1. Which Should You Choose? Native, Web App, or Hybrid?
To summarize, native apps, hybrid apps, or web apps cater to the needs of the mobile user. There is no best solution; each has its strengths and weaknesses. The choice depends on each client's unique needs.
2. Explain me three Components of the “Wow!” Factor?
If the designer is limited by brand guidelines, the “Wow!” effect can be achieved in other areas.
Let's imagine that we have a beautiful and expensive pen. But if it doesn't write well, we will probably abandon it and go for an ordinary pen that suits our purpose. Fancy, eye-catching design cannot always help an ineffective product, so we must always think about designing an experience that pleasantly surprises the user by helping him to achieve the intended task faster and efficiently.
It is important to note that “Wow!” factors depend on the concept from the UX/visual designer being well executed by the programmer.
3. Tell us 3 of your favorite mobile apps?
If you've chosen App Developing as a career, chances are you're always in the know of the latest apps. The recruiting manager will expect you are always trying out and testing different apps and you have a solid criteria about what's well done and what should improve. Be sure you take some of your favorite apps on your smartphone, be prepared to talk about them from functionality and developing context.
4. Tell us do you have any experience migrating an app from one platform to another?
Most apps must be available on more than one OS, so experience reconfiguring or migrating an app from one platform to another is a very valuable treat. Tell about your experience in this field and detail the apps you have reconfigured and the solutions you have found to do it. If you don't have any experience, expose the reasons why you think you are technically prepared to do it.
5. Tell us do you do code reviews?
One of the fastest ways to grow as a developer is to have other people read and comment on your code. Frequent code reviews mean the team is committed to getting better.
6. Tell me what milestones do you recommend for this project?
Good designers should feel comfortable committing to milestones so you can make sure you're on the same page, review their work, and stagger payments as objectives are completed. This is especially helpful for larger projects. It's often a good idea to break them up into phases or smaller pieces and pay as each milestone is reached, especially if you haven't worked with the designer before.
7. Tell me how did your last two projects go?
This question is designed to give you a sense of what the designer is like to work with. If the professional tells you that their last several experiences were less than stellar and that their clients demanded too much too quickly, or that the client didn't appreciate their designs, that's a flag that they may be difficult to work with.
8. Tell me your experience migrating mobile apps to different platforms?
Mobile app developers need to be experienced not only with different languages for different mobile platforms, but also know how to reconfigure or migrate to different platforms.
9. Tell us what you love most about UI design?
This is the most simple question and a crucial one to answer. With this question, the employer will get to know the motivation and the drive for you to be in this area of work. As a UI designer, what are the crucial aspects you like about it from user testing to designing new layouts and creating interesting visual language, anything which can hook you up in it will be the best answer.
UI design is not an art, it requires not only design acumen but a business mindset to deliver the best results. While answering this question, ensure to back them up with relevant and strong examples and reasoning as to why a specific part of UI design attracts you. Include how you ensure to keep up to date on it and how you intend to improvise on to make it better day by day.
10. Tell me what in your views is the future of UI design?
Keep yourself up to date with the upcoming trends in the user interface field before answering. Because it helps the employer to know how truly dedicated, passionate and knowledgeable you are in the field and how proactive you will be in your approach to stay ahead of the competitors. Therefore, learn about all the interesting buzz and hot trends in the market.
Best is to read about micro-interaction, layered interface and agnostic information flow, from what it is, how it works, what is its significance and what are their future implications. Let the employer know the level of commitment and interest you have in a user interface and how your approach as a designer is different from others.
11. Tell us what is the app you think with a bad UI design?
Sometimes an employer can ask about your opinion on a bad design instead of asking about the good design. One must need to know about the bad UI design in their opinion. The UI designer should have a strong opinion as to why they think it to be a design which is not user-friendly.
This question answers two very important aspects about the designer, firstly, how a UI designer thinks and what are the important aspect for a designer to know the value of the button, scroll bars, signs and process involved in the design. Letting know the employer about how a designer perceives the problem. Secondly, how the designer thinks about the user. Reasoning with the issues as to why the end user will not be able to work through it effectively will show your problem-solving capabilities.
12. Tell me how do you understand QA/QC?
The answer to this question lies in the question itself. QA/QC is a combination of quality assurance and quality control. You may now be confused about the difference between the two. Quality assurance (QA) refers to the process of measuring and assuring that a certain level of quality of a product (in this case, an application) has been met. Quality control (QC) refers to the process of meeting consumer expectations.
With quality control, you will need to focus more on user experience and with quality assurance, you must focus more on bugs, errors and other functional aspects. The two are related to each other and are not mutually exclusive. Quality assurance is process oriented and focuses on the importance of developing a software program and preventing errors that may occur in future. Quality control on the other hand focuses on the application itself and ensures that the final application is user-friendly.
13. Tell me which platform do you like the best?
This is one of those questions that is posed rather benignly but hides a malignant intent. If you answer either iOS or Android or another mobile platform, you will have to explain why you do not like the other platform so much. You must rather answer saying that it is up to the client to decide which one is more suitable for them and if you had to choose one, you would look at the target audience and user base. Now, recruiters will not like an answer like that. In such a situation, answer honestly and pick the one that you have most experience with. You can explain and substantiate your choice by saying you have more experience with platform X than platform Y and that is the reason why you choose the former over the latter.
