Edge Marketing

Senior Production Designer Assessment

Please answer from your own production knowledge and include enough detail for the creative team to understand how you approach production work. Take the time to answer yourself, in your own words, from your own knowledge and experience and do not use AI.

Question 1

A client wants spot UV on only the logo and a few headings. Explain how you would set up the InDesign file and exported PDF for the printer.

Question 2

You are building a 5 x 7 postcard with color to the edge. What document size, bleed, safe area, and export settings would you use?

Question 3

Before packaging a press-ready booklet, what do you check in InDesign Preflight and why?

Question 4

Explain when you would use 100K black, rich black, and registration black. Include at least one situation where the wrong choice can cause a production problem.

Question 5

A placed image shows 300 PPI actual but 92 PPI effective in InDesign. What does that mean, and what would you do before sending the file to print?

Question 6

A brand file uses a Pantone spot color, but this job is printing CMYK process. How do you verify, convert, or preserve colors correctly?

Question 7

A printer asks for a press-ready PDF. What PDF preset or standards would you consider, and which settings would you confirm before export?

Question 8

What are overprint and knockout? Describe how you would catch a problem before it reaches the printer.

Question 9

You are preparing a saddle-stitched brochure. What should you know about page count, reader spreads versus printer spreads, and creep?

Question 10

You are designing an 8 ft x 3 ft trade show banner. How do scale, resolution, bleed, file setup, and viewing distance change your workflow?

Question 11

A vendor asks you to outline all fonts, but the creative director wants the native file to remain editable. How do you handle that request?

Question 12

You inherit a messy InDesign file with missing links, unused styles, inconsistent master pages, and old copy. Walk through your cleanup process.

Question 13

You need to produce a set of static digital ads in multiple sizes from an approved design. How do you keep the exports accurate, sharp, accessible, and organized?