Tips for presenting design case studies in an interview?

“Any tips for presenting design case studies in an interview?” a friend recently asked.

Most certainly.

✦ Don’t bury the outcome with a big reveal.

Many times I’ve watched patiently as designers wait until the end to share the final outcome of their labors, first sharing their process (which is typically the same as every other candidate), sketches, post-its, and so forth.

INSTEAD: Lead with a few screens that best represent the outcome. You can do this in 10 seconds. And then avoid the next mistake;

✦ Don’t jump straight into your process.

See note above. Your process is probably identical to every other candidate. This does little to set you apart.

INSTEAD: State the problem clearly you were trying to solve. Clarity about the problem is a designer after my own heart. It shows clear intention to solve user/business needs.

✦ Don’t show me personas.

Some will disagree with this advice. But as a seasoned design leader, few things leave me more concerned about the inputs to your design work than fictitious avatars, names, and bios.

INSTEAD: State the target audience you were designing for. If necessary describe the inputs to identifying this audience. Then follow up with how your work met or exceeded the needs of this audience. (Even better, stop using personas altogether and use archetypes or JTBDs instead.)

BONUS TIPS ✨

✦ If multiple designers worked on the same screen, be upfront about this and clarify what your role was. Personally I find it to be a bit of a letdown when something looks/functions great, only to find out later in our discussion that another designer did part of the work. ✦ Proactively share what you would have done differently if given the chance to do this work all over again. No work is ever perfect. But if you could get one step closer to perfection, what would it be. This shows me you’re capable of critiquing yourself, which honestly not all designers are adept at. ✦ Provide me with a link to what you’re presenting (slide deck, figma). I may want to jump around while you’re presenting to find areas that are most likely to help me — and therefore you — discuss the right things relevant to this role. I realize this may be problematic to grant me access, so make a copy and then delete the copy after our interview.