Build real, practical UX and UI design skills at your own pace while learning how to create digital products people actually enjoy using. You’ll work through the full design process, from researching user needs to sketching ideas and building prototypes, with a focus on designing clean, intuitive apps and websites. Along the way, you’ll also see how AI tools can support modern design work and help streamline everyday tasks.
Using tools like Figma, you’ll design interactive prototypes and test your ideas through user research and feedback. You’ll practice creating personas, running usability tests, and refining designs based on what works and what doesn’t. The course also introduces AI-powered techniques for research, ideation, and design efficiency. With guided support throughout, you’ll finish with portfolio-ready projects that show your skills and confidence as a UX and UI designer.
What You Will Learn
- Learn core UX and UI design concepts and industry best practices
- Design webpages, apps, and other digital products
- Conduct user research and evaluate findings
- Create clickable prototypes and run user testing to gather feedback
- Use Figma for design and prototyping
- Develop UX case studies, create visual designs, and build a portfolio
Course Outline
UI Fundamentals
How & when to use common UI patterns
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Menus
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Tabs
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Bottom tab bar
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Buttons (including “Call to action” or CTA)
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Accordion
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Carousel
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Breadcrumbs
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Modals
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Forms
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etc.
Learn Figma
Create Visual Designs & Clickable Prototypes
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Learn how to use Figma to create clickable prototypes to show users for testing, or for clients to see your work.
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Design the UI (user interface of websites, apps, etc.) in Figma.
UX Design Concepts
Intersection of Design, Technology, & Business
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Through critical analysis understand how user experience as a field sits in the intersection of different areas of the product.
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What is the difference between User Experience Design and User Interface Design?
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Learn about heuristics and apply heuristic evaluation to websites.
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Competitive Research
Knowing Your User
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Learn how to structure and conduct user interviews to better identify the needs and current behaviors of the user.
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Understand how to engage the user to work through assumptions and preconceived notions that arise during the process.
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Write down assumptions for your class project.
User Research Through Interviews
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Refine user interview questions.
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Interview classmates for your project.
Refining User Research and Creating Personas
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Create user personas from the interviews to represent the goals and behaviors of the users within the system.
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Develop user scenarios to show when and how the user engages with the system.
Synthesis of User Research, Journey Maps, and User Flows
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Continue to synthesize results of user research to find patterns.
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Create a journey map for your project.
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Think through the different features of the system by building user flows.
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Take the written narrative to the next level through sketching and improvising using techniques such as storyboarding and bodystorming.
Wireframing, Sketching, Prototyping
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Practice a sketching session for an existing website or mobile application of your choice. Start with sketching on a whiteboard or your notebook.
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Sketch wireframes for your class project.
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Learn the power of prototyping and testing an idea. Understand different methods of prototyping and their levels of fidelity.
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Discuss the motivation behind the prototyping, such as newly discovered user goals, business needs and improved functionality.
Prototyping & User Testing
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User testing methods and strategies.
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Do’s and don’ts of user testing.
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Do a user test on your project with a classmate.
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Clearly list the assumptions and test your concepts. Work on multiple iterations of the prototype based on the test results.
Iterating the Prototype and Further User Testing
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Report conclusions based on user testing.
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User testing reports.
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Rework the prototype based on user testing conclusions.
Case Studies
Building Case Studies
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Look at case study examples.
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Finish your clickable prototype.
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Using a compilation of user research, prototypes, and photographs, build your case study.
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Present class projects as case studies on-screen.
Creative Briefs
Getting to Know a Project: Creative Briefs
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What is a Creative Brief?
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What to Include in a Creative Brief
Wireframing for UI Designers
Wireframing
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Why and How to Create Wireframes
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Issues to Solve
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Steps in Creating a Wireframe
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Designing on a Grid System (like Bootstrap)
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Get Critiques
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Incorporate Feedback & Improve Your Designs
Wireframe to Refined Design
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Iterate & Refine
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Understanding the Mobile Experience
UI or Visual Design Concepts
Learning from Existing Websites & Apps
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What Works & What Does Not?
Color
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Color Harmonies
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Creating Contrast with Color
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Guidelines for Proper Color Usage
Typography & Fonts
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Display Text (Such as Headings) versus Body Text
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Legibility
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Type Trends
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Typeface Selection & Pairing
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Where to Get Web Fonts
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Ideal Line Height
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Column Width (Line Length)
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Hyphenation & Justification
Design Elements
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Proximity
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Similarity
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Continuity
Trends in Web & App Design
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Analysis of Example Websites & Apps
Design Patterns
Multiple Screen Sizes
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Responsive Web Design
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Mobile Considerations & Limitations
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Discoverability Challenges
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Mobile Navigation
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Phone vs Tablet App Design
Workflow: Idea to Design
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Example Web & App Design Workflows
The Business of UX & UI Design
The UX & UI Design Industry
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Getting into the business: strategies and ideas.
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Resources
Portfolio Website & Job Preparation
Creating Your Portfolio Website
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Examples of UX & UI portfolio websites
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What you should include on your portfolio website
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Get 1-on-1 feedback on your case studies & portfolio website
Resume Development
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What you should include on your resume
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Get 1-on-1 feedback on your resume
This course is available for 30 days. You can choose when to start your access period. Once you activate, you will have 30 days to complete it (access the course materials, quizzes, projects and videos). You may request one extension of seven (7) days. Other extension requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Videos are not downloadable.
