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Product Designer Interview Kit

A complete interview kit to evaluate product designers on UX/UI expertise, problem-solving, collaboration, and cultural fit.

Questions

41

Duration

2-3 hours

Difficulty

Mid

Used By

500+ teams

PDF Format
1,448 downloads

Design & Technical Knowledge

Evaluate candidate's product design skills, tools mastery, and approach to UX/UI challenges.

11 questions

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Question 1: Walk me through your design process when starting a new product feature.

What to Look For

  • • Structured design process
  • • User research and discovery
  • • Wireframing and prototyping
  • • Testing and iteration
  • • Collaboration with PMs and engineers

Red Flags

  • • No structured process
  • • Jumps straight to visuals
  • • No mention of research
  • • No iteration

Follow-up Questions

  • • How do you prioritize research vs speed?
  • • What tools do you use at each step?
  • • What stage do you involve engineers?

Scoring Guide

Excellent (9-10):Describes structured process including research, iteration, and cross-team collaboration.
Good (7-8):Mentions process but shallow detail.
Average (5-6):Basic process with little iteration.
Poor (1-4):No process.

Question 2: How do you balance usability with aesthetics in your designs?

What to Look For

  • • User-first approach
  • • Awareness of accessibility
  • • Trade-offs between beauty and function
  • • Examples from past projects

Red Flags

  • • Focuses only on aesthetics
  • • Dismisses usability
  • • No examples

Follow-up Questions

  • • When have you prioritized usability over design polish?
  • • What metrics informed your decision?
  • • How did stakeholders react?

Scoring Guide

Excellent (9-10):Prioritizes usability with clear examples, balances both well.
Good (7-8):Understands balance but vague.
Average (5-6):Mentions aesthetics mainly.
Poor (1-4):Ignores usability.

Question 3: What tools do you use for prototyping and handoff? Why those tools?

What to Look For

  • • Mentions Figma, Sketch, InVision, Zeplin
  • • Awareness of collaboration tools
  • • Focus on developer handoff
  • • Efficiency reasons

Red Flags

  • • No tool experience
  • • Only mentions outdated tools
  • • No reasoning

Follow-up Questions

  • • What are Figma's best features for collaboration?
  • • Have you used component libraries?
  • • What's your handoff process?

Scoring Guide

Excellent (9-10):Names modern tools, explains why, shows collaboration mindset.
Good (7-8):Mentions tools but generic.
Average (5-6):Basic awareness.
Poor (1-4):No clue.

Question 4: How do you validate your design decisions with users?

What to Look For

  • • Usability testing
  • • A/B testing
  • • Surveys and interviews
  • • Iterative feedback
  • • Examples

Red Flags

  • • No user testing
  • • Relies only on intuition
  • • No data

Follow-up Questions

  • • Which testing methods do you prefer?
  • • How do you recruit users?
  • • How did feedback change your design?

Scoring Guide

Excellent (9-10):Mentions multiple validation methods with concrete examples.
Good (7-8):Mentions testing but vague.
Average (5-6):Basic awareness.
Poor (1-4):No validation.

Question 5: Explain the role of a design system. How have you contributed to one?

What to Look For

  • • Understanding of consistency
  • • Components, patterns, guidelines
  • • Collaboration with devs
  • • Scalability
  • • Examples

Red Flags

  • • No design system experience
  • • Confuses with style guide only
  • • Dismisses importance

Follow-up Questions

  • • What tools have you used?
  • • How did it impact velocity?
  • • What challenges did you face?

Scoring Guide

Excellent (9-10):Shows deep knowledge, examples of contribution, impact on scalability.
Good (7-8):Understands purpose, limited experience.
Average (5-6):Basic awareness.
Poor (1-4):No clue.

Question 6: How do you ensure your designs are accessible to all users?

What to Look For

  • • WCAG guidelines knowledge
  • • Color contrast awareness
  • • Screen reader considerations
  • • Keyboard navigation
  • • Testing tools and methods

Red Flags

  • • No accessibility knowledge
  • • Thinks it's not important
  • • No testing approach
  • • Afterthought only

Follow-up Questions

  • • What tools do you use to test accessibility?
  • • How do you convince stakeholders?
  • • Can you give a specific example?

Scoring Guide

Excellent (9-10):Demonstrates WCAG knowledge, tools, proactive approach, examples.
Good (7-8):Understands basics with some implementation.
Average (5-6):Basic awareness only.
Poor (1-4):No accessibility consideration.

Question 7: How do you approach designing for mobile vs desktop experiences?

What to Look For

  • • Mobile-first approach
  • • Responsive design principles
  • • Touch vs click interactions
  • • Screen real estate optimization
  • • Progressive disclosure

Red Flags

  • • Desktop-only thinking
  • • No responsive approach
  • • Ignores touch interactions
  • • One-size-fits-all design

Follow-up Questions

  • • Do you design mobile-first or desktop-first?
  • • How do you handle complex features on mobile?
  • • What about tablet experiences?

