UX Design Fundamentals
Launch your career in user experience (UX) design by developing your skills and knowledge of UX principles.
Duration
Approx 12 weeks4 hrs per week
Use the foundations of UX design to launch your career as a digital designer.
More organisations are taking a ‘digital first’ approach to business, and seeking out individuals who understand the user journey to create a frictionless experience for their customers. Global demand for UX professionals has never been higher. So how can you kickstart your career in the ever growing world of user experience (UX) design?
This ExpertTrack will explore the full end-to-end experience that a user has when interacting with a website, app or digital product. You’ll learn to consider aesthetics, usability and accessibility of digital assets.
You’ll discover how, as a UX designer, you can add value to a business at all levels and play a critical role in driving customer engagement by conducting user research, building personas, developing business models, creating wireframes and building prototypes. And you’ll learn how to put yourself at the core of both designing new products from first principles and the continuous improvement of existing offerings.
UX vs UI: understanding user interface vs user experience
More UX designers are required to display UI (user interface) skills. So how does UI design relate to the wider field of UX?
You’ll find out how to incorporate visual design with interaction design, and how these ‘micro’ elements exist within the big-picture ‘macro’ world of UX.
Learn the 5 stages of the design thinking process
You’ll examine the five-stage design thinking model proposed by the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University: empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test. You’ll explore the non-linear nature of this methodology that will allow you to work through obstacles and bring ideas to life.
Learn how to create a user journey with the value stream map
The user journey map is an excellent tool for digital designers, as it allows you to visualise how a user interacts with a product and lets you see a product from the user’s perspective. You’ll learn how to use mapping to find out all the touchpoints at which a customer will come into contact with your company, online and offline.
Key skills you will learn
- User experience design
- User interface design
- Building prototypes
- Creating wireframes
- Design thinking
- Business model design
- Customer profile mapping
- Customer value mapping
- Research skills
- User personas
Learning outcomes
By the end of the ExpertTrack, you’ll be able to...
- Articulate and analyse the Design Thinking process
- Define and justify an ideation plan
- Articulate the key elements of an implementation plan
- dentify key elements of a business model for a specific value proposition and its associated business environment
- Articulate the phases of Business Model Design
- Evaluate the fit between a customer profile map and a value map
Experience required
This ExpertTrack will give you foundational knowledge and skills needed to successfully implement design thinking practices and principles grounded in UX design to help drive business forward.
You’ll learn to apply this knowledge to develop a user-centered business model design and value proposition design.
No prior experience is required to succeed in this ExpertTrack.
During the ExpertTrack we’ll be using Canva.
Getting started
This ExpertTrack will help you develop your theoretical and practical expertise in UX design, and builds upon the fundamentals of Design Thinking and the Design Thinking process.
You may be an entry-level or intermediate graphic or digital designer, a non-technical digital team leader or an aspiring product manager.
ExpertTrack course overview
Course 1
UX Design Fundamentals: Business Value Through User Experience (UX) Design
4.7 (9 reviews)Learn the fundamental UX skills, principles and other essentials required to kickstart your career as a digital UX designer.
1 test
4 weeks
4 hours per week
Week 1
Introduction to User Experience (UX) design
- Welcome to the course
- Why is UX design so important?
- Designing for UX and UI
- Wrap-up
Week 2
Design thinking in UX
- Introduction to design thinking in UX
- What is design thinking and why is it so valuable?
- The role of design thinking in UX
- Wrap-up
Week 3
Setting design challenges
- Introduction to setting design challenges
- What is inspiration?
- Framing design challenges and project plans
- Wrap-up
Week 4
Developing understanding and inspiration
- Introduction to developing understanding and inspiration
- Types of research
- Field research methods
- Wrap-up
Course 2
UX Design Fundamentals: Delivering Value to Users
Learn the role of design thinking in UX – from the five stages of design thinking to defining and creating an ideation plan.
1 test
4 weeks
4 hours per week
Week 1
What makes a user?
- Welcome to the course
- Empathising with the customer
- Wrap-up
Week 2
Developing customer empathy
- Introduction to developing customer empathy
- Empathy maps
- Wrap-up
Week 3
Journey maps
- Introduction to journey maps
- Designing journey maps
- Designing for fidelity
- Wrap-up
Week 4
Ideation
- Introduction to ideation
- What is ideation?
- Synthesising to draw insights
- Brainstorming to generate ideas
- Prototyping to evaluate ideas
- Wrap-up
Course 3
UX Design Fundamentals: Creating Business Outcomes
Uncover the role of business strategy and adopt a customer-centric mindset to become a successful user experience designer.
1 test
4 weeks
4 hours per week
Week 1
Concept development
- Welcome to the course
- User testing
- Weekly Wrap-up
Week 2
Value proposition design
- Introduction to value proposition design
- Customer Profiling
- Value Mapping
- Testing for fit
- Wrap-up
Week 3
Phase of business model design
- Introduction to business modelling
- Drafting business models
- Testing business models
- Designing business models
- Wrap-up
Week 4
Launching and analysis
- Introduction to launching and analysis
- Launching products
- Making implementation a success
- Facilitating continuous improvement
- Wrap-up
Prove you're job ready
Highlight the new, job-relevant skills you’ve gained and supplement existing qualifications with a hard-earned, industry-specific digital certificate – plus one for every course within your ExpertTrack.
- Learn the latest in your chosen industry or subject.
- Complete each course and pass assessments.
- Receive certificates validated by the educating organisation.
- Impress employers with learning outcomes you can add to your CV.
- Make your career dreams a reality.
Download a PDF
How ExpertTracks work
Join an ExpertTrack to master new skills in your chosen specialist area. Work through a series of topic-focused courses at your own pace, and pass the final assessment to earn a digital certificate award which proves your expertise.
Decide if the ExpertTrack is right for you with free access to the full suite of courses and assessments for a week.
Pay a monthly subscription fee of $39 for as long as it takes you to complete the ExpertTrack. You can learn at your own pace and cancel at any time.
Receive a certificate for every completed course and pass the final assessment to earn a digital certificate.
Use your specialist training to progress further in your career or build expertise in areas you’re passionate about.
World-class learning with 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.
This ExpertTrack is in collaboration with Canva
Experience working with Canva, a leading design platform, used to drive business success across the UX design workflow.
This ExpertTrack is endorsed by Coventry University
This ExpertTrack is endorsed by Coventry University and delivered by FutureLearn as a quality professional development programme.
Meet your instructor
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.
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- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
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Map your progress
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ExpertTracks are a series of online courses designed to help you master new skills in specialist areas. You pay a monthly subscription fee which includes access to all courses within the ExpertTrack, as well as assessments and the final digital certificate.
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