Framed my answer around user needs because that felt like the safer bet for Meta's culture, but I second-guessed myself mid-answer and started hedging.
Acknowledge both aspects as essential, but emphasize that user needs should drive design decisions, with visual polish as a means to enhance usability and delight. Frame your answer around a user-centered design process, showing how you balance both to create impactful solutions.
Pro tip: Tie your answer to Meta's focus on building products that connect people and solve real problems at scale. Show that you prioritize user impact but understand that execution quality (including visual polish) matters for adoption and trust.
Start by stating that both visual polish and user needs are important, but they serve different purposes. Avoid dismissing either, as it shows respect for the full design process.
Explain that understanding user needs is foundational because it ensures you're solving the right problem. Without this, even the most beautiful interface can fail.
Discuss how digging into user needs leads to solutions that create real value and impact, which is more fulfilling and aligns with Meta's mission.
Acknowledge that visual polish is crucial for usability, accessibility, and emotional connection, but it should be in service of the user's needs and goals.
Share a brief example from your experience where focusing on user needs led to a solution that also required visual refinement to be successful.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.