Intermediate interview questions in Design & UX, page 10
Architecting a federated documentation site
Docs-as-code with a manifest, CI publishing artifacts, a build that pulls and merges, unified deploy.
What is the difference between a column grid and a modular grid?
This tests layout hierarchy. Column grids divide space vertically for responsive marketing pages. Modular grids add horizontal rows to form rigid two-dimensional cells for dense dashboards. A red flag is calling grids purely decorative.
Automated a11y testing in CI and its limits
Axe-core in unit and story tests, fail the build on violations, plus manual screen-reader and keyboard testing.
When should you use Frames versus Groups in Figma?
This tests your grasp of Figma's layout primitives and constraint behavior. A strong answer: Frames own constraints, auto layout, and clip content; Groups only pass transforms to children.
Governance for accessibility regressions
Detection via audits and monitoring, triage with severity and ownership, remediation SLAs, prevention feedback.
How would you use Auto Layout for a complex data table?
Tests systems thinking in scalable component architecture. A strong answer nests Auto Layout frames: Hug for row height, Fill for column width, and component properties for variants. Red flag: manual resizing or flat frames without nested rows and cells.
Design systems across micro-frontends
Shared singletons and version alignment, token-based theming, distribution via shared scopes, stronger governance.
How do you avoid confirmation bias when interpreting usability test actions?
This tests recognition that prior beliefs distort observation. A strong answer defines confirmation bias as favoring confirming evidence, then lists guardrails like silent observation and neutral observers. A red flag is vague claims to just stay objective.
How would you structure grids, spacing tokens, and components in Figma?
Tests balancing governance with autonomy via tokens. Propose base-8 semantic spacing tokens, responsive grid variants per breakpoint, and slot-based components with locked auto-layout. Red flag: rigid grids or hardcoded values that block platform needs.
Accessibility pitfalls in SPAs and programmatic fixes
Cover route-change focus reset, ARIA live regions, semantic landmarks in dynamic markup, and keyboard trap prevention.
Why A/B-only, no upfront research, costs engineers more
A/B testing optimizes within a chosen direction but cannot reveal the right problem; building wrong wastes engineering cycles and tech debt.
Critical a11y fix requiring a breaking API change
Ship a safe interim fix, plan the breaking API as a major with deprecation and codemod, communicate urgency.
How do Figma vector networks differ from traditional vector paths?
Contrast Figma's graph model, where nodes support many edges, with linear paths; give a branching icon example showing shared vertices.
Display a dynamic uptime claim without hurting Core Web Vitals
Tests separation of data and rendering paths for dynamic claims. Pre-compute the metric in a background job, cache at the edge, and inject via SSR to avoid blocking the main thread. A red flag is synchronous DB lookups or CSR that delays interactivity.
Technical and comms plan for a Button break
Additive-first then deprecate, major semver, codemod and guide, multi-channel early comms with adoption tracking.
How can Private Set Intersection enable joint research without exposing raw lists?
Tests cryptography for cross-party data sharing. Strong answers describe PSI's encrypted intersection, cite homomorphic encryption or oblivious transfer, and note key management and compute cost.
Explain the difference between a Main Component and an Instance in Figma
Tests your grasp of Figma's component architecture and update flow. A Main Component is the source of truth; an Instance is a linked copy inheriting its properties. Edits update Instances except overridden values.
Measuring design system adoption and health
Component coverage and version spread from code scans, usage analytics, issue and satisfaction signals.
How can an engineer contribute to UX research with limited user access?
Treating UX research as a team sport using engineering assets when participants are scarce. Answers cover: mining logs for proxies; prototyping with internal experts; leveraging sales for intros.
Use Boolean and Text properties to build a flexible card component
Boolean toggles image; Text properties override title and description; auto layout handles reflow.
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