UI and UX are critical when designing an app or website. It is especially important for an app since a smaller size offers little screen real estate.
Hiring a UX/UI designer is not a simple task. The hiring manager is not testing intellectual acumen but creativity and the ability to translate that into a wireframe.
Before you hire a UI designer, it is best that you read through this article entirely. We try to simplify the process of hiring UI/UX designers.
In this article, we share:
- 5 technical questions to ask the interviewee and the possible replies.
- 5 exploratory questions to ask the interviewee and the possible replies.
Before you hire UI developers, ensure they can answer convincingly.
A word of caution before we begin.
There are no right or wrong answers in UX and UI design.
But they should respond at least in the same vein. If their ideal app UX is the Reddit mobile app, it is best to skip to the next applicant.
5 technical questions to ask before you hire a UI designer (and what to expect).
When you hire a UI designer, the interview has to uncover his knowledge and skill.
It is not straightforward since the line between user interface designers and user experience designers are somewhat blurred.
In simple words, the UX designer narrows down what users want and the UI designer delivers the screen design that would fulfill those wants.
The UX designer uncovers a need. The UI designer bakes it into the screen, buttons, typography, color, and white space.
What is the need to hire UX consultants?
Customers have specific requirements in mind when they download an app. They might not be able to articulate it, but they intrinsically know it.
Uncovering such needs is the work of a UX designer. In other words, a UX designer knows all about uncovering a problem and creating a solution.
Without UX designers, app versions would not change much.
WhatsApp did not have Read Receipts till it was almost five years old. When privacy became an issue following the Edward Snowden fiasco, it allowed end-to-end encryption.
All these are the work of top UX designers.
What value does UI add?
UI makes an app as easy to use as possible. It aims at offering the maximum number of features with a minimum number of layers.
This is essential to the success of the app, since people dislike complexity. An average user has between 6 and 20 apps on their phone and they would like the interface to be as intuitive as possible.
UI aims at making the learning curve less steep.
Too much clutter is confusing and sensory overload. So is absolute minimalism, with tons of white space and icons without labels next to them.
Top UI designers aim at a golden mean.
Expand on the UX design process you employ
It might vary between UI/UX designers. I employ a 5-stage process.
- The first step is to consult with the product manager and understand the context of the product—i) what is the goal (increasing circulation or revenue generation), ii) who is the audience (age, gender, location), iii) what is the revenue model (freemium or premium or ad-supported).
- The next step is research. What are the rivals doing? If there are no rivals that are comparable but parallel services offering (such as Zoom and Skype are not rivals but both are in the same category viz. VoIP clients).
- After research comes analysis and brainstorming.
- Then mockup and design (or vice versa).
- The last step is alpha testing.
How quickly can you improve the UI/UX of our app?
That would entirely depend on the level of maturity. Without resorting to wordplay, a new app that has been designed and released without much thought to UX and UI can be fixed quickly. The flaws are really obvious.
An app that has been in development for 5-9 years is harder to change. A drastic overhaul might see the customer base drop off dramatically. Thus new UX/UI has to be introduced over several versions.
What is a UX/UI failure in your opinion?
5 exploratory questions to ask before you hire a UI designer (and what to expect).
How do you derive inspiration?
I could tell that I derive inspiration from top UI/UX blogs such as Design Modo. Though I browse the top blogs in my line of work, I do not get inspired by them.
I prefer to be inspired by nature and how in the natural world evolution solves problems.
UI/UX is a very similar process compacted by a factor of a million.
How do you cope with criticism of your design?
No one is perfect. I am a human, thus I also fail. If the criticism is constructive, I would embrace it. If it is malignant, I would go around it.
Why did you choose UX/UI as your field?
I graduated with a degree in chemistry. While at college, I designed websites using HTML, CSS, and JS as a side gig. From there to UX/UI expert is but a step.
Which app has the ideal UX in your opinion?
As far as UX/UI goes, it is Tinder. The concept of left and right swipes is brilliant. It has since then become an industry standard and seen in other dating apps such as Bumble and OkCupid (among others). The work of top UX designers, no doubt.
If you were to hire a UI designer, what trait would you look for?
Originality is the #1 trait every UX/UI designer must-have. There is only so far that an app can go by cloning others.
