Discover the principles of UX design

UX design adds business value at all levels and across all teams, as it fosters collaborative thinking, drives engagement and ensures greater business value.

This course offers you a chance to:

explore the core principles of UX design
learn about the fundamentals of customer journey mapping
develop UX skills which you can apply in a professional setting

You will look at what contributes to a good user experience and why this is a vital part of growing any business.

Understand customer journey mapping

Once you have covered the key elements of the UX design process you will learn about customer journey mapping, and why it’s so important to visualise the user journey from start to finish.

You will investigate the moments that matter most and examine how journey maps can be used to identify and solve problems, as well as track the needs, desires and emotions of the customer.

This course will equip you with knowledge of central UX concepts such as high fidelity vs low fidelity design and product posture. You will learn to apply these in real life settings, allowing you to advance your career in UX design.

Explore service design and blueprinting

You will learn about UX best practices such as using wireframes and prototypes and you will become confident in implementing these in the workplace.

Finally, you will evaluate the relationship between UX design and service design, and consider the benefits of service blueprinting and how it differs from journey mapping.

By the end of this course you will be competent in applying knowledge of journey mapping, service design and blueprinting to your day to day work and you will be able to utilise your new skills to stand out in one of the fastest growing digital industries.

Syllabus

Week 1
Introduction to the course and journey mapping
- Introduction to the course
  An introduction to the course and a look at how the course is structured. You will also become familiar with the assessment criteria and expectations of Week 1.
- Reminders about UX design
  Revision and reflection on the fundamentals and principles of UX Design.
- Who are we empathising with?
  A look at how customer profiles and personas assist with developing empathy for customers and users through UX Design.
- Wrap-up
  To complete the week, let’s recap the key points covered so far.
Week 2
Journey mapping design and designing for fidelity
- Introduction
  An introduction to the content and outcomes of Week 2 which focus on journey mapping and designing for fidelity.
- Journey mapping design
  In this section, we’ll delve into the cheatsheet of user experience: journey maps and, more specifically, how to create one.
- Designing for fidelity
  There are three levels of fidelity: low, mid, and high. Prototypes can be rough, like a drawing on a napkin, or highly-developed, similar to the final product. In this part of the course, you’ll learn how to use them.
- Wrap-up
  To complete the week, let’s recap the key points covered so far.
Week 3
Introduction to service design and blueprinting
- Introduction
  Introduction to the week's topics and outcomes.
- Introduction to service design
  An introduction to the backstage and behind-the-scenes elements of a specific user experience.
- Service blueprinting
  A service blueprint is a process or a diagram which is a visual representation of the service processes both from the customer’s and the organisation’s perspective. Here we learn more about this tool.
- Wrap-up
  To complete the week, let’s recap the key points.
Week 4
Service blueprint design
- Introduction
  An overview of the week's topics and learning outcomes.
- Service blueprint design
  Further exploration into the creation of service blueprints which involves connecting user touch-points and moments that matter to organisational processes.
- Wrap-up
  To complete the week and the course, let’s recap the key points.

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 key elements of a well structured journey map
Justify prioritisation decisions across a journey map in order to organise actions
Evaluate elements of the journey map, based on data and research
Evaluate fidelity choices
Articulate key elements of a service blueprint map

Who is the course for?

This course is aimed at anyone looking to improve their UX design skills.

This might include:

entry-level or intermediate Graphic or Digital Designers looking to expand their knowledge and skillsets in UX design.
aspiring product managers who need to understand the pivotal role UX design plays in successful product development.
non-technical digital team leaders looking to better understand critical concepts in UX design and the Design Thinking process.

What software or tools do you need?

During the course we’ll be using Canva.

Who will you learn with?

Nuno Sobrinho

I create positive impact through Design Thinking.

Mainly across topics such as Business & Service design, UX/CX/EX Design, Product Management, Strategy, Innovation, Training & Facilitation.

Who developed the course?

FutureLearn

FutureLearn is a leading social learning platform and has been providing high quality online courses for learners around the world over the last ten years.

In collaboration with

Endorsers and supporters

endorsed by

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