You’re preparing for a Mobile Design interview. What common mistakes should you avoid?

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in a mobile design interview is to show up unprepared. You need to do your homework and research the company, its products, its goals, and its target users. This will help you understand the context, the challenges, and the opportunities of the design problem you will be asked to solve. You will also be able to tailor your portfolio and your answers to the specific needs and expectations of the interviewer. Don't just rely on the company website or the job description, dig deeper and find out as much as you can about the company culture, the user feedback, and the market trends.

Yes I agree, you must ensure that you have a good knowledge of both android and iOS design guidelines or systems. It is also very important to be able to explain why you chose certain system UI on both platforms for specific interactions. A knowledge of these will be very crucial in acing a mobile design interview.

Apart from the standard design practices followed, some of the common mistakes we can avoid are of : a) Ignoring User Feedback due to development limitations. User Feedbacks are crucial for improving the design. b) Not Testing Across Devices as mobile devices come in various screen sizes and resolutions. and by not testing your design across a range of devices changes the entire layout, design and usability. c) Not Considering Accessibility - when we design for a particular user type its essential for us to consider that it SHOULD be used by everyone, including those with disabilities. d) Ignoring OS guidelines. ( android/iOS)

Understand Design Conventions: Every major platform (iOS, Android) has specific design guidelines and patterns. Ignoring them makes your app feel out of place and can lead to a frustrating user experience. Familiarize yourself with the Human Interface Guidelines (Apple) and Material Design Principles (Google). Design for Touch: Mobile interactions rely entirely on touch. Ensure your elements have appropriate sizing for easy tapping with a finger, and provide clear visual feedback on actions. Design for thumbs! Responsive Fluidity: Your designs need to scale and adapt gracefully to different screen sizes and resolutions. Using tools like layout constraints and responsive design techniques helps build a seamless experience across devices.

Understand the concept of mobile-first design and know about design systems and how they work. The most common design system is (Human interface guideline by Apple) & (Material design by Google). You should also know about native design and hybrid design and it would be a plus if you have some development knowledge.

Do some process, show the process. - Understand the problem, Define target audiences, analyse your competitors. - Write down the small details of your research process. - Make yourself a low-fidelity wireframe prior to starting the high level mockups. A user flow is also helpful. - If you are to follow a design system, follow it to design the high-fidelity wireframe. Otherwise do some pre work for yourself, keep the design consistent. - Consider doing even a simple prototype. - Keep note what you wanted to do in a bigger picture. ( There you have it, after you finish your design, you already have a lot of thing to show that are going to impress.)

Avoid the Bermuda Triangle of blunders! Don't drown your designs in complexity, don't build a castle on quicksand without user research, and definitely don't forget that less is often more—unless you're talking about coffee, then the answer is always more.

Nail your interview by showcasing your process, not just the polish! - Articulate the journey: Explain how you defined the problem, researched users, explored solutions, and validated results. - Show, don't just tell: Present sketches, wireframes, prototypes - the "how" behind your design decisions.

Don't Just Showcase the Final Product: Interviewers crave insight into your decision-making. Be prepared to walk through sketches, wireframes, or iterations that demonstrate how you arrived at your solution. Articulate Your Reasoning: Explain the purpose behind design choices. Did user research inform your decisions? What trade-offs did you consider? Problem-solving Over Perfection: Highlight your approach to challenges. Don't get overly focused on pixel-perfect visuals – the focus is on how you think about design problems.

Mettez en avant les ateliers que vous menez (Products Design Sprint). Expliquez les étapes de ces ateliers : 1. Brief, concept, cible, est-ce qu’il a déjà des éléments visuels ou cahier des charges ? Que souhaite t-il ? Son entreprise ? Tableau CANVAS. 2. Brainstorming sur toutes les idées ou fonctionnalités qui répondent à une problématique. 3. Convergez ces idées et sélectionnez les plus pertinentes 4. Réalisez l'arborescence, des user maps... Qui permettent aux clients de se projeter et de valider les étapes 5. Seul(e) ou avec un autre designer, réalisez les wireframes puis le prototype. 6. FAITES VALIDER LE PROTOTYPE AVANT D'APPLIQUER LA CHARTE GRAPHIQUE ! 7. Faites des user tests 8. Enfin, créez ou déclinez l'identité visuelle

Accessibility isn't an afterthought, it's built-in! - Know the standards: Color contrast, font size, touch targets - accessibility best practices are my bible. - Design inclusively: Integrate accessibility from the start, not as an add-on. - Test with everyone: Real users & assistive tools ensure everyone has a smooth experience.

