User Experience (UX) designers are responsible for creating a great web experience for the user when they interact with a website, an app, an electronic, or anything. In the digital landscape, a UX designer is entrusted with the responsibility to the website or app’s user experience when they’re browsing through it.
This often involves studying user behavior and architecting their journey that enables the user to achieve their desired result with minimum effort. UX is often used alongside UI (User Interface), however, the latter is more focused on designing the presentation and the overall interactivity of the product. A lot of roles often combine both UX and UI.
Some of the key responsibilities of a UX designer include:
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Knowing the human-computer interaction element of a design.
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Observing existing applications and studying their UX effectiveness.
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Using tools such as screen readers to better understand their audience and how they interact.
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Running regular user testing of applications or websites and software to see how easy they are to use.
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Defining user task flow, interaction design and models, and specifications for UI design.
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Defining and sharing hypothetical user scenarios, end-to-end experiences, interaction models, and screened designs to other teams that are working on a project.
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Working with the creative team to bring in the visual or brand identity in the final product.
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Developing and maintaining design wireframes and specifications.
Some of the key skills required for a UX designer include:
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An eye for good and user-friendly design
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Ability to come up with creative solutions
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Strong problem-solving skills and mathematical aptitude, be a team player
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Brilliant IT and programming skills
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Excellent project/product manager with time management and organizational skills
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Accuracy and attention to detail
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Ability to keep up with the latest trends and their role in the new designs
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Self-development skills to keep up with the changing trends and staying abreast of the latest developments
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Professional approach to time, cost, and deadlines
UX Designer Interview Questions and Answers - A Few Examples:
Listed below are a few UX Design interview questions that you could expect in your interview.
1. Tell us about yourself, your work & portfolio, process and goals
This is a hint to take the interviewer through your resume. They want to know what your experience has been so far and how it can help you with the role that you’re applying for. Don’t take them through every single detail of your resume or get too personal. Use this as an opportunity to highlight your key role and achievements and how they translate into you being the ideal choice for this role.
Walk them through your previous jobs and projects. Talk to them about why you’re leaving your existing job and what you’re looking for in your next position. Give them a sense of your personality by telling them a little bit about your hobbies and passion. Use this opportunity to not just tell them about your professional accolades but also what kind of a team member you are to work with.
2. Why is UX design important? What’s its true value?
If you’ve made it to the interview, then both you and the interviewer know that you’re aware of the textbook definition of UX design. That’s not why they’re asking the question. They want to know if you truly understand the value of UX in real life and can tell the difference between what UX design is and what it definitely isn’t.
UX design isn’t about drawing sketches and wireframes and making things look pretty. It’s a hundred percent about the user and your answer should reflect that. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
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Highlight the importance of user-centricity and empathy.
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Talk about how user empathy translates into good business.
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Talk about customer journeys and usability testing.
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Do you have a case study from your portfolio to back all your answers? Highlight it here to demonstrate your understanding of UX design.
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Show them that you understand why UX matters.
One way to prepare for this question is to pretend that you’re talking to an eight-year old; trying to explain the concept to them. Then try to explain it to a university graduate and then a UX design expert. This will ensure that your answer includes a good balance of simplicity and complexity that’s understandable for everyone.
You could also talk about how UX design translates in terms of the employer’s needs and priorities, making it easier for them to relate to it.
3. Why do you want to work here?
This isn’t a question directly connected with UX design but it is one that is asked in almost every job interview. If you do your homework well, you’ll be able to answer this question well.
Is the company you’re applying for a large corporation or a tech startup? Maybe you could talk about how you love a fast-paced and innovative work environment or that you’re looking for the stability that proven companies offer and have heard wonderful things about their principal UX designer and would love a chance to work with them.
Go through the company’s ‘About Us’ page to get a sense of what their values are and align your answers with them. Or you could also ask them about the values that they’re most proud of and how they treat their employees to make it a dialogue.
4. Tell us about your favorite project that you’ve worked on?
This could be something that you briefly mention when answering the “tell me about yourself” UX design interview question. You could mention it as one of the projects that you worked on and specifically highlight what was so special about it.
When answering this question, make sure you specify what makes this project different from the others. Maybe it was a unique challenge or maybe it delivered better than expected results. Or it could be a personal passion project making it that much more important to you.
The interviewer uses this question to understand what excites you or how you tackle unique challenges. There’s no right or wrong answer here so, be as descriptive as you can and give them all the details to form a positive opinion about you.
5. Tell us some of the biggest trends in the UX Design industry right now and how you feel about them?
This is one of the few UX design interview questions that allow you to truly communicate your passion and knowledge in the field. A good designer is often excited about this topic and it helps you communicate that you’re up-to-date with the industry. This means you follow the UX design publications, listen to podcasts, follow the experts in the fields, attend webinars, training courses, and basically ensure that your knowledge is aligned with the latest trends.
You may talk about prototyping tools, or converting a design to code and saving designers’ time. You may even talk about the latest user report and how that applies to the current system. If you have an opinion about a specific trend, share it. This is an opportunity to talk about solving problems for users in new and efficient ways.
6. Take us through your workflow.
UX design has problem-solving at its core making it a very hands-on profession with no strict process to follow. This question is an opportunity to talk about your approach to problem-solving and how you use design thinking to drive your processes. The question about workflow is to understand this.
Again, there’s no right or wrong answer here but it’s a great opportunity to demonstrate your creative and analytical skills. Make sure that you cover the key steps in the process such as personas, user research, user flows to prototypes, building wireframes, testing, and analysis. Point out how different contexts and different projects demand unique approaches and that you can recognize and adapt to this.
Use an example to take them through your workflow. Discuss the steps and potential challenges and how you would address those.
7. What are some research methods that you use when working on a project?
Talk about the types of research that you normally use. Avoid mentioning something that you’ve not truly implemented as it may backfire. However, you can mention what methods you use now (online surveys) but what you would like to use (face-to-face) if given an opportunity and the required budget.
Show them that you’re familiar with different research techniques and how you can use them in a project.
8. Tell us about some of the biggest challenges you face as a UX designer.
There are many--one of them being the ability to evaluate your work objectively. Also, talk about how you’ve overcome these challenges. Another challenge is being able to justify your design process to your clients--sometimes may seem too costly or not good enough. Talk about how you’d address this.
Another challenge could be finding innovative ways to conduct user research. This can prove to be especially difficult if you work remotely because it restricts your access to direct users.
Don’t just list challenges but also talk about overcoming them.
9. What does “Design thinking” mean to you?
“Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.”. It is a structured way to come up with solutions and a practical, creative resolution of business problems. Design thinking uncovers insights into the unmet needs of your target audience. It’s a ‘people first’ approach—a design process mindset that designs products around people’s needs, motivations, and behaviors.
Conclusion
There is no set list of UX design interview questions that you can go through to feel prepared for an interview. However, having a true passion for the profession, keeping yourself abreast of all the latest innovation and trends, and doing your homework before the interview can help you impress the interviewers and get the job.