Interview questions in UI Design & Figma, page 4
Why use button variants instead of separate components per state?
Tests Figma component set organization and scalability. Strong answers cite flexible property mixing, reduced combinatorial bloat, and cleaner dev handoff. Red flag: saying only "it's cleaner" without naming navigability or system integrity.
How would you use Auto Layout to build a responsive card?
Tests Figma Auto Layout direction, padding, and resizing rules. Answer: stack header, image, and text vertically with a fixed gap; set text to fill width and hug height; wrap in a scaling frame. Red flag: absolute positioning instead of structured Auto Layout.
How do you change a nested Button's state from a Card instance?
Tests knowledge of nested component properties in Figma. A strong answer adds a variant property to the nested Button inside the Card main component so its state appears in the Card instance panel.
Describe a workflow to sync Figma tokens to front-end code
Tests if you see tokens as version-controlled code. Strong answer: Tokens Studio pushes W3C DTCG JSON to Git; CI runs Style Dictionary to emit CSS or JS. Red flag: saying the artifact is a Figma file or manual spec sheet.
Design a flexible Table component in Figma with slots
Tests Figma Slots to avoid variant bloat. Answer: Cell variants; Row as a horizontal Slot with zero padding for dividers/hover; Table as a vertical Slot for rows plus a header Slot; componentize the configured row for bulk edits.
How would you automatically audit WCAG AA contrast in Figma?
This tests Figma plugin vs REST API color extraction limits. Good answers contrast live traversal with export-based analysis, cite WCAG AA ratios of 4.5:1 and 3:1, and note opacity. A red flag is assuming the REST API can sample pixels without image export.
What's the functional difference between wireframes, mockups, and prototypes? Describe a scenario.
This tests whether you distinguish structure, visuals, and interactivity. A strong answer defines each by fidelity and function, then names a lifecycle stage like using wireframes in discovery to align scope before visual design.
How do you process usability feedback into concrete Figma iterations?
Turning usability findings into traceable Figma iterations. A strong answer triages by severity and frequency, maps issues to annotated frames, and versions options in branches.
How would you establish design tokens in Figma and sync with production?
Tests design-to-code architecture. A strong answer outlines primitive-to-semantic tokens in Tokens Studio, W3C DTCG JSON synced to Git, and Style Dictionary transforms in CI/CD. Red flag: manual exports or treating Figma styles as the source of truth.
SVG icons versus icon fonts: technical trade-offs
SVG is vector markup, crisp, multicolor, accessible, and tree-shakeable; icon fonts ship as glyphs, risk anti-aliasing blur, accessibility hacks, and load-failure boxes. Advocate SVG for modern apps.
Figma Constraints vs Auto Layout: when are Constraints preferable?
This tests resizing logic in Figma. A strong answer states Auto Layout resizes frames to fit content, while Constraints make objects respond to parent frames. It then cites responsive containers, say fluid inputs.
Create a crescent moon in Figma using Boolean operations
Tests Figma vector workflow and layer hierarchy. A strong answer picks Subtract selection, places the cutter shape above the base, and notes the bottom layer sets fill and stroke. Confusing Subtract with Exclude or ignoring layer order is a red flag.
Main components vs instances: how to use Component Properties for multi-state Buttons?
This tests Figma component architecture. A main component is the source; an instance is a linked copy. Use variant properties for state and style, plus booleans for optional layers. Red flags: separate components per state or ignoring property controls.
How would you structure a complex reusable Figma table with Auto Layout?
Tests nested Auto Layout and component properties for scalable Figma tables. Build atomic hug/fill cells in horizontal row Auto Layout, then stack rows vertically. Expose cell-type swaps via component properties. Red flag: manual resizing or variant bloat.
How do you let designers swap a component's icon without detaching?
Tests Figma component properties. Answer: apply an instance swap property to the nested icon, set preferred instances from your icon library, and keep it as a component instance. Red flag: suggesting boolean properties or detaching.
What is component nesting? Build a profile header from nested components.
Tests atomic design and system scalability. Answer: define nesting as instances inside a parent; describe a profile header using Avatar, Text, and Button instances; note base edits propagate globally. Red flag: one-off layers instead of reusable instances.
How would you create a dismissible modal dialog over the current screen?
This tests modal architecture beyond visuals. A strong answer covers: dimming the inert background, trapping focus, returning focus on close, and supporting Escape plus a visible close button.
Prototype a draggable carousel with On Drag
Lay frames side by side, use On Drag with Smart Animate, and clamp ends.
Diagnose a slow, laggy Figma prototype
Heavy raster images and effects, layer and node count, and excessive prototype interactions.
How would you use variants, booleans, and instance swap for a Button?
This tests fluency in Figma component properties for scalable design systems. Map variant properties to states, booleans to toggle the icon layer, and instance swap to change the icon type. Never suggest detached overrides or separate components per state.
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