The Design Challenge: Lessons Learned
Designers know it well. The great Design Challenge that is one big step in the process to proving you are the right person for the job. After completing my first one, I learned a lot from it. These lessons can hopefully teach other new designers what to be prepared for as well.
Present your work. Sounds really basic, but I learned (the hard way) that it feels so unfulfilling when you don’t get the chance to present your work. I liken it to the feeling of telling a romantic interest you really love them, and then they just say “thank you.” Being able to present your work and explain the backstory, rationale, and research that was incorporated into your decisions is a critical part of being a designer; this skill should most certainly be tested too. If the company is not asking for this, chances are that their UX isn’t at a great maturity level and something to consider for you as the potential hire. Do I want to work in a company where I have to build up the UX from the ground up? This would likely include a lot of advocating and educating other members of the team, who are coming from a different angle and might not always agree with best design practices. Or do I want to work within a more established company that has a whole design team?
Schedule a time for you to present. If you it is not clear to you whether or not you will have the chance to present your work upon receiving it, ask for it so that you can solidify a time and place to do it. Do not just assume it will be coordinated later because it could very well slip through the cracks in the process. You run the risk of allowing the team to simply look at your work and judge based on first impressions alone. Good design is not simply how something looks; it is also function. You have the right to ask for space to explain it.
Design with the company’s aesthetics in mind even if you’re not “told” to do so. Again, sounds simple but there is a lot to be taken from this point. The assignments can seem limitless, and your creative mind can go off the deep end. The company is ultimately trying to see if you might be the missing puzzle piece to their team, and that puzzle piece includes your visual design appeal and whether it matches their current designs, and where they want to go in the future. It can be difficult to predict what that future path looks like for a company you barely even know, but take your best stab at it. Take the time to look at what’s available to you and incorporate those elements and nuances.
Design challenges can be a lot of work. If you think just one question is a lot of work, be prepared to possibly get two or three questions to be completed in less than a week’s time. You will lose sleep. You will be anxious about it. You will have doubt. You will also hit a point where you get completely tired of looking at it. As it is with much of design, you could continue to iterate forever and come up with endless possibilities. You might not know where to stop, but bring yourself back to the overarching goals, both for you and what the company might be looking for to hone the focus and put a limit on what you can accomplish within a reasonable time. In other words, keep your eye on the prize and remember your “why”.
Ask for feedback. Feedback is the MVP (Most Valuable Player) in my opinion. I approach design as objectively as I possibly can, however there is still so much that is subjective. It is because of that subjectivity that it is crucial and imperative that you ask for feedback from peers if you have access to it. Feedback can reveal things you may have not thought about and offer different perspectives. Most importantly, those diverse perspectives can help you along in developing your best outcome.
Consider this a roundup, but certainly not all-inclusive and I would like to invite you, as the reader, to include your lessons as well. There is much to be gained from reflecting on the process. Even if you don’t land the role, you get to take away something from doing the massive assignment. More lessons to come.
