behind their back!
* Don't produce vast amounts of irrelevant work from your college portfolio - just produce designs which would be at home in a commercial arena (adverts, stationery, brochures etc). My experience of college work has been mixed. Usually it comes over as somewhat (and I certainly don't mean to cause offence by saying this)... self-indulgent... and decidedly uncommercial. Many's the time that I would have got more out of seeing a couple of logo and stationery designs than I did out of looking through three years of abstract batik and photos of bicycles made of cheese.
* Don't give the impression that you're just there for the money. The employer won't care nearly as much about what you can get from the job as they will be concerned about what you can give. Employing a new graphic designer has to be a profitable decision. If your contribution is unprofitable, your job won't last long.

★ Adobe Photoshop is an image editing software.
★ Photoshop allows to modify images using painting tools.
★ Images , logos can be created using Photoshop.
★ Picture / image editing is done with Photoshop.
★ It also supports text graphics, water marks, transparent images.
★ Adjustments to the images can be done like contrast and color balancing.

★ Photoshop work area consists of Application Bar, Tools Panel, Options Bar, Document Window and Panel Dock.
★ Application Bar:
It contains menu bar along with many controls to zoom, buttons for viewing extras.
★ Tools Panel:
It contains a set of tools for selecting, manipulating images.
★ Options Bar:
There are various options available.
★ Document Window:
It displays the current working file.
★ Panel Dock:
Panel dock has several panels to edit/modify the images. By default there are layer, adjustment and style panels.

At times images need to re-size to suit a particular purpose of the application.
★ The unit measurement of pixels is 1 cm = 28 pixels.
★ The units can be adjusted by using Edit -> Preferences->Units and Rulers.

The parameters to change the size of picture are:
★ Type of picture.
★ Size of Pixels
★ Background resolution
★ Standard picture usually of size 200 x 200
★ Title Bar
★ Select Image->image size menu item.

★ Place the non printing grid as per the need.
★ Capture the screen using Alt + PrintScreen.
★ Open a new file. Set the size as per the requirements.
★ Paste the selected image.
★ Crop away any unwanted part of the image.
★ Place a grid on the printable image.
★ Click on Print.