UI UX Design

In this introductory unit, you’ll learn design fundamentals and gain a foundation for UI/UX best practices while exploring the various roles within the industry.

• Learn the differences between UI and UX

• Learn the skills needed to be successful as a UI/UX designer

• Discover the range of UI/UX design roles and their responsibilities

Artificial intelligence plays a crucial role in enhancing user experiences, from personalized recommendations to intuitive interfaces. In this unit, you’ll learn the fundamentals of AI in design.

• Explore AI concepts, terminology, and applications

• Differentiate between narrow AI and general AI

• Understand the significance of the intersection between AI and UX

• Receive an introduction machine learning and its application to UX

Before working on a hands-on project, you'll get comfortable with the design tools that will make up your arsenal. 

Design thinking is the mindset designers like you will use to create effective user experiences. This unit will walk you through the stages of design thinking while highlighting an empathetic, hands-on, interactive approach to problem-solving.

Design is about solving problems for your users, and user research uncovers why a problem exists. In this unit, you’ll walk through different types of user research in the design field and then learn how AI can be used for more efficient and effective user research.

• Become familiar with various design-based research methods

• Determine which research method to use at various stages in the design process

• Learn how to interpret data usage from an app or website

• Utilize Chat GPT in user research

• Explore automated data collection and analysis

This hands-on unit will tailor your learnings about user research to your first capstone project.

• Learn how to conduct research for your capstone project

• Develop a research plan

• Learn how to recruit and screen participants

• Explore interview best practices to collect meaningful data

• Learn how to synthesize data to draw insights about your user to create a successful solution

You’ve conducted your research, but now it’s time to put your findings down on paper. You’ll learn to synthesize your research through various methods to make your data more cohesive and then enhance persona creation and journey mapping through AI tools.

• Explore the different methods you can use to synthesize research, including empathy maps, personas, jobs-to-be-done framework, etc.

• Understand how synthesizing will help your team focus on the user experience

• Learn how to present your synthesized research to stakeholders

• Utilize AI for persona-creating and updating

• Create AI-powered journey mapping techniques and tools

Some of the best designers often don’t invent their solutions but improve on existing ones. This unit unveils the most common types of products to help you become a successful designer.

• Explore common product types: e-commerce/browsing, social media and messaging, dashboards and data design, media, and B2B vs. B2C products

• Familiarize yourself with common problems and solutions related to each product type

• Begin thinking about designing solutions for your capstone

You are now entering the design phase where you’ll make design decisions and ideate a variety of solutions you identified. In this unit, you’ll leverage user stories to identify the needs of your product.

• Learn to brainstorm solutions to the problem you’re trying to solve for your capstone

• Begin to write and map user stories based on personas

• Create how might we statements (HMW)

Information architecture (IA) helps you map out how users will experience your product. This unit will introduce many concepts to help you organize your information around your user. You’ll also use AI to help with categorization and personalization.

• Learn the core concepts of information architecture

• Explore site navigation and learn best practices

• Create deliverables such as site maps, user flows, and card sorts

• Explore AI Ethics and dark patterns in machine learning

This unit expands on the principles behind the UI practice exercises you’ve been working on up to this point in the bootcamp and also focuses on the specific application of AI for UI.

• Identify common UI elements and learn about their functionality and typical behaviors

• Learn about common and current UI patterns

• Learn about designing for different user states

• Apply AI in Voice User Interfaces (VUI) and chatbot design

Sketching is the first step to getting your ideas out of your head and into reality. With sketching, you’ll learn to use the general design rule of “test early and test often,” bringing your ideas to life through low-fidelity designs.

• Develop an understanding of mobile-first design

• Learn why sketching is such an integral skill for UI/UX designers

• Learn best practices for guerilla usability testing

Wireframes are digitized versions of your sketches and sit between sketching and high-fidelity mockups. This unit prepares you to map your product’s content while also teaching you that there is room for flexibility and innovation.

• Create wireframes for mobile and desktop

• Develop an understanding of the importance of designing for edge cases

• Learn about and create wireflows for multiple states of the same screen

Design systems set the visual language of your product, including what fonts, colors, UI elements, and imagery will be used. This unit will help you lay out the building blocks for your product’s own visual language. You’ll also understand how your UI and UX should also align with the company’s brand platform.