Scoring Guide

Excellent (9-10):Explains responsive strategies, mobile-first, interaction differences.
Good (7-8):Understands differences with basic approach.
Average (5-6):Some awareness but limited.
Poor (1-4):No mobile consideration.

Question 8: How do you reduce cognitive load in complex interfaces?

What to Look For

  • • Information hierarchy
  • • Progressive disclosure
  • • Chunking information
  • • Visual cues and affordances
  • • User mental models

Red Flags

  • • No understanding of cognitive load
  • • Adds complexity
  • • No simplification strategies
  • • Ignores user context

Follow-up Questions

  • • Can you show an example from your portfolio?
  • • How do you test cognitive load?
  • • What about power users vs new users?

Scoring Guide

Excellent (9-10):Demonstrates multiple strategies, user psychology understanding, examples.
Good (7-8):Knows basic principles with some application.
Average (5-6):Limited understanding.
Poor (1-4):No awareness of cognitive load.

Question 9: How do you measure the success of your design work?

What to Look For

  • • Quantitative metrics
  • • Qualitative feedback
  • • Business impact
  • • User satisfaction
  • • Iterative improvement

Red Flags

  • • No measurement
  • • Only aesthetics
  • • No business awareness
  • • No user metrics

Follow-up Questions

  • • What specific metrics have you tracked?
  • • How did you improve based on data?
  • • What tools do you use for analytics?

Scoring Guide

Excellent (9-10):Uses multiple metrics, ties to business goals, iterates based on data.
Good (7-8):Tracks some metrics with basic analysis.
Average (5-6):Limited measurement approach.
Poor (1-4):No measurement strategy.

Question 10: How do you approach designing for dark mode?

What to Look For

  • • Color theory understanding
  • • Contrast ratios
  • • System preferences
  • • Token-based approach
  • • Testing in both modes

Red Flags

  • • Just inverts colors
  • • No contrast consideration
  • • No systematic approach
  • • Afterthought only

Follow-up Questions

  • • How do you handle images and icons?
  • • What about color accessibility?
  • • How do you test both modes?

Scoring Guide

Excellent (9-10):Systematic approach, tokens, accessibility, thorough testing.
Good (7-8):Basic understanding with some implementation.
Average (5-6):Simple color inversion only.
Poor (1-4):No dark mode experience.

Question 11: How do you handle responsive layouts and breakpoints?

What to Look For

  • • Common breakpoint knowledge
  • • Fluid vs fixed layouts
  • • Content prioritization
  • • Testing approach
  • • Grid systems

Red Flags

  • • Fixed widths only
  • • No breakpoint strategy
  • • Desktop-only thinking
  • • No testing

Follow-up Questions

  • • What breakpoints do you typically use?
  • • How do you test responsive designs?
  • • What about unconventional screen sizes?

Scoring Guide

Excellent (9-10):Clear breakpoint strategy, fluid design, content prioritization.
Good (7-8):Basic responsive approach.
Average (5-6):Limited understanding.
Poor (1-4):No responsive design knowledge.

Behavioral Questions

Understand how candidate works with teams, handles feedback, and deals with conflict.

10 questions

+

Situational Questions

Assess candidate's ability to handle real-world product design challenges.

9 questions

+

Culture & Collaboration

Evaluate alignment with company values, adaptability, and communication.

10 questions

+

Complete Product Designer Interview Kit

Get all interview questions with scoring guides, red flags, and follow-up questions in a professionally formatted PDF.

PDF • 14 pages2.4 MBUpdated Dec 19, 2025
PDF Format
1,493 downloads

🎯 How to Use This Interview Kit

  1. 1.Review all questions before the interview to understand the evaluation criteria
  2. 2.Select 8-12 questions based on the role's specific requirements and interview time
  3. 3.Use the scoring guide to objectively evaluate each answer
  4. 4.Take detailed notes on specific examples and behaviors mentioned
  5. 5.Use follow-up questions to probe deeper when needed
  6. 6.Compare candidates using the standardized scoring system

Product Designer Interview Kit - Complete Interview Kit

Download all questions, evaluation criteria, and scoring guides in a beautifully formatted PDF. Perfect for interview preparation and team alignment.

PDF • 9 pages2.4 MBUpdated Dec 19, 2025
PDF Format
1,325 downloads

Interview Best Practices

✅ Do's

  • • Take detailed notes during the interview
  • • Ask follow-up questions to dig deeper
  • • Give candidates time to think
  • • Use the scoring guide consistently
  • • Document specific examples from answers

❌ Don'ts

  • • Don't rush through questions
  • • Don't ask illegal or discriminatory questions
  • • Don't make snap judgments
  • • Don't forget to sell your company
  • • Don't skip the candidate's questions

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