Q. Why do you want to become a graphic designer?
A. I want to be a graphic designer for several reasons. The first and most important thing about the profession is that this is a bit different from the other professions and the designers could imply their imaginations to create different attractive design. Besides, this is based on creativity where a designer is allowed to exercise the creative faculty of the brain which is not available for the other professionals. Besides, my education and previous job experience allow me to become a graphic designer more than anything else.
Q. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
A. I am skilled at making different eye-catching designs and have been performing the task for last few years. I am creative than the ordinary people and think over all the issues analytically. Consequently the finest piece of drawing comes out of my brain. Often I make unusual delay for thinking which the other people term as my weakness.
Q. Do you consider yourself first a designer or a programmer?
A. I consider myself as a designer first. I have some knowledge over programming but I think that is inappropriate to term myself as a programmer. On the other side, I have been working as a designer for last seven years and I believe that I am skilled in designing than programming.
Q. Where do you see yourself in five years time?
A. I would like to see me on the top position of any IT agency where I will deal with a group of designers and lead them to bring out the best drawings and designs. Besides, I also dream of establishing a designing agency where the youths will be trained on graphic designing.
Q. Why did you apply for a position of graphic designer in our company?
A. The advertisement of the post attracted me most as I was seeking a suitable position for me where I could work independently with a minimal supervision. Besides, this is one of the fastest growing companies in the country that is specialized in graphic design and has gained a great reputation in the industry in a short time.
Q. What do you consider as current trends in the area of graphic design?
A. There are several current trends that are found in the present age and among them the most notable are the flat design, motion, bold and playful typography, the new retro, geometric shapes, material designs, larger fonts in websites, use of video in the front page and responsive designs etc.
Q. What graphic design software are you most comfortable working with?
A. Well, I am skilled for working with several graphic design software and they include – SVG-Edit, Inkscape, Sumopaint, Pixlr, Blender, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effect, Coral Draw and few other small tools.
Q. What graphic design software do you know best? Which one could you improve?
A. I am well versed with Inkscape and SVG-Edit. I could improve the Inkscape if I get enough time and chances.
Q. What do you think are the most important qualities in a graphic designer?
A. Perseverance, creativity, patience and sincerity are the key qualities for a graphic designer as it requires a lot of time to think over any specific issue and bring out the best result. If someone is not patients, there are several chances of committing grave mistakes in the design. Creativity is another quality that puts a designer stand out of the crowd.
Q. How comfortable are you being told what to design?
A. I have no problem with directives rather I would prefer to be directed. But the directives should be made clearer and after that I need time to implement the directives into my design. If I am not allowed required time to make the designs, I cannot assure for a quality product.
Q. How well do you take criticism?
A. Criticisms are meant to be made me perfect. So, I always welcome criticisms for my works and I appreciate the critiques for their valuable compliments over my performance or design. In fact I am positive with criticisms.
Q. What do you look for while designing a logo?
A. I try to exhibit the core of the business or the organization for whom I am designing the logo. Actually a logo is the representation of any organization and while designing, I prefer to show the central theme of the body.
Q. You are asked to design a new logo for our company. What would it look like?
A. Well, at first I will conduct a minor research on your activities and have some consultation with the authority before sketching the logo. Since this is an IT agency, I think the logo should be in line with your activities. Maybe a computer or keyboard will be on the logo to represent the activities.
Q. Do you sketch your designs first before converting them to digital format?
A. Yes, I make sketches before converting into a digital format. Sketching allows me to shape the design perfectly and usually it allows thinking over the design more deeply.
Q. How many designs do you usually sketch before choosing one?
A. Usually I sketch around six or seven different sketches before picking the right one for my purpose. When there are varieties of sketches, it becomes easier to get the right one or make a combination of several sketches to have the perfect one.
Q. Do you have a tablet at home? What is it and why do you like it?
A. Sorry, I do not have a tablet at home. Usually I get sketches done on paper and use pencils. For the design I use a computer.
Q. How long would it take you to plan, design, and complete a 300×400 banner?
A. Ummm … It may take around one hour for me to plan, design and complete the banner of 300×400 dimensions.
Q. How familiar are you designing graphics for (online marketing, newspapers, etc.)?
A. I am well familiar with the graphic designs for online marketing and newspapers. I have worked at an online news agency as well on the post of graphic designer and for the job requirements there, I am quite versed with the issue you are asking for.
Q. You may be given strict parameters for your designs. Will that stifle your creativity?
A. I think it might be a potential difficulty for me if the parameters are given. You know if you want creativity, you cannot apply any chain on that. Parameters are like the invisible chains to me. I hope you will not impose the parameters frequently as that may hamper the working progress.
