LET’S PREPARE

YOU FOR THE

SKILL TEST!
Thank you for applying for a job with us! Now it’s time to

prepare you for the next stage! A test where we’ll assess

your creativity and skills!

The following information will help you with this part of

the process, which is the skill test! Before taking the test,

please make sure to go through all of this as it will help

you on the next stage of your application.

1. WHAT’S THE SKILL TEST?

Brief summary

This test consists on one request that will take around 4 hours of
your time - If you finish beforehand, awesome! If you take more time,
that’s totally fine! We still want to see what you’ll come up with.

The request will include the client’s brief, where you’ll find the
instructions for the project and the ideal design time. The request is
patterned to what our current creatives handle on a daily basis.
Please make sure to read the instructions carefully before submitting
your files!

Criteria
With your initial application we will assess your design skills with the portfolio submitted, as well as your
communications skills. You must be a super chill and talented creative! But we need to be sure you have
what it takes in terms of visual hierarchy, style, font use, turnaround time, attention to details, and other areas
that will give us a better insight into your overall capacities as a designer!
1. WHAT’S THE
SKILL TEST?

Disclaimer
We want you to be super creative and to
make your results to look as amazing as
they can! So please remember that these
designs are not for real clients! The designs
requested in the skill test were created
by Make Relish in partnership with Design
Pickle to test your skills and therefore we will
not use the designs you created for any other
purpose. After all is said and done, your
designs will become part of our archive, not
to be seen by anyone ever again, at least
outside our team!

Remember, the output

expected must be
100% original!
Yeah, we get it! A lot of designers use
Vecteezy, Freepik and Flaticon as vector
resources, however those sites often
infringe rights in terms of attribution and
require royalties for their use, therefore
those sites are not allowed! You may opt to
use other free vector or images resources
that are free to use with no attribution
required. As for fonts, feel free to use
Google fonts and free for commercial ones!
Don’t fret! We’re gonna hook you up with
some goodies to help you out with the test ;)
2. WHAT DO I NEED
TO PREPARE?
Adobe CC programs & Other software*
As you might know, we require you to have full proficiency on Adobe CC (you can check in the requirements
of job you applied for the softwares handled). We don’t use Corel, Affinity Designer, Figma, etc., so please
keep that in mind while you’re working on your designs! Just make sure you have the latest version of Adobe
CC installed in your work station.

List of royalty free websites and images!

As promised! Here’s a cool list of free attribution sites to help you out with your test:

Free Stock Images: https://mmtstock.com/

https://www.resplashed.com/
https://www.pexels.com/
https://realisticshots.com/
https://tookapic.com/photos
https://fontawesome.com/cheatsheet/free/solid
https://picjumbo.com/
https://snapwiresnaps.tumblr.com/ PSDDD
https://barnimages.com/images/ Freebies from Dribbble that can be used in day to day
https://startupstockphotos.com/ designs! https://psddd.co/
https://kaboompics.com/
https://isorepublic.com/ Logo Dust
https://travelcoffeebook.com/ Free Logo Designs For Your Projects, Added Every
https://littlevisuals.co/ Tuesday https://logodust.com/?ref=producthunt
https://www.lifeofpix.com/
Freebbble
https://jaymantri.com/
https://negativespace.co/ Here you can find 1000+ design freebies made by

https://stocksnap.io/ Dribbble users. Have a look around!

https://publicdomainarchive.com/ https://freebbble.com/?ref=producthunt

https://undraw.co/ Endless Icons

https://publicdomainvectors.org/
Here’s a free icon library!
https://morguefile.com/search/morguefile/2/pop
https://www.endlessicons.com/?ref=producthunt
https://cupcake.nilssonlee.se/
https://magdeleine.co/license/cc0/ Free fonts:
https://shutteroo.com/ https://fonts.google.com/
https://www.splitshire.com/ https://rostype.com/
https://stokpic.com/ https://fontesk.com/ (make sure to filter free
https://www.designerspics.com/ for commercial use)
 SOME POINTERS
Here are 5 pointers to help you get started
as you wait for the test instructions

1 Make sure you have a reliable and stable internet connection.

Tip: We don’t know when our internet connection will flake out on us, so secure a back-up
connection--Call a friend or a relative with fast wifi, or look for a co-working space or internet
cafe near you.

2 Master the Adobe CC software.

We only use the latest version of Adobe CC, focusing on Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, After
Effects and Premiere (you can check the job description of the role you applied to see the
softwares required). These weapons are your daily tools. Most applicants fail because they only
know how to use only one software. If you think you already forgot some tools in these programs,
now’s the time to practice and take a refresher course on them!

3 Pray over your laptop, PC, mouse, keyboard, etc.

Kidding aside, these are the foundations of a location-independent job, so secure powerful
gear before stepping into the game! We know that when we use Adobe software, it uses a lot
of memory in our computer. Check your hardware, secure a back-up laptop, call a friend, or just
really do pray over.

4 Research and explore more design ideas!

On this test, you have power over your designs and creativity so start equipping yourself with
lots of design ideas--Font pairings? Color palettes? Layout styles? Just don’t run out of them.

5 Be resourceful
Get a head start by looking for free vector and images resources just in case you’ll be needing
them. We don’t allow the use of Vecteezy, Freepik, Flaticon, and other free resources with
attribution required. We do have our own library but they are for our creatives’ use only. Just
stick to the free for commercial ones and you’ll be fine!

