UX design course

This module will give you a strong, foundational understanding of the user experience (UX) design process. You’ll learn that UX design is a problem-solving discipline focused on building products that solve problems for the user.

• What user experience (UX) design is and why it is essential for designing products users love.
• What happens at each stage of the UX process and the importance of each step.
• The importance of understanding the user’s contexts, goals and behaviours when designing a digital product or service.
• How to communicate the value of UX to other business stakeholders.
• Important concepts within UX such as agile development, mental models, the paradox of specificity, and prototyping.

This module will help you to see research as the key ingredient underpinning UX Design. You’ll learn about a range of research techniques and methods, including usability testing, interviewing, card sorting, online surveys, A/B testing and heuristic evaluation.

• The importance of research in the UX process.
• How to distinguish between different types of research, for example qualitative vs. quantitative, and observational vs. attitudinal research.
• What research bias is and how to remain impartial as a user researcher.
• How to carry out your own usability tests and take effective notes.
• How to conduct other research methods including online surveys, card sorting, A/B testing and depth interviews.

You’ll understand the need to analyse the research data that you gather. You’ll look at a number of frameworks and techniques that will help you make sense of raw, unstructured data.

• Triangulation and the benefits of this approach.
• How to use affinity diagrams to analyse unstructured data and uncover insights.
• How to create customer journey maps to visually represent a user’s experience.
• The benefits and pitfalls of user personas, and how to create accurate personas to represent your audience.
• How to prepare a customer value curve to assess how your product performs compared to competitors.
• How to use empathy maps to visualise what your users say, think, feel, as well as their behaviours and goals.

In this module, you’ll learn how to define a clear structure and information architecture for your software. This in turn will help you to design intuitive navigation and a smooth flow for your users.

• How information architecture determines the way a website or app is structured and helps users achieve their goals.
• That user flows map how users move through a website or app.
• How to create a flow diagram, to map out each user interaction and screen state.
• How to use navigation patterns effectively to guide users through a website or app, improving their experience.

This module will teach you the components of an interaction and how these components - controls, rules, and feedback - facilitate an interaction.

• How users engage with software through a series of interactions and micro-interactions.
• The role of controls in helping users determine how they will engage with a digital product.
• How to apply interface elements such as tabs, radio buttons and checkboxes as part of your designs.
• The importance of rules for defining how the user interface will work.
• The concept of feedback and how it guides users on what to do next.
• The benefits of sketching to visualise and develop your design ideas.

This module will enable you to harness the power of design principles to create high-quality software. Design principles are proven guidelines and rules for effective design. You’ll learn why using design principles as reference points will increase the probability that your designs and software will be successful.

• The importance of design principles such as affordances, conventions, feedback, constraints and forgiveness.
• The theory of Hick’s Law and how it can be applied to the design of user interfaces.
• The concept of progressive disclosure and the benefits of this approach when presenting information to users.
• The theory of Fitt’s Law and how it can be applied to the design of user interfaces.

In this module, you’ll be introduced to the concept of design patterns: reusable solutions to common problems in software. By using these common solutions, you can ensure that your designs are more perceivable and predictable for your users.

• How chunking, alignment and visual hierarchy can help users understand information more quickly and accurately.
• How to help guide users through a digital interface with progress indicators and smart defaults.
• How a ‘call to action’ is used to guide a user toward completing a particular task or behaviour.
• How to help and support users to progress through their flow with error handling and inline validation.

You’ll understand the key differences between responsive websites, mobile websites, and native applications. You’ll also learn about different mobile application types and gain an understanding of mobile design patterns.

• The high-level implications and constraints of designing for mobile versus desktop.
• The differences between responsive websites, mobile websites and native apps, and understand how each of them are built.
• The two main mobile app flows: linear and hub-and-spoke, and the characteristics of each.
• The five main styles of mobile navigation and the ideal scenarios where each should be implemented.

You’ll learn the importance of designing effective workflows which allow users to complete common tasks like registration, onboarding and sign-in. You’ll also be introduced to complex forms and payment flows.

• The concept of workflows and how they help users complete a defined task.
• How to design registration, onboarding and sign-in screens following optimal design patterns.
• How complex forms can be designed to minimise the amount of user input and effort required.
• How to design a payment page following best design practices to minimise user abandonment.
• The concepts of micro-tasks and modes and how to design these effectively.

You’ll gain the skills and knowledge to build interactive prototypes. You’ll learn the differences between high, medium, and low-fidelity prototypes. Finally, you’ll recognise the importance of clear handover documentation when transitioning from design to build.

• How prototypes offer a cost effective technique for iterating designs.
• The differences between low, medium and high fidelity prototypes.
• The key considerations involved in choosing the appropriate fidelity of the prototype.
• To use Figma to create a medium fidelity prototype.
• How to progress from a medium fidelity prototype to a higher fidelity, interactive prototype.
• How to effectively handover your designs to be built by software developers.

You’ll explore how AI can help you design better and what you should consider when designing AI products. You’ll learn how to integrate tools like ChatGPT into your workflow, and what’s different about designing for AI-assisted experiences.

• The benefits of using AI tools in your workflow.
• Current AI limitations and the importance of human judgement when it comes to using these tools.
• The current landscape of available AI tools for UX design.
• How to use ChatGPT to assist with common tasks in user research, analysis and design.
• Emerging approaches and techniques for designing AI-assisted products.
• The current thinking on the role of AI in UX, today and in the future.

You’ll learn how to structure your portfolio to best showcase your skills. You’ll recognise the importance of a well-structured case study in telling the story of your work, and where to get UX experience before you’ve landed your first role.

• How to structure your case studies like a story.
• What to include in your portfolio, from well-crafted case studies to a compelling ‘About’ section.
• Strategies for creating a strong portfolio even without professional experience.
• How to showcase your UX process, demonstrating your ability to identify problems and create solutions.
• How to emphasise the impact of your design decisions and the value you bring as a UX designer.