Product designer interview questions

A first round with a product designer should tell you how they think, not only what their portfolio looks like. These questions ask them to walk through real decisions: what they learned from users, what they gave up, and how they worked with the people who built it.

10 questions for a product designer first round

Pick three to five that fit your role, rather than all ten: a short first round gets more finished interviews. All ten together take about 24 minutes to record. The time limits suit a one-way video interview, where each answer is recorded once.

  1. 1

    Walk us through a project you’re proud of. What was the problem, and what was your part in solving it?

    Listen for: A clear problem statement before any visuals, and a specific account of their own decisions rather than the team’s in general.

    3 min to answer
  2. 2

    Tell us about a time research changed your design. What did you learn, and what did you change?

    Listen for: A real finding that surprised them, and a design change that follows from it. Vague “we tested it and users liked it” is a weak sign.

    3 min to answer
  3. 3

    Describe a trade-off you made between what users wanted and what the business or engineering could deliver.

    Listen for: That they understood both sides and can explain why the compromise was the right one, not just that they gave in.

    3 min to answer
  4. 4

    How do you handle feedback on your work that you disagree with?

    Listen for: Curiosity about the reason behind the feedback, and an example of either changing their mind or making a case with evidence.

    2 min to answer
  5. 5

    How do you hand a design over to engineers, and what happens after that?

    Listen for: Involvement beyond the handover: answering questions, reviewing the build and adjusting when something turns out harder than planned.

    2 min to answer
  6. 6

    Tell us about a design that didn’t work once it shipped. How did you find out, and what did you do?

    Listen for: Honesty about a real miss, a way of measuring that it missed, and what they did next.

    3 min to answer
  7. 7

    How do you decide when a design is good enough to ship?

    Listen for: A practical bar tied to the goal of the work, not perfection, and awareness that shipping and learning is part of the process.

    2 min to answer
  8. 8

    What would you improve first in an app you use every day, and why?

    Listen for: A specific, well-observed problem and a reason grounded in how people use it, rather than a visual restyle.

    2 min to answer
  9. 9

    How do you keep a design consistent across a product as it grows?

    Listen for: Experience with components, patterns or a design system, and judgement about when to break a rule.

    2 min to answer
  10. 10

    Why does this role interest you, and what would you want to work on first?

    Listen for: That they have looked at your product, and a first priority that fits what you have told them about the role.

    2 min to answer
Scoring

Signs of a strong candidate

  • Starts from the problem and the user, not the screens
  • Separates their own decisions from the team’s
  • Talks about results after launch, not just the design
  • Disagrees well: with reasons, and open to being wrong

Agree what a 3 and a 5 look like for each question before anyone watches, and save your own rating before reading your colleagues’.

Use them

Run these as a video interview

  1. Save your chosen questions as a question set in AsyncView, with the minutes for each.
  2. Create an interview for the role, import the set and pick a deadline.
  3. Paste your candidates’ names and emails. Each gets a private link.
  4. Watch, rate and compare answers with your team, then shortlist.
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Send these questions to your product designer candidates today.

Candidates record their answers in their own time; your team reviews together. The Free plan includes 5 interviews and needs no card.

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