How to Solve a Product Design Challenge

Improve your chances of success with these tips

Hurray! You’ve passed the Portfolio Review and have now reached the final stage of the Product Design Interview: the Design Challenge. Admittedly if this is your first time interviewing, a Design Challenge can be nerve-wracking!

I will walk through an example of a Design Challenge that I submitted as part of my interview with Canva and highlight ways in which you can prepare for your own submission to improve your chances of success.

What’s a Design Challenge?

A Design Challenge is a way for employers to assess how well you approach design problems and is often a good way to put your skills to the test. This typically happens towards the final end of the interview after you’ve completed the Portfolio Review. There are typically two types of Design Challenges that an employer can ask you to solve:

White Board Challenge

Expected time: 30min — 1 hour

A whiteboard challenge is usually done live in front of a panel of interviewers. This type of challenge will allow you to collaborate with the interviewing team and demonstrate your ability to problem-solve on the spot.

Take Home Design Challenge

Expected time: 4–6 hours

The take-home Design Challenge is done (as the name suggests) at home, separate to the live interviewing process. This type of challenge allows you to spend more time focussing on the end-to-end design process and go deep into tackling a complex problem or scenario that you normally wouldn’t have time to complete during a shorter interview.

Why a Design Challenge?

A Design Challenge is a practical task to assess how well you approach design problems by applying your design skills to a real world scenario. The goal of this exercise is not to focus solely on the end solution, but to understand what your process is and evaluate where your strengths and…