Studio Ping Pong is hiring. I looked at the Studio Ping Pong application form and found it intriguing, and responded to the questions.
You can swap jobs with any famous designer (living or dead), who would it be?
Josef Müller-Brockmann—for his ability to balance freedom of expression within constraint, and for seeing flexibility within meticulous grid systems. Grid Systems in Graphic Design still reveals something new each time I return to it.
Pick one project from your portfolio that you would completely redo today. What would you change and why?
The Penang Island Georgetown Unesco Heritage City wayfinding project. I was younger and impatient. I didn’t want to navigate the messy politics between parties and stakeholders—I just took the money and handed over the initial work. Eventually, it was produced by god-knows-who, and the proportions and scale are completely off. Every time I return to Penang, I’m reminded of it. I should have stayed with it. I should have persisted.
If you could start an art movement, what would it be?
Impressionist—recreating or reinterpreting what’s seen through impression, not replication. What you felt, not just what you saw. Capturing the mess, the mood, the moment. The essence of sight, not a photocopy of reality. Kind of like good design, right? Not just pulling from Pinterest.
What would you design if you had no restrictions (time, money, tools) and why? Can link examples if you’d like.
Head of Design for Government—overseeing city planning, urban infrastructure, digital systems. A creative director for public life. Asking: Why isn’t there an interchange where two metro lines intersect? Why are government websites and forms still so impossible to use? (See Ben Terrett and how gov.uk was transformed.)
If the studio were a house, what room would you be and why?
Basement/Garage. I know—it’s a very Western concept. But it’s the third space in a house: detached from the suffocation of family, yet still connected. There’s mythology there too—garage bands, early Steve Jobs and Gates. It’s the room where raw ideas begin.
For fun’s sake, I sent it to Kritika, the founder of Studio Ping Pong.
Obviously, I wasn’t hired. She got the impression she’d have to sell her kidneys to afford me—which is a total misconception, but that’s a conversation for another day.
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Naturally I was curious about what Kritika was looking for in her recruitment exercise.
We exchanged a few messages and I gave her three questions in return. Here’s what she has to say:
What did you think when you read my responses to your questions?
Made me feel like you care about design for the sake of good design. Not “branding” or the glamour of graphic design, but unsexy answers—grids, wayfinding, systems that inspire actual change. None of your responses were about aesthetics or form, but about how design can shift the way we function.
Your second answer made me feel like you’re someone who reflects carefully on your mistakes and isn’t afraid to own them. Even at a senior level, that’s rarer than you’d think.
What kind of responses have you been getting? Generally.
Out of 45 responses in 2 days, I’ve had 4 that really stood out—both in terms of the work and the answers. They felt genuine, came from a place of curiosity, and some even surprised me—talking about everyday, unglamorous design like information systems, research, and publications. I think those are the real foundations of a good designer.
These questions are also great conversation starters during interviews, where most people come in super prepared or rehearsed.
You can fake talent—or hide behind beautiful presentation. But the point of asking these questions was to see two things: who takes the time to answer them with care, and what kind of thinker they are.
For me, it’s really important to know if I’m on the same page with the people I work with. That doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything—there should be differences in style and opinion—but there needs to be some overlap in approach. A shared value system. And most importantly, hunger.
Overall thoughts on the junior designers market?
I honestly feel like most portfolios are chasing the wrong things. Everyone’s rushing to become a “brand designer,” “design lead,” “art director.” Why so fast? Some of the portfolios don’t even show basic typography skills.
Feels like there are too many “designers,” but not enough real talent. What we need is more perseverance—and less chasing of glamour.
Also, can someone tell me what even defines a junior designer anymore? It seems to be based only on experience, but I really think it should be about capability.
Thanks Kritika.