Q. You are told to create a design without any instructions. What do you do?
A. At first I will try to gather some information over the issue which I am told to make the design. Then I will focus on the central theme of the issue, make some drafts and then move for the final design.
Q. In your work what aspect do you give the maximum importance: planning, design or implementation?
A. Planning is the most important aspect in designing, I think, and the view might be different to others. I prefer to plan in the beginning and then make the design before its implementation.
Q. How do you plan your designs before you start drafting them?
A. I spend some times for thinking the issue to plan. I think over the aspects of the organization and try to make a summary of the activities. Then I imagine the issues and make the plan before drafting them. Once the planning is done, I start drafting them. I also take feedback for the work during my planning phase. The feedback is often proven to be very effective in terms of creating a good work.
Q. Tell me about some of the designs you have created, and their success.
A. I have done a good number of designs and all of them have turned into special brands to the audiences and the targeted groups. I have made all the designs of two online newspapers, designed the logo and other essential online formats for the reputed sports magazines – Today’s sport; the designs of renowned IT agency – deltawave.com is also done by me. I have two WordPress themes which have been downloaded more than few thousands times. Apart from that, one of my designs got the second online prize for creative design idea. I have also added few more works of mine which are online and have been included in my resume for your kind consideration.
Q. Why do you want to work for us and not for other company? There are many offers for graphic designers…
A. Ahh … I want to work with you for some reasons. Firstly this is one of the most famous companies in the country and offers a broader working environment. Moreover, the job responsibilities described on the advertisement are similar with my current job descriptions. Besides, I had been looking for such an organization where I could be able to exercise my skills and expertise to grow in a better working place and simultaneously could serve the organization so that it could also be a more successful one.
Q. What characterize a good designer from your point of view?
A. I believe that a good designer is the person, who not only designs well, but has some inner sights to make the design look better and attractive to the targeted people with some simple features. Besides, a good designer should also possess some other features like devotion to the work, sincerity, punctuality, and most importantly - skills to perform tasks perfectly.
Q. Describe a situation when you needed to meet a tight deadline with a project.
A. When I was at the news agency, a client came to the office and the authority asked me to make a design for the brand of the client immediately as he has paid the charges and want his advertisement on the website as soon as possible. But being the New Year’s Eve, my team members were on holiday and I was alone. The client sat by me and allowed me about one hour to finish his design. I performed the task but it was really difficult for me to accomplish the goal within this short time.
Q. Describe a situation when you worked under pressure. How did you handle that?
A. Often I had to meet the deadlines and work under pressure. Since I had a team of designers, I could meet the pressures. I shared the jobs to the team members and thus it was not that much difficult for us to handle the pressures.
Q. Describe a conflict you had with your boss, or with your colleague. What was the situation and how did you solve it?
A. Once I had a conflict with a young designer and he disobeyed my instructions. I asked him to make a simple design but to show his skills, he made the design more complex than it actually was. So, when I saw the design, I asked him to explain and he started argument with me. Later, I asked him politely to be quiet and discuss the issue with boss; it was then when he got calm and made the design again.
Q. What kind of design projects are you most interested in?
A. Well, there are no preferences for me while working with designs. I am capable of performing all types of design including simple logo designs to the complex and time consuming designs. Most of the cases, I was assigned to make logos, brochures, edit photographs, change backgrounds and much more.
Q. Name all software products you can work with. How long have you been working with it. What do you like about this and that program? Why do you prefer it to other, competing programs?
A. I have been working with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe after effect, SVG-Edit, Inkscape, Sumopaint, Pixlr, Blender etc. for past five years. I usually prefer the programs for some specific reasons. First of all, the programs are easier to use and one can make almost all types of designs with these programs. Besides, some of them are free of cost while some others are paid. The most important thing is that if someone wants to make a perfect design, these are considered as the best tool for designing. So, I prefer them.
Q. What do you consider to be the current trends in the area of graphic design?
A. With the change of the world, everything is changing and the concepts and ideas of graphic design have also changed a lot. Now the designs are not limited to old-fashioned designs rather flat design, motion, bold and playful typography, the new retro, geometric shapes, material designs etc. have been introduced.
Q. How important do you think communication in graphic design is?
A. Communication is always important for graphic design. If the design ideas are not communicated well by the clients to the designers, there are possibilities of mistakes or bringing out the wrong product. So, the designs should be transferred to the designers by a well communication so that the designer could produce the right design.
Q. What is a primary goal of a graphic designer? Is it important that the design is good looking, or what else should a designer consider his first priority?
