Graphic Designer Interview Questions & Answers

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I have developed several web banners and landing pages for my previous employers. Details are enclosed in my portfolio for your view.

This is the chance for your sales pitch. Tell the interviewer how awesome you are and why your skills are a great fit for the company.

The answer will vary for each person. Some people will want to be experts in what they do, while others may see themselves in a more of a management role. Think about what you want for yourself, and confidently answer this question.

I like designing websites and advertisements as I believe my expertise lies here. However, I am also quite interested in mobile application designing which I would like to explore now.

More often than not, you’ll be working on multiple projects with deadlines that may overlap. This is an excellent opportunity to show off your project management and task prioritization skills.

From awards, to happy clients, consumers, engaged public, social movement, and tangible results in skyrocketing numbers and profits, we want to hear it all.

How did it start, what happened, and why did you succeed?

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.

The candidate needs to explain the entire design process, the decisions, ideation, context, why’s, do’s and dont’s, through describing the production and execution of a specific project.

Question the designer’s decisions to discover details of projects and the reasoning behind these decisions. Ask how the designer would have made those projects even better.

With this question, the employer is basically asking you why they should hire you over any other candidate and they’re also testing how well you know yourself as a professional graphic designer. Again, with this question it’s important to be honest and to think about what qualities and experience you might possess as a graphic designer that other candidates might not – this could be your previous client base, the range and depth of your experience – or even some of the techniques you’ve picked up in your career. Whatever reasons you give, be sure to have some examples to hand so you can back them up.

A great app requires a unique visual design, a fast and understandable user experience and interaction.

Clear display of information and hierarchy are fundamental in how the user understands the intended visual communication of the app. Memorable visual identity and association of colour are just a few elements that make a great app.

Show us some great apps and explain what makes them good. Likewise, explain how some popular apps could be improved upon.

Let your creative juices flow, we want to hear the craziest and wildest ideas of what might next drive the design industry. Extra points for storytelling!

For example, VR (virtual reality) is opening a big space in the consumer world: from gaming to virtual museums and any kind of virtual experiences. In regard to visual design and interaction, VR is one of the new mediums for design inclusion from the graphic and interactive perspective.

With this question, the interviewer is obviously keen to find out where your passion lies and what your motivations are for working in the industry. When trying to prepare your answer to this question, think about what it is that makes you want to continue to work in the graphic design industry. Is it the creativity aspect? The chance to create pieces which will be seen by thousands of people every day? Or the fact you get to create lots of different pieces of work every year? With this type of answer, it’s easy to tell who’s being false and who’s being honest so whatever answer you give, try and stay true to yourself and avoid copying anyone else.

Yes. I work with clients to create clean, functional, SEO friendly websites that are easy to navigate providing a positive user experience. This includes layout, design thru completion, SEO integration and final site upload. There are some aspects of more complex programming that I have chosen not to do – but will seek out professional colleagues for these client services if and when necessary.

Color plays a major part in the consideration of visual communication.

Big brands tell their stories through color. They connect with their consumers and the public with consistent use of color, color palettes and color systems. Color is a powerful tool that enables distinction and differentiation between brands. A brand that changes color with a new identity sometimes has dangerous results.

Tell us how successful brands communicate through color theory, and the meaning of color in design.

Your interviewer isn’t asking this question because she wants to know about that time in college that you had a paper due but your cat got a stomach virus and your car broke down. What she’s really asking is “Tell me a time that you succeeded under pressure”. You’ll want to answer it without framing it as a “woe is me” story. For instance:

“In my last position, we were working on a very strict budget and close deadline. Because we were skilled communicators, everyone was able to pull together and exceed client expectations when the presentation was rescheduled to a week ahead of time.”

(Be confident)
After five years, I see myself working for your firm in capacity of senior graphic designer, producing effective visual communications and making history in the field of graphic designing!

A question like this is why it’s so important to do your research. You don’t want to apply for a job doing layout design for educational materials and moon over how much you love motion graphics for social marketing campaigns. A sample answer might sound a little like:

“I’m always trying to develop better practices for streamlined User Interface layout graphics. I’m really excited at the work this company has done for XYZ website, and I hope I’ll get a chance to contribute to a similar project.”

Showing interest in your field outside of office hours may indicate you really love what you’re doing (and that’s always a good thing). If you don’t subscribe to any publications or websites, it’s never too late.

An employer might ask this question because, although you might have mentioned it on your CV or included it in your portfolio, they want to hear about your most successful campaign in your own words. With this question, the employer wants to hear about your passion for that particular campaign and why you personally think it was such a success. They’re also looking to see how you judge the success of a campaign and how and what you did to make it successful. Obviously with this question, your answer will depend on your previous experience – but whichever campaign you choose, try and have some stats to hand and be careful not to take responsibility for other people’s work.

From digital to print to 360 solutions, from social causes to luxury projects, pinpoint candidates’ interests and preferences, and build up the talk to personal goals, project goals and things they want to do and create but haven’t had a chance to do.

I have my portfolio here for your reference. I was asked to design an advertisement for baby clothes. It is a touchy subject which required much thought and sensitivity. I was actually quite apprehensive about offending they target audience but thankfully, it received accolades from both the company and the customers.

This is a helpful question to help identify any underlying issues. If you were fired or laid off from your previous position, please be honest and explain the circumstances. It’s much better to hear it from you than finding out from checking out references. Being terminated isn’t always a red flag or a deal breaker as long as you can explain yourself. If it’s something work related, like you weren’t satisfied with the projects or you were hitting a career ceiling, it’s often helpful for both your potential employer and you to see if you’re a right fit for each other.

While the first question assessed your motivation for the industry in general, this question is designed to test your motivations and reasons for applying for this particular role. The employer wants to see how much you know about the role and company on offer and they’re really asking why you think you’re a good fit for this particular graphic design job. When answering this question – again, it’s good to be honest – but you need to avoid citing purely selfish reasons eg. amazing salary or 40 days holiday a year. Instead of citing the aforementioned reasons, a better answer might be to say you’re looking for a new challenge and you’d love the chance to work for an established brand that has a great reputation within the industry. You could also mention how your skills and experience align perfectly with the role on offer – and how your values also match those of the brands.

When discussing design research, it is necessary to cover all the angles with which the candidate is familiar, and explain the reasoning why s/he decided to use a particular technique, tool, or way of thinking to achieve a result.

Nevertheless, if a designer received the data via the client, copywriter, strategist, or UX designer, it will be necessary to conduct further research that will confirm the designer’s statements, possibly upgrading the outcome.

Liking your job has never been a requirement of employment, but good employers know that happy workers do better work—especially if they like the work they’re doing. Every designer has his or her own specialty, something they like to do above all else. If what you like to do just happens to be the same job you’re applying for, then you’re in good shape.

Liking your job has never been a requirement of employment, but good employers know that happy workers do better work—especially if they like the work they're doing.

If you’re afraid that your interests and the job you’re applying for aren’t the best match for one another, then try to find the best answer that is not only honest, but makes you the best candidate for the job. You could mention that you would like to work your way up into a position that would let you work on your favorite types of projects, if that’s a possibility.

Or you could always aim for an answer that is a little broader. You could say that you like projects that allow you to work with a team, or that you like working on challenging projects that everybody else has given up on.