14. Tell us what are your other interests?
This is a benign question and should be treated so. Do not make up lies that you go home and begin to test applications. Showcase your versatility and exuberance for life. Admit that you like to go hiking, read books, listen to music, enjoy a play or go to the opera. The idea is to inform that you are not a bot that tests applications. You are a living and breathing human being who has a life of their own. And that answer will be very well appreciated.
15. Explain me an example of a popular user interface and how will you redesign it?
There is always a better solution to an existing design and at every given step it has the possibility to improvise and make it better. Taking an example of an existing popular user interface with the issues and concerns a designer sees in it. Listing out those concerns and then mentioning the possible solution to make it far better than the existing design. More than a designer it shows the business acumen of a designer who can think from the perspective of an end user.
16. Explain me what is the app you think with a good UI design?
Answer this question mentioning about the apps which have specifically caught your eye and it is not necessary that they are to be popular. What is special about it, what are the features, colors, the design aspect you like in it and justify with the logical reasoning as to how all of it works for the best. What will be your opinion on it and mentioning the synchronicities of all those elements that makes it the best visually.
This answer should tell the employer as to what kind of feature and attributes are your personal style and how as a designer you will be incorporating it into the work while maintaining the individuality of the brand.
17. Explain me your challenges as a UI designer?
The answer needs to mention the core concerns that a UI designer faces in day to day work. UI design is quite a challenging time because every day something new is coming up in the web world and keeping up with that regularly requires immense attentiveness to the information. A new button, link, scrolling, icons which keep the user interested. Knowing what will attract the user and keep them hooked to it regularly is one of the biggest challenges they have. A UI design talk never goes without talking about web forms.
Understanding what will work best is of utmost important. The client differences is a challenge which every designer face. Talking about how these differences are bridged keeping in mind the client requirement along with the design value and aesthetics of the product.
18. Tell us the previous applications you worked on and your level of involvement?
Even if you have an app in one of the stores, you've got explain the roles you played in previous projects. Explain your role in the process, including the different application platforms you've worked on, methodologies, data management, algorithms and other applicable technology concepts.
You want to make sure that the designer is at least familiar with the principles of web development so that they do not inadvertently create a development bottleneck. Beware of designers who just want to hand off their work and call it a day. They should also be able to work with developers to deliver their designs in the agreed upon file format and level of specification. It might also be a good idea to negotiate an agreement to modify the designs if the original turns out to be unfeasible or there are difficulties implementing it.
User interface and user experience are key to successful mobile applications, so expect a lot of UI/UX questions. State your opinions and tips on getting the most out of the mobile's interface. You may point out which apps you think have a great UI and which ones don't. Also, some recruiters may ask you to quickly draw a scheme of an interface –be prepared to do it.
Reducing the number of fonts on a screen can reveal the power of typography. Instead of using different typefaces and leveraging different characteristics (e.g. italics, bold, semi-bold), different font sizes can better differentiate discrete areas of content. Embracing a singular typeface across an entire app drives consistency not only for branding but also across channels - e.g. app, mobile site, website - thus optimizing the mobile elements across the omnichannel experience. Also, users prefer the simplicity of having one typeface while scrolling for relevant content.
☛ What is your app's main goal?
☛ What are the most important sections in your app? How many are there?
☛ What kind of actions should be available to the user throughout the app?
☛ Who is your direct and indirect competition, if it exists?
☛ Which features and functions do you want to include in your app?
With the answers, the designer should be able to start searching for the best design pattern for the new application. Maybe the best question to ask when starting a new design would be: “If you came home angry and stressed out, looking to buy a cinema ticket, how you would like to application to work?”
The same question can be adjusted to any real-life situation and mobile app. If the application design works when the user is frustrated, then the application is probably well designed.
23. Tell me how to design an intuitive user-interface and still achieve the “Wow!” effect?
Intuitive means easy to understand or operate without explicit instruction. The designer should always use different visual treatment for icons that are “tappable” and icons that are used as indicators and are “non-tappable.” Once a coherent system for distinguishing tappable from non-tappable icons is in place, the designer needs to follow it throughout the mobile app. In order to achieve the “WOW effect,” the designer should play around with unique shapes (for example custom made icons), animations, and then present them in a whole new way.
For example, the paper plane is now widely recognized as the “Send” icon. When it was first introduced, it was probably a little bit confusing for a user. “What is this paper plane? What does it have to do with email?” In many applications, the “Save” icon is an image of the extinct floppy disk. A life buoy icon could be used, instead. Once users understand or discover the meaning of a new UI element, it becomes “intuitive” the next time.
Different screen sizes and resolutions, variable connection speeds, battery consume, memory limitations… mention the problems inherent to mobile devices and go technical, show the hiring manager you truly know how to manage them.
This question reveals a web designer's work style. You should expect the right professional to emphasize the importance of organization, good communication with relevant parties, and accountability.
