The portfolio walkthrough: preparing for a design interview
Pick two projects, rehearse ten minutes each, and be ready for the question about what you would do differently.
Almost every design interview has a moment where you share your screen and talk through your work. It is the part candidates prepare for least and the part interviewers remember most. The good news: it is also the part you can rehearse.
Choose two projects, not five
You will rarely get more than thirty minutes, and the questions take half of that. Pick two projects that fit the role: one that shows your depth in the core skill the job asks for, and one that shows range or a different kind of problem. Keep a third ready in case they ask for more.
Build a ten-minute story for each
- The context in one minute: the company, the team, your role, the timeline.
- The problem in one or two sentences: what was not working, for whom.
- Two or three key decisions: the options, what you chose and why.
- The result: what shipped, what changed, and what you learned.
Use the same images as in your portfolio, but cut text from the slides. You are the narration. If a slide needs a paragraph to make sense, it needs a better image.
Rehearse out loud
Talk through each project at least three times, ideally once in front of a friend who does not know the work. Time yourself. Most people run long on context and short on decisions, which is the wrong way round. Notice where you say "we": the interviewer wants to know what you did.
Prepare for the usual questions
- What would you do differently if you started again?
- Where did you disagree with the team or the client, and how did it end?
- How did you know the design worked?
- What was the hardest constraint, and how did it shape the result?
None of these have a right answer. Interviewers look for honesty, reflection and how you talk about other people. Blaming a client or a developer rarely goes down well; explaining a trade-off does.
Ask questions too
The walkthrough is also your chance to learn about the team. Ask how design work is reviewed, who you would work with every day, and what a good first three months would look like. The answers tell you a lot about whether you want the job.
On the day
Close every other tab, turn off notifications and have the files open locally in case the connection is slow. Start by asking how much time you have, and offer to go deeper wherever they want. Ending on time is a small detail that people notice.