UIUX Design 101

During this 8-week, hands-on learning experience, we’ll bring you through User Interface & User Experience design from the ground up. You will begin to see and understand smart, functional design and from there, learn the necessary tools to optimize a user's experience. With our open environment, you will have a friendly and engaging learning experience that will help prepare you to be a competitive designer. Enter the world with a fresh understanding of design!

UX Processes

The key components of User Experience Design that allow designers to understand their users, create efficient flows, and optimize for the best user experience possible.

Interface Design

Personas

Prototyping

Usability Testing

User Scenarios

Wireframes

Information Architecture

Interaction Design

Other Skills

Miscellaneous tools or concepts a developer or designer should understand.

Sketch

Testimonials

Susan Bartolme

Associate Consultant Experience Designer Thoughtworks

Thanks to NYCDA I landed a job as a UX designer exactly one week after I finished the course. The UX/UI coursework and class presentations prepared me to confidently present my design at the interview, and I was hired.

Katarina Minich

Freelance UX Designer

I loved the NYCDA UI/UX course because it was project based. I grew so much from when I first started the class because of amazing feedback I received from both my teacher and classmates. When it came to presenting our final projects, we connected with and received feedback from other UX designers already working in the field. This was an amazing experience as it helped me receive my first freelance job as a UX designer.

Curriculum


Week 1: Intro to UX Design

Start setting your design mindset with a Design challenge and learning by doing. Students will create paper prototypes in groups, and run through their first usability test.

Week 2: The UX Umbrella & Research

Build your understanding of “user centered” design and why it’s important. You’ll get an understanding of different UX research methods and how to conduct them.

Week 3: Business Goals to IA

Learn how to identify business goals and prioritize features for different personas. End the week with an intro to Information Architecture and different development processes.

Week 4: IXD, UI, Wireframing

Get started with interaction and user interface design. Learn the importance of user flows. Turn it all into mock ups and wireframes.

Week 5: Sketching & Sketch

Start with pen and paper to sketch out preliminary wireframes, then turn them digital with the Sketch app for Mac.

Week 6: Designing for Mobile & Usability Testing

Dive into responsive design and optimizing for different screen sizes. Create prototypes in InVision and conduct usability tests with your mockups.

Week 7: Visual Design & Trends

Learn the fundamentals of color, line, balance, and type to create visually appealing products. Go over current industry trends in UI design and brand identity.

Week 8: Final Touches

Cover the basics of Universal Design, and wrap up the final touches on your final project.

FAQ'S

Q: Why is it important for me to learn UI/UX design?

Well-rounded developers are vital to an integrated tech community. Even the most beautifully coded web application will fail if it's not intuitive and fun to use. UI/UX design is the piece of the puzzle that ensures an application can find its audience.

Q: Will I learn any code?

Not in this course. If you want to learn web development, check out Web Development 100 or our Web Development Intensive.

Q: What software do we learn for wireframing?

Students will work primarily with Sketch.

Q: Do I need any coding experience to take this class?

Not at all! This course has no prerequisites. However, many students take this course as part of Web Development 100, or find that UI/UX sparks an interest in Front End 101.

Q: Is this the first step in learning how to become a UX (User Experience) Designer?

Absolutely! Working through the User Experience design process while building a full project for your portfolio will give you a solid foundation for becoming a UX Designer!

Q: What is UI/UX?

UI/UX stands for User Interface/User Experience. User experience is all the interactions and emotions a user experiences when interacting with your product, application, or website.

Q: What is a UX Designer?

A UX Designer is a professional who created the ideal experience for a user of a product. They make website and applications easy and intuitive to use.