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Design take-home assignment: how to complete and present it
How to do a UI/UX design take-home assignment: read the brief, ask questions, stay within time, show your process and present the solution. When to say no.
- What a take-home assignment really checks
- How to plan your time and not drown in details
- How to present the solution so they want to discuss it
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How to do a take-home assignment: 5 steps
- 1
Step 1
Break down the brief and ask questions
- 2
Step 2
Plan your time and stick to it
- 3
Step 3
Show the process, not just the result
- 4
Step 4
Write up the solution and prepare to present it
- 5
Step 5
Judge whether to take it on, and practice in advance
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This guide is for you if you are
Doing your first take-home task
A company sent an assignment, and you don't know how much time to spend or what to show.
Sending tasks with no reply
You submit nice mockups, but it never goes past the interview, and you don't know why.
Unsure about a task
The assignment looks like real work for the company, and you don't know whether to agree.
In short
- A take-home task checks not only how you draw but how you think: how you break down a problem, make decisions and explain them.
- Before you start, ask clarifying questions and write down your assumptions.
- Set a time budget up front. Nielsen Norman Group considers a task fair if it can be done in about an evening.
- Submit not only screens but a short explanation: the task, assumptions, process, solution, what you'd do next.
- A take-home task whose result the company could use in its product is a warning sign.
How to do a take-home assignment: 5 steps
- 1
Step 1
Break down the brief and ask questions
In Nielsen Norman Group's 2022 survey on UX hiring, take-home or whiteboard exercises were frequently cited as a practical demonstration of a candidate's abilities, so expect them. When you get one, don't open Figma straight away. Read the assignment twice and write down what's known and what isn't. If you can, send the recruiter or designer a few clarifying questions: it shows maturity, not insecurity. Worth finding out:
- who the user is and what problem this scenario solves for them;
- which platforms are needed: a mobile app, web, both;
- what matters more: research and logic or visual quality;
- the deadline and submission format: a Figma link, a PDF, a presentation in a meeting.
💡 If there's no answer, don't wait: write down your assumptions (“I assume the user already has an account”) and show them in your final explanation.
- 2
Step 2
Plan your time and stick to it
A typical trap is spending three evenings on pixels. Set a time budget before you start and split it into stages, leaving the biggest share for the final screens:
- break down the brief, questions, assumptions;
- quick analysis: how other products solve this, what the constraints are;
- the flow and rough wireframes, a few options for the key screen;
- final screens for the main scenario;
- the explanation and a check that everything opens.
💡 It's better to do the main scenario neatly and honestly mark what's out of scope than to hand in ten unfinished screens.
Review your take-home task with other designers
After you've submitted it, you can show your solution in the community and get feedback from designers who have been through hiring themselves. Come in, it's free.
Share your solutionFree. 1,504 designers are already in the community.
- 3
Step 3
Show the process, not just the result
The interviewer wants to understand how you work. So keep the traces of your thinking visible:
- a flow of the scenario with branches: what happens on an error, an empty state, a lost connection;
- two or three early options for the key screen and why you picked this one;
- the references you relied on, noting what exactly you took;
- edge cases: a long name, zero results, slow loading.
💡 If you used AI tools, say so plainly and explain what you did yourself. If hidden AI use comes out in the interview, it undermines trust in the whole piece of work.
- 4
Step 4
Write up the solution and prepare to present it
A take-home task can become the basis of the next conversation, where you may be asked to present it. Prepare a short explanation of one or two pages, or a first frame in Figma:
- the task in your own words and your assumptions;
- key decisions, with one or two sentences of “why” each;
- what you'd test with users and how;
- what you'd do next with more time.
💡 Check the links in an incognito window: the mockup must open without an access request. For the conversation itself, read Designer job interview.
Got a take-home task and don't know where to start? Share the brief with the community → - 5
Step 5
Judge whether to take it on, and practice in advance
Take-home tasks can be fair or not. According to Nielsen Norman Group, a good one has several signs: you're told about it in advance, it relates to the real work of the role, it gives every candidate the same materials, it has clear instructions and a deadline, and it can be done in about an evening. Warning signs:
- the result would be useful to the company in its current projects, which makes it unpaid work;
- instructions are minimal or very vague, with no materials;
- the task clearly takes more than a few hours.
💡 If a task raises doubts, politely ask how it will be assessed and whether the result will be used. Best of all, prepare in advance: do short briefs with a deadline, such as design games, and take-home tasks stop being scary.
You're not alone with these questions
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Questions and answers
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How much time should I spend on a take-home task?
As much as the company specified, and if it didn't, ask. Nielsen Norman Group considers a task fair if it can be done in about an evening, less than a few hours. If you see you won't fit, do the main scenario and mark what's out of scope.
Can I turn down a take-home task?
Yes, that's your right, especially if it looks like unpaid work for the company or takes several days. But bear in mind: asking to skip a stage at a company where the task is a standard part of hiring for everyone usually doesn't work. If in doubt, politely ask how it will be assessed.
Can I put a take-home task in my portfolio?
If it contains no confidential company materials and the company didn't forbid publishing it, yes, labeled honestly as a take-home assignment and without the company's logo unless you have permission. Add a short write-up of the task, your assumptions and decisions: that turns it into a real case study rather than a set of mockups. If you're unsure about permission, ask the company.
Why don't they reply after a take-home task?
Reasons vary, and they aren't always about your work: the role may have closed or gone to another candidate. Politely ask for brief feedback. If there's no answer, show the solution to other designers: fresh eyes often spot what's missing, such as the reasoning behind decisions, edge cases or polish on the main scenario.
Is the Spaceberry community paid?
No. Spaceberry Community is a free Telegram community supported by Spaceberry Foundation, a non-profit organization. All you need to join is a Telegram account. Inside are 1,504 designers who discuss each other's work, plus regular design games: the same brief for everyone, a deadline and a community vote. Conversations are in Ukrainian.
A brief with a deadline is the best take-home practice
Join 1,504 designers who practice in design games and share their hiring experience. Your next take-home task won't be your first. The community talks in Ukrainian.
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