How to Tackle Design Challenges 

Rachel Ruan 

When it comes to applying for jobs, internships, or any other program that requires a sample of a design, tackling this kind of challenge can be daunting. If you have no prior experience, it is never too late to start learning design on your own or to reach out to Media resources to learn. 

There are many places where you can start your design journey and choosing which one to use is the beginning. Thankfully as a student, the university WebStore has provided the use of Adobe Creative Cloud, which offers all the software from Illustrator, Photoshop, and video editing software like Premiere for free due to remote learning. Another helpful resource that I use most often that does not require learning the software of Adobe is Canva, which is a free-to-use resource that lets you use templates to create your banner, flyer, poster, logo, or any other at-home creative needs. 

Design challenges with guidelines for what they want are the go-to starting place. You create a board space with the designated size guideline and note the colors which you have to use along with any symbols or logos. Then you get to sketching whatever ideas you have for the layout of the design you want. Picture what your centerpiece will look like and where it will be placed in relation to the logos. Don’t be pressured by the guidelines to restrict your creativity but follow what the client wants, and go with what you like. Design challenges are for the interviewer to ask about your thought process in the making of the design and to explore certain aspects of the design that you found strong or weak. So be confident in the design you make and how you feeling creating it, most importantly make something you are passionate about.