• Develop an understanding of design systems and their value in the industry

• Learn how to understand a company’s existing design system

• Analyze how designers translate a brand platform into visual style

• Understand how you will interact with brand platforms throughout your career

A style guide ensures consistency and uniformity across platforms, especially when there are many designers working on various parts of the product. In this unit, you’ll learn why and how style guides keep you honest.

• Learn the process of developing a style guide

• Understand the fundamentals of color theory

• Learn how to effectively choose fonts for your designs

• Learn how iconography is used in UI design and how to incorporate photography and imagery in your designs

High fidelity mockups not only make your designs look pleasing to the eye, but they should aim to make your designs accessible and inclusive to your user. In this unit, you will:

• Learn about the importance of accessibility and the value of inclusive design

• Understand the fundamentals of accessibility, and how to perform a basic accessibility audit

• Understand the fundamentals of grids

• Learn techniques to design high-fidelity mockups for screens using your design tool of choice

Prototyping is the stage when you are closest to your final product. In this unit, you’ll identify aspects of your final product that can be improved, then learn how to use animation and interaction best practices. You’ll then explore AI tools to bring prototypes to life.

• Learn how to create a clickable prototype.

• Understand the purpose of animation and interaction patterns with UI/UX Design.

• Familiarize yourself with current animation and interaction patterns and guidelines.

• Learn prototyping tools for AI-based systems

Usability test sessions are integral to synthesizing your findings and determining if you need to redesign your prototype. You’ll also pick up how to evaluate AI-driven interfaces.

• Understand the benefits of usability test plans and practice writing one

• Learn how to identify and write tasks for a usability test

• Learn how to facilitate usability test session

• Adapt traditional usability testing tools for AI systems

As a UI/UX designer, you’ll be in frequent communication with developers. This unit will give you the tools to navigate this special relationship, reduce friction, and learn to speak their language.

• Learn best practices for partnering with developers throughout the design process

• Become familiar with the process of handing off projects to developers

• Learn about best practices and tools used to make handoffs efficient

• Learn lightweight coding skills

Learning how to tell a compelling story about your designs can go a long way to ensure alignment across business functions.

• Learn about different presentation styles

• Develop the necessary skills to effectively communicate your ideas to a variety of audiences

• Explore what makes an effective presentation

Uncover the latest trends in AI-integrated UX in order to remain competitive.

• Understand the integration of AI and UX principles in the design process

• Explore future projections in AI-integrated UX

• Analyze the latest AI trends

• Learn how to anticipate users’ news through AI

What happens when psychology meets design? Understanding human motivations can help persuade users to engage with your product.

• Understand how persuasion, emotion, and trust increase engagement and conversion

• Learn how gamification can engage and motivate users

• Study new innovations like wearables emerging in the UX space

Knowing the inner workings of a product lifecycle and the business requirements that your product will need to be considered successful can help you stand out from the pack of hiring candidates.

• Become familiar with a product’s lifecycle

• Learn how to gather requirements and collaborate on project goals

• Develop an understanding of success criteria, including metrics, KPIs, and analytics

Soft skills build collaboration and trust and set the tone for your career. This unit explores techniques for shoring up these skills in your day to day.

• Learn best practices for email, remote, and in-person communication

• Understand best practices for building relationships when you join a new company

• Learn how to receive and incorporate feedback

• Understand how to use design storytelling to gain influence

Building a UI/UX Portfolio
While working through this bootcamp, you will complete four projects that you can showcase in your design portfolio. You will also learn how to build a portfolio. A breakdown of core projects:

• Capstone 1: A self-defined project working through all phases of the design process

• 
  Design Sprint: A Google-Ventures style design sprint on agile methodology

• 
  Capstone 2: Apply the skills you’ve learned in a business brief and solve business problems under a tight deadline.

• 
  Industry Design Project: 4-week remote externship with a company to develop new products.

These projects will be a part of a portfolio site that you build, complete with an engaging bio and personal logo. A design industry expert will also review your portfolio at the end of the bootcamp.

Career units throughout the bootcamp will help you create a tailored job search strategy based on your background and goals. Topic include:

• Types of Industry Roles.

• Job Search Strategies

• Building a Network and Using It to Land Interviews

• Creating a High-Quality Resume, LinkedIn Profile, and Cover Letter

• Preparing for Technical and Nontechnical Interviews

• Successful Negotiation