Last updated · 15 February 2024

Design challenges

Hold on! Before you get started on this page, make sure you have read our Challenges prior to getting started with your challenge.

Whiteboard challenge.

This challenge is used during our Recruitment process. If you're looking for a challenge to complete before sending your application, keep scrolling until the U.I. challenge.

In the whiteboard challenge, you are handed a marker and directed to a glossy white expanse on the wall. The task? To solve a problem or explain a concept right there, in real-time, with your audience being the very people deciding if you're the right fit for their team.

🎵 

Pressure

Pushing down on me

Pushing down on you, no man ask for

Under pressure

Anyway, a whiteboard challenge allow us to collaborate directly with you. It is also about seeing how you think on your feet, how you handle pressure, and if you are able to communicate complex ideas in a clear and concise way.

You know, it's like being a chef in a cooking competition show where you have to whip up a gourmet meal from mystery ingredients. But instead of cooking utensils, you're armed with a marker, and instead of food, you are serving wireframes.

But don't let the pressure cook you. Remember, it's not just about getting the right answer. It's about showing how you approach problems, how resourceful you can be, and how you interact with others when faced with a challenge.

The primary goal of this challenge is to assess your thought process in real-time, looking at your skills as a designer from a product context point of view. We will give you a brief prompt and let you do your magic while we challenge you through the process.

We will be paying attention to whether you:

• Understand the context.

• Understand the users.

• Define user flows.

• Identify must-have features.

• Sketch preliminary solutions properly.

• Communicate effectively.

Here's a prompt example.

Briefing.

“We have over 15,000 employees and all their cars on our main campus. Employees have been losing track of their cars in the parking lot. They forget in which of the five giant stories they parked and wander around, clicking their car-key buttons desperately to find their cars.

The noise pollution at the end of the day is through the roof. We already have a company app but we want to add a feature to help employees find their cars.”

Challenge.

Help our employees find their cars in the parking lot.

U.I. challenge.

If the whiteboard is meant to be nothing but logical, this one is purely visual.

This challenge assesses the Designer's skillfulness before, during, and even after our recruitment process. Your CV and Portfolio may be amazing, but to a certain degree, they are biased. Depending on where you come from, they may over-represent you or under-represent you.

We know client work or work under other people's direction may detract the results from what you're actually capable of. We want to give you a fair, unbiased, free environment so you can showcase the best of yourself. It’s as easy as that.

The challenge consists of a very straightforward brief, really!

The what.

Well, ever heard of IMDB? That's that. But trimmed to the core.

We expect you to create a lighter-weight version of it using the so-called best Interface Design practices and patterns.

It must look pleasing, too.

The scope.

Well, unlike IMDB, the scope is a fairly simple one, and by looking at the list below, you realise how straightforward it is. It goes like this:

Homepage.

List out the movies.

Search the movies.

Search result.

List the searched movies.

Movie details.

Present valuable, clear information about the aforementioned movies.

Now, part of this challenge lies in what you accomplish with such limited information. Whatever you do with it and how you decide to go about it are yours to decide. Both what, why, and how to present the data are for you to determine.

The devil is in the details, though, and its complexity may vary depending on your expertise and how in-depth you are willing to go. Weird! We know. Good cooks don't need a lot of eggs to make a brilliant omelette.

In a nutshell, we want to give you room to think. We want it to be shining, but we want the final result to be thorough, too.

Evaluation criteria.

As you'd probably expect, we will primarily privilege how you manoeuvre the balance between looking nice and being useable. That's the excitement of any project, isn't it?

Here's what we'll be looking at:

• The visuals: whether it looks good and balanced (or not).

• Typography: how you care about typography and how well you work with it.

• Spacing: how you handle and manage the white space.

• Information Architecture: how you manage the visual hierarchy of the various elements.

• Usability: how you apply fundamental rules of usability and UX standards.

• Creativity: how innovative and original your solution is.

• Coherence: whether it looks like part of the same system.

• Attention to detail: buzzwords, we know! But yeah, we really care about the details.

Your process!

Should you wireframe? Why not? Should you go straight to the Look and Feel? Who knows? Should you design icons, create illustrations, set up a design library, or use design tokens? You decide.

Please, don't spend a lot of time on this. We appreciate you applying, taking the time to read this, and eventually accepting the challenge, but we are sure you've got more exciting things to do, like coming over and having a beer with us.

Regardless of your options, just share whatever you do with us. Keen to try different visual approaches? Share. The process is often more valuable than the outcome. To us, at least!

The deliverable(s).

We expect no less than a desktop clickable prototype. We prefer Figma, but you can choose whatever tool you are more comfortable with. You won't be judged by it. Or maybe you will be. If you choose Adobe XD. Or any Adobe software in general, really.

As overly repeated above (sorry about that), you can share things beyond the prototype itself. If you have the time. And the patience.

When done, share along.

If you're in a recruitment process, share your challenge with whoever you’ve been communicating with.

Alternatively, if you decide to spontaneously take the challenge and you wish to share it with us, please email it to design@significa.co

If you have complementary notes, comments, and decision-making reasoning about your challenge, please do share it along when sending your challenge over.

Break a leg!