How I Landed a Design Internship at HackerNoon

From reading HackerNoon articles to working for the company, I've come a long way.

Hi! I’m Devansh, a self-taught designer & a 2022 CS graduate. And just like most of us amidst the hiring freeze and lay-offs, I too was looking for a job.

I even “almost” landed one (A full-time design role at a Fintech, based in the US) but the HR left me stranded as they went into a hiring freeze, and my salary negotiation interview got scheduled but never happened.

So, I was back to square one.

A Ray of Hope 🤞

After scrolling for hours on LinkedIn in search of the role that suited me perfectly, I came across this:

The moment I saw this, I knew I had to take a shot. I’ve been reading HackerNoon articles ever since one of my seniors introduced me to it back in 2019. So, without wasting any time I updated my resume and got my portfolio ready.

The application procedure was quite simple and I could apply with ease. You just need to fill out your details, answer a few questions, add some links to your socials/portfolio, and your resume ofc.

Ps: I won’t go into further details about the complete application form since we all like to discover things on our own & I don’t wanna be the one who ruins your adventure.

The Interview Process 📃

The whole recruitment process was pretty straightforward with 3 Main Rounds, namely - The Application Round, a Test, and The Interview.

Application Round: I applied on September 10, 2022

First Update: On September 24, 2022, I received the very first update (From none other than Hang) along with an anticipated timeline mentioning that I was still being considered.
Test Round(s): Depending on the team(s) you selected during the application, you receive your test(s). (You receive multiple tests if you apply to more than 1 team). On September 27, 2022, I received invites to the test round from both Social Media and Graphic Design Teams.

Test Submission: As per my interest, I ended up submitting the test for the latter. It took me a good whole week to finish up and meet the deadline (4th October)
Interview Round: On October 18, 2022, the good news finally came in. I was invited for an interview with Kien Dao (Design Lead) at HackerNoon. I ended up selecting October 27, 2022, as Diwali was just around the corner.

Interview: I had an amazing time with Kien during the interview and it became more of a 1-1 discussion about all things design rather than a typical boring interview.
Result: Finally the wait was over and the mail was here.

The Task that took me through to The Interview 🚀

After getting shortlisted, comes the task. These were the tasks that earned me a spot for the interview.

The test from the Design Team comprised two tasks:

Logo Design Task
Motion Graphic Design Task

Logo Design Task 🎨

The logo design task proved to be a perfect match for me. It challenged my brain to unleash its creativity to the fullest and bring some crazy ideas to life.

Here’s the design brief that was sent over:

So initially, I approached the problem statement keeping a few things in my mind:

Gotta keep it simple
Remember, ”Less is More”
Don’t forget to add a pinch of Pixelated/Retro Vibe

Process

My process for this logo design sprint began with the 10/10 method where I produce 10 random ideas that come to my mind and then, later on, add further details to the design.

10/10 Method

The 10/10 Method (as I call it) is all about sketching down 10 raw ideas in 10 minutes. (All based on your initial interpretation of the problem statement) & then figuring out the details for the same.

Here are the 10 that I came up with initially:

Adding details

Come to think of it, Designers at HackerNoon did an excellent job designing the first SOTY ‘22 logo. The rocket is a very recognizable symbol.

In order to come up with something as iconic as the one they used earlier, I opted for the “Innovation Bulb/Lamp” or we can say the “Idea Symbol”. It was based on my belief that a startup can only bloom if it has a solid foundation and a solid foundation is an idea that can make this world a better place - even if just a little.

Ps: The humanoid bust represents the human factor of any startup/org & in order to incorporate the touch of Retro I went for a pixelated bulb. (Created in illustrator). Also, the filament here represents one’s journey through ups and downs to reach their goal.

Colors

In order to keep it simple and minimalistic I went for a combo of White (#FFFFFF) and Pigment Green (#1AA54A). The green here represents growth and sustainability - the ideals a startup should be built upon. Out of all other greens, Pigment Green hits the spot for me with a balance of 10% red, 62% green, and 28% blue.

The white perfectly harmonizes with the green to create a calm tone.

Final Submission

After a fun week-long design sprint I finally ended up with my final designs for Startups of The Year 2022.

Motion Graphic Design Task 🎥

The motion design task was next in line. It was fun and turned out to be a whole new learning experience in itself. Here’s the brief that was sent over.

Just like before, I went in with the same approach of keeping it minimal. The process began with drawing out some frames that I had in mind and creating the basic flow (kinda like a storyboard).

The final flow for the intro that I came up with was:

The video opens with a pull-down light bulb that opens up the Logo animation
Followed by the link
Then came “Presented by Hackernoon”
And at last, the sponsors.

Final Submission

During a whole week of balancing both tasks, I ended up messing up the deadline and had to improvise without the BG MUSIC 💀 (A major mistake when it comes to motion design. Music always comes first since it sets up the pace for the animation) Well that aside, here was my final submission (mp4→gif) for the motion graphics design task.

The Happy Ever After ✨

Before I knew it, I was in an interview with Kien. The interview went really well and we ended up discussing design trends. It became a friendly 1-1 meet rather than a typical interview.

And just like that the wait was over and the mail was here:

Like the mail, the contract followed thereafter and in no time I officially onboarded HackerNoon as a Graphic Design Intern.