Module 4 · The portfolio case study Lesson 11 of 15
Presenting it in an interview
Design interviews are a conversation about decisions. Expect "why this" three times in a row and be ready for each answer to be about the user, not your taste.
The concept
Rehearse a six-minute walkthrough: the problem, the two decisions that mattered, the result and one thing you would change. Designers are hired on how they think and how they take feedback, so the walkthrough is the interview; the file is only the evidence.
Prepare for the three questions that always come: why this choice and not the other one, how did you test it, and what would you do with two more weeks. Have a real answer for each, and be ready to be told your decision was wrong — what matters is your reasoning, not that you were right.
Six-minute walkthrough:
0:00 problem + constraint
1:00 the two decisions that mattered
3:00 the result
4:00 one thing you would change
5:00 questions
Always asked: why this and not the other? how did you test it?
what would you do with two more weeks?Common mistakes
The mistake is showing every screen you made for ten minutes and running out of time before the reasoning. Show three screens, talk about the decisions, and let the rest be questions. The candidate who finishes early and answers clearly tends to get the offer.
Worked example
When asked why the button is orange, the weak answer is "it looked good" and the strong one is "it is the only action on that screen and needed to be unmissable".
Your practice task
Present your case study to one person out loud in ten minutes and take their three hardest questions.
Do this before moving on. Reading a solution teaches the shape of it; typing it teaches you.
Key takeaway
Rehearse a six-minute walkthrough: the problem, the two decisions that mattered, the result and one thing you would change.
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