Introduction to User Experience Design

Interested in UX design but not sure where to start? Our user experience design workshop will teach you the best practices you need to create effective, intuitive experiences for people. 

We’ll cover all the bases of an iterative UX design process including user research, wireframing, prototyping, UI design and user testing. Learn how to think like a UX designer and confidently work on projects for yourself and clients.

Learning Objectives

• Understand what user experience is, why it’s important and what goes into an iterative design process
• Learn how to balance both business goals and user needs to create a successful digital project
• Conduct popular research methods and turn insights into personas, user journeys, site maps and user flows
• Create wireframes and prototypes to handoff to clients and stakeholders
• Conduct user testing with real people, get feedback and make informed design decisions
• Understand what makes a case study and UX portfolio successful, and how to make your own case studies

Target Audience

• Engineers, Business Development, Finance, Marketing Professionals, Software, and IT professionals

Training Outline

Introduction to UX

• Answering the golden question: what is user experience (UX) design?
• Unpacking the various roles and responsibilities of a UX designer
• Exploring how a UX designer is different from other roles in design
• Learning about the pillars of user experience
• Breaking down what the UX design process looks like

UX Process

• Understanding the methodology behind UX process— from brief intake to research and exploration, to the final product
• Learning about the power of asking questions, and constructing a clear and meaningful timeline and scope

Client’s Brief

• Understanding what it's like to receive a brief from a client and best practices in regards to approaching a design project, including asking the right questions

UX Research

• Introduction to popular user research methods such as interviews, competitor analysis, affinity diagrams, and surveys
• Learning about approaching the brief holistically by balancing business goals and user needs

From Analysis to Action

• Applying research and insights to make informed design decisions – drafting personas, user journeys and user flows
• Considering site mapping early on in the design process, with an introduction to Information architecture (iA), the organization of information on a website

Wireframing

• Learning the basics of sketching, paper prototyping and wireframing

Prototyping

• Learning the basics of prototyping
• Reviewing and assessing most popular design and prototyping tools in the current industry

User Testing

• Getting started with user testing: what it is, why it's important, how to start
• Reviewing popular methods like surveys, usability testing, A/B, focus groups
• Learning how to turn feedback into insight to inform what design to implement

Visual and UI Design

• Exploring what visual and UI design is, why it's important, and how to begin.
• Bringing wireframes to high-fidelity designs
• Learning how to create consistent, effective designs

Case Studies

• Introduction to portfolios and showcasing work online or to future employers. Students will be provided with a case study template as a resource.