Questions: Graphic/Production Designer 2 Interview

1

we are looking to hire a graphic designer 2 (heavy production focus) at our small, non-profit company, and i was looking for some good questions to ask to assess not only their design sensibilities, but their understanding of the balance and/or difference of design and production.

i don’t want to google this, because i feel like the results would be the type of questions that are sort of trite and often a bit useless…i don’t want tricky questions that aren’t helpful. :zany_face: i would love some seasoned-professionals here to shoot me some good questions they might have or have used before.

thanks in advance! :smiley:

2

A few things that come to mind.

  • I would ask applicants to describe their process. You said production, so I am assuming that is for print jobs. So I think just asking them to walk you through the steps they take. And then ask clarifying questions if necessary. But I think that would get you to understand their workflow, which tools they use (or don’t use) and it hopefully will identify where they may say something to the effect of “I would ask about X” or “I would ask for “Y” such as perhaps timeframes, the approval chain, etc.
  • I feel the above approach should give you a starting point, where you can dig a little deeper and ask the questions you need to ask to see if they have the knowledge and experience and if they would be a good fit.
  • Perhaps ask them about tip and tricks they use to streamline the design process.
  • Maybe hand them some pieces (once again if this is print production) and ask them how they would go about creating the file. And stress that you want them to really provide teh steps they take, the tools they use, the processes they would follow, etc.
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3

Here’s what I’ve always done when interviewing designers, but it’s not the answer you were asking about.

By the time designers reached the finalist stage and were interviewed, I had already seen their portfolios, their resumes, checked their references, Googled them, checked their social media accounts, and looked up whatever else I thought was important. Their portfolios told me most things I needed to know about their abilities, education, expertise, experience, and whether they could do the job.

If there was missing information, I’d ask them about it in the interview. Otherwise, I would try to get to know the person. I would often ask what book they’re reading. What movies do they like? What they do in their spare time. I would see if they had a sense of humor. Observe how they would attempt to tailor their answers to what they thought I wanted them to say. I might ask them to name a few things outside of design that genuinely fascinated them, or what historical figure they would like to have lunch with.

Rather than asking the predictable, easy-to-answer questions, I would try to fill in the blanks for each applicant and probe their analytical abilities, problem-solving skills, range of interests, and general curiosity. I would evaluate body language and emotional reactions, and look for personality traits that might make me regret hiring them.

Before the interview began, I would have already known what they could do. By the end of the interview, my goal was to better understand what motivated and interested them and how they might fit in. I liked to hire smart, self-starters, who were honest, didn’t have big egos, didn’t need to be tightly supervised, and who got genuine joy from solving difficult problems and discovering new things. I also expected a sense of humor, and would eliminate anyone whose demeanor gave me reason to doubt what they were telling me (or not telling me).

In addition, I would expect them to ask me questions because, after all, they were also interviewing me.

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4

this is great…thank you!

5

One question I always ask is what are their impressions if a client were to reject 3 or 5 design proposals and how does it make them feel when a client is not acceptant of design proposals.

I’m typically looking for emotional intelligence and that no is not a personal insult.

The answer I want here is that there is a communication gap.

It usually means the brief was poorly defined and instead of wasting more time on it to get the core issue and plug that gap.

Walk me through a time a project went completely sideways. What was your role in fixing it?
Want to see if they are pointing fingers or taking ownership (blamer vs leader).

How do you balance design with a tight production deadline?
How pragmatic they are.

If I gave you a brand style guide today, how long would it take you to feel comfortable ‘policing’ it for others?
Can they hit the ground running?

Usually figure out if they are worker bees or problem solvers.

I want the latter.

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6

For myself I don’t have any experience asking questions for interviewers but I would say the most important question is the last one ¨ Do you have any questions ? “If someone says ¨ mmm no …” then the interviewer is rejected immediately then why ? Well an easy answer because this means they are not interested in anything about the job.

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7

I did not read all of the replies, so maybe someone else said this. I’d want to see their files so I can judge how well they are built.

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8

wonderful….thanks!

9

yes….good point!! thanks.