How to prepare for a UX/UI designer interview

New Zealand's careers service says user experience designers design how websites and apps look and work, based on users' needs. It lists UX/UI designer and UI designer as other names. The UK's profile for UX designers lists tasks such as:

• working with user researchers to understand user needs
• designing and testing prototypes based on research
• writing clear guidelines for developers
• using evidence from research to refine designs
• making sure designs meet accessibility standards
• explaining design choices clearly to stakeholders

The UK government's role framework says an interaction designer works out the best way for users to use a service. That covers the overall flow and each design element.

The National Careers Service lists skills that an interview can test, including:

• design skills and knowledge
• complex problem-solving and analytical thinking
• being thorough and paying attention to detail
• persistence, and being flexible and open to change
• clear spoken communication

The UK framework adds designing for everyone, evidence-based design and iterative design. The US profile for web and digital interface designers lists user research to set design needs.

Each employer runs its own process. You may face some of these:

• A screening call about your experience. See our phone screen guide.
• A portfolio review, where you talk through two or three projects in depth.
• A design task, live or at home, such as improving a sign-up flow.
• A critique, where you give feedback on an existing app or website.
• A behavioural interview about working with researchers, developers and product managers.

For a take-home task, ask how long to spend. Show your thinking, not only the final screens. Our guide to take-home and work tests has more.

The National Careers Service says a portfolio of your work will help. New Zealand's profile says you may need one. To make yours useful:

• Pick two or three projects, and show each one in depth.
• For each, show the problem, the users, your research, early ideas, testing and the result.
• Say what you did and what others did. Never show a team's work as yours alone.
• Show how you made it accessible, such as colour contrast or keyboard use.
• Remove anything private, or ask permission to show client work.

These are themes, with sample wording. Real questions vary by employer.

• Research: "How do you find out what users need?"
• Evidence: "Tell me about a design you changed after testing it."
• Accessibility: "How do you make a design work for disabled users?"
• Working with developers: "How do you hand over a design so it gets built as planned?"
• Feedback: "A stakeholder dislikes your design. What do you do?"
• Visual design: "Talk me through the layout and type choices on this screen."

Answer "tell me about a time" questions with STAR: the situation, your task, the actions you took and the result. Our free STAR answer planner helps you shape each one.

1. Study the employer's product, and note three things you would test.
2. Rehearse each portfolio project in five minutes, then in fifteen.
3. Prepare STAR stories about a test that changed a design, a disagreement and a tight deadline.
4. Check the tools the ad names, and be honest about your level with each one.

Here is a made-up answer for a made-up person. Use it to see the shape of a strong answer, then tell your own true story.

Mei finds the problem by watching users, not guessing, and tests her fix before it ships. The result has numbers.

Written by Seal the Offer from these pages, last checked on 1 November 2026. Rules change, so check the employer's own page and the job ad before you apply.

• User experience designer · Tahatū, Tertiary Education Commission (NZ)
• User experience (UX) designer · National Careers Service (England)
• Interaction designer · Government Digital Service (UK)
• Web and Digital Interface Designers · O*NET OnLine, US Department of Labor