39 Best UX Designer Interview Questions

Anytime you interact with something, you have a user experience. This might include using an app on your phone, browsing a website, trying out a game system, trying a new pickle ball racquet, or using public transportation.

A user experience (UX) designer works to make products and services that are easier, more effective—and even delightful—using their skills in graphic design, market research, and psychology. A well-designed user experience on your app or website can minimize friction and confusion and maximize ease and enjoyment to drive business success. Their input can have a dramatic and lasting impact on what customers think of when they think of your brand.

Because this field requires both technical and design skills and emotional insight, there is unique complexity to interviewing UX designers. So, let’s dig into a few questions you might ask when you interview UX designers for your company.

Essential Skills for UX Design

As you speak to potential UX designers, you may find a combination of both hard and soft skills to be beneficial. Those can include:

Hard Skills for UX Designers

Research and analysis, identifying the audience and what they want and need.
Information architecture—think blueprints for the infrastructure of the site or app—so that it’s effortless to understand and follow.
Wireframing, often done using Figma or similar software.
Prototyping to test functionality.
Visual communication, design and layout skills to make an impact consistent with your brand and appealing to the consumer.

Soft Skills for UX Designers

Teamwork and collaboration
Time management
Problem-solving
Curiosity
Empathy
Understanding of psychology
Written and verbal communication

RELATED: UX vs. UI Designer

Here are 39 UX designer interview questions to help you find the skilled candidate who fits your company best.

General UX Designer Interview Questions

What led you to choose a career in UX design?
What excites you about working for us?
How would you explain the value of UX design?
What do you consider the most essential skills for a UX designer?
What is your area of focus: UX Researcher, UX Designer, or Visual Designer?
As a UX designer, how would you explain the difference between UX and UI design to a client?
What are some websites and apps that you think have an outstanding design?
How would you explain design thinking?
How would you explain information architecture?
In what ways is UX design important in the process of application development?
How do you think web design will change in the next 5 years?

UX Designer Interview Questions for Hard Skills

What recommendations would you make to improve the UX of our website (or app)?
Which project in your portfolio is your favorite? Which design process did you use?
Which tasks in your role as a UX designer do you consider the most enjoyable?
What is your process for conducting a UX evaluation of a product?
What kind of research method do you use for new projects?
How do you discover the needs of your users?
What tools do you use for prototyping?
What is your approach to research and usability testing?
Talk about the process you use to choose the features of your designs.
What methods do you use to make websites and apps accessible to people with disabilities?
How would you explain the key differences between designing for desktop and mobile?
What metrics do you use to judge the success of your designs? How do you know they are accomplishing the company’s goals?
When you are ready for the final features of an application, how do you decide what will work best?
What is your process or steps when deciding the final features of an application?
Describe a design you completed that solved a business problem.

RELATED: UX Designer Job Description + Salary

UX Designer Interview Questions for Soft Skills

When creating a design, where do you go for inspiration?
What is your greatest strength as a designer?
What has been your biggest challenge, and how did you overcome it?
Walk me through your thought process when solving design problems.
Tell me about a time when a project didn’t go as planned. What were the circumstances, and how did you handle it?
What is your preferred way to collaborate with other developers and designers?
Tell me about your most successful UX design project; what do you think contributed to its success?
Tell me about your least successful UX design project; what do you think contributed to its lack of success?
Walk me through a time a client or supervisor didn’t like your design. How did you handle it?
How do you stay updated about the latest industry trends?
How do you recharge your creativity?
Who are some of the design leaders that you follow?
What are some emerging trends, or what do you think will be the next big thing in UX design?

Hiring the Right UX Designer for Your Organization

The right UX designer for your company will have the skills and experience to do the job but will also be a positive fit within your company culture. Whether your team works remotely or in person, seamless and constructive collaboration between your design, marketing, and production teams drives superior productivity and results.

We hope these interview questions help you find and hire an outstanding candidate, but if you’ve already got a lot on your plate, you don’t have to do it yourself!

We already have thousands of pre-screened top-tier designers with niche skill sets and a team of recruiters who are experts in the hiring process. Connect with us today to find out more.

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