• University of Leeds
  • Click Start Logo
  • Institute of Coding logo

Creating a Great User Experience for Mobile Apps

Discover the essentials of UX and bring products to life by designing your own mobile app with the University of Leeds.

1,782 enrolled on this course

Creating a Great User Experience for Mobile Apps

1,782 enrolled on this course

  • 2 weeks

  • 3 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Open level

Find out more about how to join this course

  • Duration

    2 weeks

  • Weekly study

    3 hours

  • Languages

    English, Italiano, Español, Français, PortuguêsEnglish, Italiano

  • 100% online

    How it works

  • Unlimited subscription

    $244.99 for a whole yearLearn more
Overview
Syllabus
Start dates
Requirements
Educators
More courses

Explore the core principles behind user experience and design

From news and banking to shopping and social media, apps have become an integral part of our lives, but what makes a good one?

On this two-week course from the Institute of Coding, you’ll dive into the world of app design and discover how to create a great user experience for your target audience.

Understanding how to create a great user experience for your audiences is crucial in creating customer satisfaction. This is why learning about UX is a key skill for designers and marketing professionals alike.

You’ll learn how designers go about designing the apps that make your life easier, and how a great user experience makes all the difference.

Understand what influences app design

To learn about the process of app design, you’ll first examine how a smartphone works and how its features influence design. You’ll also understand how the interactive and visual features of a smartphone contribute to a great user experience of an app.

To apply what you have learned, you’ll identify a problem that an app could solve and then go on to design your own clickable prototype app to see your ideas in action.

Learn from industry professionals to create your app

You’ll hear from industry professionals and people getting started in app design about how they go about designing and building apps for their users. You’ll learn directly from the experts about what it takes to make amazing apps.

By the end of this course, you’ll have the skills and knowledge to design and test an app, and the features you need to include for a great user experience.

Download video: standard or HD

Skip to 0 minutes and 7 seconds Rachel Skelton: Nearly everyone now has a mobile phone and uses the latest apps to do all kinds of things that make life easier. But have you ever wondered how designers go about designing the apps that you love? This course will help you find out. Creating a great user experience for mobile apps is one of three courses which introduces you to coding and design. You’ll learn about the features of a smartphone and how they influence the design of an app, all the way to actually designing your own clickable prototype app. You’ll also hear from experts and people getting started in app design about how they use their skills to make amazing products.

Skip to 0 minutes and 44 seconds This course group is part of our portfolio of digital and professional skills courses, which covers a diverse range of subjects from coding to remote working, all available for free to help you begin building your career today. Whether you’re new to the world of work or forging a new career for yourself, we’ll look forward to sharing your journey into the fast-moving digital space. Join us online now.

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    How to design a mobile app

    • Welcome

      Before you get started, take some time to meet Mark Martin MBE, who will guide you through the course. You'll also have the opportunity to meet your fellow learners and plan your learning journey.

    • What is smart about a smartphone?

      Before you start to design apps for a smartphone, it’s helpful to look at the smartphone itself. In this activity, you’ll look at a brief history of the features that make a smartphone and then at the anatomy of a modern phone.

    • Interactivity, screen size and user experience

      Now it’s time to look in more detail at the ways people interact with smartphones. You’ll see why the touchscreen is so important to app design for smartphones and look at the ways users can interact with smartphone apps.

    • Identifying a problem

      How do you choose what an application will do? And how do you design an app that makes best use of a smartphone? You’ll find out in this step, along with some tips from the CEO of a mobile software company.

    • Summary

      You’ve reached the end of the first week. Let’s review the steps of the course so far and look forward to what’s coming next week.

  • Week 2

    What comes before code?

    • Welcome to Week 2

      This week, you're going to learn about sketching and prototyping apps.

    • Designing your app – user journeys and initial sketches

      The first steps of this week focus on sketching out your app. You’ll map what a user journey might look like, and then sketch screens of your app with pen and paper.

    • Testing your app by developing clickable prototypes

      In this activity, you'll turn your sketches into a 'clickable' prototype that works on a phone. You’ll test it with real people and hear from an expert about the importance of testing and research to user experience design.

    • Meet the development team

      In this activity, you’ll learn about how user experience design functions in the working world. You’ll meet someone early in their career who’ll share their experience, and learn a bit about how design fits into technology teams.

    • Summary

      In this activity, you reflect on the two weeks of the course. You’ll have the opportunity to read a summary of the key topics in the course and find out about the next steps you may like to take.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Identify the features of a smartphone that influence the design of an app.
  • Describe how interactive and visual features contribute to great user experience of apps.
  • Discuss the various roles and stages necessary to make a mobile app.
  • Identify and describe a simple problem that an app could solve.
  • Design screens and architecture of a mobile app using pen, paper and your own smartphone.
  • Produce clickable prototypes from your sketches and test them.

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone interested in app design. It will be particularly useful if you are looking to understand apps and UX or if you just want to increase your digital skills and build confidence using digital technology in the workplace.

Who will you learn with?

Tom Armitage

I'm a technologist and designer. I make things out of hardware, software, and the internet. When not making technology and art, I also write music and build instruments. I originally studied English.

Who developed the course?

University of Leeds

As one of the UK’s largest research-based universities, the University of Leeds is a member of the prestigious Russell Group and a centre of excellence for teaching.

Click Start

This course is part of Click Start, a nationwide training programme developed by the Institute of Coding (IoC) , a national collaboration of universities, employers and charities and funded by Nominet – the public benefit company and guardians of the .UK namespace.

Institute of Coding

The Institute of Coding (IoC) is a national collaboration of employers, universities, and charities, on a mission to provide people from all walks of life with access to digital learning and career opportunities.

Endorsers and supporters

funded by

Nominet Logo
Best ValueBest Value - learn more, save more!

Ways to learn

Buy this course

Subscribe & save

Start learning today

Choose the best way to learn for you!

$54/one-off payment

$244.99 for a whole year

Automatically renews

Free

Fulfill your current learning needDevelop skills to further your careerTry this course - with limits
Access to this courseticktick

Limited to 2 weeks

Access to 1,000+ coursescrosstickcross
Learn at your own paceticktickcross
Discuss your learning in commentstickticktick
Tests to check your learningticktickcross
Certificate when you're eligiblePrinted and digitalDigital onlycross
Continue & Upgrade

Cancel for free anytime

Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Best Value - learn more, save more!

Subscribe & save

$244.99 for a whole year

Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$54/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible
Continue & Upgrade

Start learning today

Free

Try this course - with limits

  • Limited to 2 weeks

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 2 November 2026 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 2 November 2026 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

Do you know someone who'd love this course? Tell them about it...

More courses you might like

Learners who joined this course have also enjoyed these courses.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
New

AWS Database Offerings

1 week

4 hrs per week

Free digital upgrade

Find out more
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
New

Amazon DocumentDB Primer

1 week

1 hr per week

Free digital upgrade

Find out more
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
New

Amazon Neptune Service Primer

1 week

1 hr per week

Free digital upgrade

Find out more

Browse more in IT & Computer Science

Software Development
View all courses

Find the right course for you

See your personalised recommendations based on your interests and goals.

Get started