Inclusive Design from the Ground Up: Accessibility ensures your app is usable by the widest range of people. Consider disabilities and impairments at every stage of the design process. Color Contrast & Typography: High contrast text and legible fonts are essential for readability. Use tools to check if your designs meet accessibility standards. Alternative Controls: Think beyond touch input. Make sure your app is navigable via keyboard, screen readers, and other assistive technologies.

Les dyslexiques peuvent avoir du mal à lire certaines typographies : restez simple, notamment sur les body texts. Evitez l'écriture blanche sur fond noir : moins lisible.

Optimizing for performance is crucial in mobile design. Many designers overlook this, assuming users have high-end devices and fast connections. But this can lead to sluggishness and high battery consumption. Prioritize performance by compressing assets, minimizing animations, and prioritizing content loading. Test designs on various devices to identify bottlenecks. Implement lazy loading to reduce initial load times. Prioritizing performance ensures a better user experience and contributes to the long-term success of the product

Un bon UX Design permet d'avoir une interface optimisée : pas de superflu, pas d'images inutiles, pas de fonctionnalités en trop et surtout une bonne hiérarchisation des éléments. Ajouter à cela, la compression des images, peu de vidéos, peu d'animations (privilégiez quelques design d'interaction).

In my experience I would say edge cases is a critical aspect of mobile design, it’s should be overlooked often and it’s essential for good user experience. Not considering edge cases can lead to frustrating user interactions and undermine the overall usability which causes serious User experience issues. These edge cases are many more when it comes to mobile designs so we need to focus more into the unexpected and error scenario to avoid user frustrations.

Handling edge cases is a critical aspect of mobile design, often overlooked but essential for a comprehensive user experience. Neglecting edge cases can lead to frustrating user interactions and undermine the overall usability of the product. one common mistake designers make is focusing solely on the primary user journey and neglecting less common scenarios. These edge cases, such as error states, offline mode, or unexpected user inputs, are equally important to consider. Failure to address them can result in confusion or frustration for users when they encounter these situations.

But still keep in mind to put most of your focus and time into Key path cases and scenarios, even if edge cases and/or necessary cases needs to be taken height for.

Generally asking questions is the main goal of interview to find the clients goal and vision, so prepare as much technical and non technical questions, try to understand target market

Asking questions is a fundamental aspect of mobile design that I've learned to value greatly throughout my experience. One common mistake I've observed is designers assuming they fully understand user needs and preferences without seeking clarification. This can lead to misguided assumptions and designs that miss the mark. Asking the right questions is crucial to uncovering valuable insights that inform the design process. Whether it's understanding user goals, pain points, or preferences, asking questions helps bridge the gap between the designer's perspective and the user's reality.

Essayez d'avoir un point de vue plus global qu'uniquement centré design ou expérience. Comprenez l'objectif de l'application, demandez s'il existe des données utilisateurs, quelles sont les volontés du clients finals, les problématiques du moment, etc.

Every principle is important but in designing for a mobile screen, the target audience should be greatly considered. Designing a mobile screen for way older adult, you might want to reduce the number of clicks greatly, make the buttons and texts bigger, make sure your sentence fonts are very readable. These are items that might not really be toping your priority list when designing a mobile screen for teenagers. Also if you are designing a mobile design for mothers who has babies , you might want to make sure all the items that requires an action are very reachable even if the mother is using a hand to operate her phone. These also are scenarios you might not consider for every users.

One thing that I have failed to see here is research. Maybe that falls under the "show your process" category but this is as crucial as any other aspects of this article and in my humble opinion, maybe more. You should start with what you do with any other interview, research! When you're fully equipped with research, you've already secured a strong position in any interview because you already know most common mistakes people do, and you are already familiar with platform guidelines (material design for Android, and human interface guidelines for IOS)

La cible est le plus important pour construire l'expérience utilisateur la plus adaptée. Pensez à travailler en binôme avec un designer comportemental ou à extraire vous-même les informations sur les utilisateurs finaux. Ne construisez pas une app mobile selon vos préférences, que ce soit l'identité visuelle, l'UX... :) L'UX Writing et le design inclusif peut faire la différence selon le concept de l'application.