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Adobe product designer / UX interview and portfolio review: my full experience

brand_ben · 4 replies

Did the Adobe product designer interview process for a role on the Creative Cloud team. I'm eight years in, so this was a senior IC level conversation, but I'll share what I can for people at different levels.

The process had four stages: recruiter screen, portfolio review, design exercise, and a panel.

Recruiter screen (30 min): Pretty basic. Role alignment, timeline, "what draws you to Adobe" (make this specific, generic answers don't land). They noted that Adobe has a lot of designers interviewing and they look for people who can articulate design rationale precisely, not just show pretty work.

Portfolio review (60 min): One-on-one with a design lead. I presented two case studies. The questions were very specific: why did you choose that layout over the alternative you mentioned, what user research informed that decision, how did you handle pushback from the engineering team on the interaction. They pushed on tradeoffs every time. Coming in with a rehearsed portfolio story is not enough. You have to know it deeply.

One thing that surprised me: they asked about a project that didn't go well. Not just "tell me about a challenge," but specifically a design decision you made that turned out wrong. Have a real answer.

Design exercise (take-home + presentation): I had about 4 days to complete a design prompt. Mine was redesigning a part of a Creative Cloud app for a specific user scenario they described. I won't share the exact prompt. I presented it in a 45-minute session with two designers and a PM. They cared as much about my process and the questions I asked during the prompt as the actual screens.

Panel (60 min): Four people, mix of design and cross-functional. Behavioral questions plus a few design philosophy questions: how do you think about designing for power users vs. occasional users, how do you approach accessibility.

Impression: Adobe's design team takes craft seriously. The portfolio bar is high. Not in a "make it pretty" way but in a "can you defend every decision" way.

4 replies

ux_uma

The "design that didn't go well" question is one I think people underprepare. The instinct is to protect yourself and pick something minor. But I've seen interviewers specifically looking for the candidate who can be genuinely reflective and specific about why something failed. Picking something minor reads as defensive.

alex_design

Four days for the take-home is reasonable. I've seen companies give 24 hours which is basically a test of who has the most free time that day. Did they compensate for the take-home or is it unpaid?

brand_ben

Unpaid for mine. I've heard some companies doing paid exercises but Adobe did not at my level. The four-day window helped at least. I was able to do it over a weekend.

pm_priya

Power users vs. occasional users is such a real tension in Creative Cloud products specifically. Photoshop is basically built for power users and every attempt to simplify it for casual users has been contentious. Did you get to design for one of the flagship apps or something newer?