A. The designer should primarily focus on producing a simply attractive design that will tell the story to the audience in a moment. Yes, the design must be good looking but in some cases, the design may also be weird for the need of the product or people. The designer should prioritize the theme of the product or the issue so that it is reflected on the design. A good design performs well so the performance and looking should be given equal priority.
Q. Tell me something about your latest design projects. What challenges did you face and how did you handle it?
A. Umm… when the right design is not found, the situations become challenging. In my latest design project, I was asked to make a gorgeous design for a product advertisement of a multinational company but they did not show me any sample how the design will be. They told me to do it by myself. What they provided was only the name and description of the product which was a piece of beauty soap. So, it was challenging for me but I made the design and they liked that.
Q. What do you consider your most successful design project and why?
A. When I was in another IT agency, I was assigned for designing a product of an international client which turned viral in internet. This the most successful design and I performed that with the association of my team members.
Q. What are the differences between associative hatching and non-associative hatching in CAD?
A. There is a basic difference between associative hatching and non-associative is that an associative hatch changes with the boundary, and the non-associative hatch will not change with the boundary change.
Q. If you wanted to select a line and there were other lines on top of it how would you select it in CAD?
A. Usually multiple selection is a bit troublesome with CAD, and the easiest way to perform the act is to hold down the ‘Shift’ button and select the line.
Q. What is the difference between a crossing polygon and a window polygon?
A. Both of them are selection tool but the basic difference between a crossing polygon and window polygon is that crossing polygon allows re-selecting the previous selection set while the window polygon selects the last object drawn on the board which is currently visible.
Q. What is Linking Layer in Photoshop?
A. Linking layer is the layer in Photoshop that allows several contents to stay together. In fact it links with the other layers and synchronize them on a single place.
Q. How to modify one image from one layer to another layer?
A. This is a simple process. If anybody wants to modify one image from one layer to another layer, at first, he is to open the color image which is to be modified. Then has to select the image and copy that in a clip board. Now, the color should be changed to gray-scale using mode and then has to select ‘Yes’ to remove all the color from the image. The white and black parts should be tweaked to get the desired quality. Then you are to return on mode and then RGB. By selecting the move tool, you have to paste the image. Then the file will be applied to the original color on a new layer.
Q. Explain about Lasso tools in Photoshop.
A. Among several tools in Photoshop, lasso tool is considered as an important one. This is a freehand selection tool. It helps to select any part of any image by clicking the mouse button.
Q. What is the shortcut to zoom back to 100%?
A. The easiest way to zoom back to 100% is to press the Ctrl + 1. Besides, by double clicking on the image, the zoom could also be brought to 100%.
Q. If I were willing to train you on any software, what would you choose to learn?
A. In that case, I would like to choose the Softimage Face Robot to learn. This is a graphic
application and mostly used for graphic designing in animation and movies. Besides, this is one
of the priciest software of the world (currently it is being sold at $90,000).
Q. What have you learned from your mistakes as a graphic designer?
A. My mistakes are my greatest teachers. In the beginning of my career, I made a good number of mistakes and learnt a lot of things. I did not make the same mistake twice as when the situations appeared, I recalled my past mistakes and avoided them. In fact this was a trial and error basis learning for me. So, my mistakes have greatly helped me to make me perfect.
Q. What have you done to improve your knowledge of graphic design?
A. I regularly study different articles and magazines over graphic design. Moreover, I keep practicing at my home and draw different sketches after my will. In that case, I work based on my imagination and try to apply the sketches in my real-life situations.
Q. What kinds of print media have you worked with?
A. I have worked with some advertising agencies who used to advertise different products on published newspaper. I had to plan for the advertisement, draw the sketches and make them into digital format before being published on the newspapers.
Q. Can you tell me about a time when you had to work under pressure and how you overcame it?
A. When I was at a renowned advertising agency, I had to work under pressure and it happened suddenly. I was asked to create a bunch of designs within one hour as the authority was supposed to present the designs before the some influential clients to pursue them into adopting the designs for their products. I had to work hard and unfortunately, I was the only designer there. So, it was difficult indeed for me to overcome that.
Q. How good are you about sticking to your deadlines?
A. I am quite good at sticking deadlines. I can meet strict deadlines and my past experiences have made me expert to act so.
Q. How long does it take for you to deliver the final product?
A. When I am under pressure, I can deliver the final product immediately when it is asked for. But when I have enough time to deliver the product, I conduct some experiments over it so that the product could be the finest one. In such cases, it takes some extra times and I arrange the time after consultation with the parties or with the authorities.
Q. Would you consider yourself a team player?
A. Yes, I am a very good team player. Earlier, I had to work alone and then I realized the necessity of a team. So, I started practicing to work in a team and finally it appeared that being a team player is easier than working alone.
