Working in the Design Industry
Know the workflow, not just the tools
Industry questions test whether you understand how a project moves from brief to delivery. The core concepts are the client brief and creative brief, scope and deliverables, project phases (discovery, concept, refinement, production, handoff), revision rounds, approval sign-off, and file management conventions. You should also recognise roles - art director, designer, production artist, prepress specialist - and how they divide responsibility.
Rights, formats, and professionalism
Expect questions on intellectual property: the difference between transferring a copyright and licensing usage rights, why stock licences restrict certain uses, and why you keep a record of asset sources. Understand client confidentiality and the ethics of using unlicensed fonts or imagery. Also know why naming conventions, version numbering, and a clear folder structure matter on a shared project.
Traps to watch
- Revisions vs. new work: a fixed number of revision rounds does not include a change of direction; that is new scope.
- Approval: verbal approval is weaker than written sign-off; final delivery usually follows written approval.
- Copyright transfer: commissioning artwork does not automatically transfer copyright unless the agreement says so.
- Proofing: the designer is responsible for flagging obvious errors, but final proofreading sign-off usually sits with the client.
Rule of thumb
Before any file leaves your machine, ask three questions: is it the approved version, is it named and organised so someone else can find it, and are the rights for every asset documented? If any answer is no, the job is not finished.
Worked example
A client asks for a logo, then after two rounds of refinement asks to change the whole concept to a different style. Under a typical agreement, the first two rounds are included revisions; the concept change is a new direction and should be scoped and quoted separately, with the change confirmed in writing before work continues.