DESIGN’S PICKLE CORE VALUES

 FILE REVIEW CHECKLIST
Before exporting and uploading your files, please check the following list to
meet all the requirements from the following checklist:

AESTHETIC:

Proper alignment of
elements and text.

Visual Hierarchy,
with proper spacing and
Proper contrast and
balance of the elements.
color management.

No Hyphenated Text,
Orphan and Widows.
Copy is legible,
with proper kern,
track and lead.

TECHNICAL:

No White Edges in
Proper Cropping of Photos.
Exported Images.

Filenaming convection
was followed. Images are embeded.
(Last Name_Request#_Date).

SOURCE FILE TYPE AS Spellcheck

REQUESTED IN THE BRIEF (Punctuations, Hyphens,
(AI, PSD, INDD). Letter Capitals).

Properly exported for

For Print
Web or Print
(.125 inches bleed, trim marks,
(RGB, 72 DPI for Web;
high resolution PDF).
CMYK, 300 DPI for Print).

No Extra Pixel.

ESSENTIAL:

Instructions & Design Right dimensions

Inspirations were followed. were followed.

Free for commercial use

No missing copy.
assets/fonts.
DESIGN TIPS
& TRICKS
Here we don’t just set things in motion. We equip everyone before they step into the game! Here are some
design tips and tricks that might help you when you start designing with us. Happy reading!

1. Packaging Files
When we turnover files to our clients, we must make sure that they have all the raw files just in case they need
to edit the design, or send them to the printer.

Packaging Files on Illustrator

Adobe CC Illustrator has a Package feature which saves the Illustrator files, fonts, links, and a report. Packaging is
a breeze! Just go under File, then click Package.

Make sure you have everything checked, except for Create Report (because usually, no one really needs a
report), then click Package! This should export your Illustrator file, a fonts folder with the font files used (We only
use Google fonts!) and a links folder with the images used.
Packaging Files on Indesign
Similar to Illustrator, Indesign also has a Package feature that saves fonts, graphics and links, in order to share
them in the manner you have created them. Before packaging, make sure that everything is arranged
correctly within your file. Check if the images are linked or embedded, check the fonts don’t have any issues and
that the file doesn’t have any error. After you can go under File, then click Package (or press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P).

Make sure that “Fonts” and “Link and Images” don’t show any issue and everything is correct; no need to click on
Create Printing Instructions (unless it’s something required). Click on Package, select the location, make sure to
check “Copy Fonts”, “Copy Linked Graphics” & “Update Graphic Links in Package” and finally click on Package
and Continue and you are good to go! This should export your Indesign File, fonts and images used.
2. Extra pixels
There are times when Illustrator adds or removes a pixel. Here’s how to fix it!

Locate your Artboards Panel, and hit Shift + O on your keyboard. You should be able to tell which artboard
is which as a dotted blue line will appear. Make sure you have the top right square selected. For the X and Y
axes, some designers prefer using multiples of 10 while others prefer to use whole numbers. The point here is
to make sure your artboards don’t have decimals to make up for when you export later on.

Now hit Enter on your keyboard, and a panel like this should appear:

Make sure you have the top right square selected.

For the X and Y axes, some designers prefer using

multiples of 10 while others prefer to use whole numbers.

The point here is to make sure your artboards don’t have

decimals to make up for when you export later on.
3. White lines
Keep in mind to go beyond your artboard edges
to prevent white edges from appearing when
you’re adding a shape as your background

4. Exporting multiple files

Our Creatives often give more than one
option for each request. We also have a standard
file naming that we need to follow. Now, when
you have one Illustrator file with multiple files,
you’ll be getting something like this when you
export if you don’t rename them properly

So here’s the workaround: Locate your Artboards Panel, and hit Shift + O on your keyboard. You should be able
to tell which artboard is which as a dotted blue line will appear.

Whatever text you put into the Artboard name,

it will get exported as the text after your
Illustrator File name and an underscore.

Example:
Illustrator File Name: SampleJob

When exported:
SampleJob_1_083118
SampleJob_2_083118
SampleJob_3_083118
5. Multiple-paged Layout
When given a design request that includes a document with multiple pages, use Adobe CC Indesign. Master
Pages, Pagination, Character Styles and Paragraph Styles are great features that can help you create a
template and advance faster on the rest of the pages!

6. Exporting for PRINT and for WEB

Here’s the default setting when exporting images:

WEB: PRINT:
Color Mode: RGB Color Mode: CMYK
DPI: 72-150 DPI: 300 (for large format files, at least 10 DPI)

The settings actually depend on the printer requirements when it comes to print designs. But to further guide
you on how DPI works, here’s an article: https://affinityspotlight.com/article/understanding-dpi/

OTHER TIPS
Familiarize yourself with the Keyboard shortcuts!
Here’s a helpful article to guide you on Adobe CC Keyboard Shortcuts:
https://makeawebsitehub.com/adobe-creative-cloud-cheat-sheet/

Need help with font pairings?

Browse on these awesome Google font combinations:
https://www.reliablepsd.com/ultimate-google-font-pairings/

Some inspirations!
https://designpickle.com/work-samples/