Overview
The Professional Diploma in UX Design is designed to be flexible. Most of our course content is delivered as bite-sized, on-demand video lessons. This means you have the flexibility to study in your own time, while project deadlines keep you on track.
How will this course be delivered?
Course learning format: this is an E-learning course that is self-paced
Estimated learning time required for the course: the estimated learning time for this course is 6 months.
Prerequisites
Outline
Module 1
Introduction to UX design
This module will give you a strong, foundational understanding of the user experience (UX) design process. You’ll learn that UX design is a problem-solving discipline focused on building products that solve problems for the user. You’ll also get a clear sense of the role of research in design, which will be explored fully in Module 2.
In this module, you will learn:
• What user experience (UX) design is and why it is essential for designing products users love.
• What happens at each stage of the UX process and the importance of each step.
• The importance of understanding the user’s contexts, goals and behaviours when designing a digital product or service.
• How to communicate the value of UX to other business stakeholders.
• Important concepts within UX such as agile development, mental models, the paradox of specificity, prototyping and fidelity.
Module 2
User research
User research This module will help you to see research as the key ingredient underpinning UX Design. You’ll learn about a range of research techniques and methods, including usability testing, interviewing, card sorting, online surveys, A/B testing and heuristic evaluation.
In this module, you will learn:
• The importance of research in the UX process.
• How to distinguish between different types of research, for example qualitative vs. quantitative, and observational vs. attitudinal research.
• What research bias is and how to remain impartial as a user researcher.
• How to carry out your own usability tests and take effective notes.
• How to conduct other research methods including online surveys, card sorting, A/B testing and depth interviews.
• The concept of a heuristic score and how it is used to evaluate how well software measures up to best practice.
Module 3
Analysis techniques
Analysis techniques In this module, you’ll understand the need to analyse the research data that you gather. This module will look at a number of frameworks and techniques that will help you make sense of raw, unstructured data.
In this module, you will learn:
• The concept of triangulation and the benefits of this approach.
• How to use affinity diagrams to analyse unstructured data and uncover insights.
• How to create customer journey maps to visually represent a user’s experience as they interact with a digital product or service.
• The benefits and pitfalls of user personas, and how to create accurate personas to represent your target audience.
• How to prepare a customer value curve to assess how your product performs compared to competitors.
• How to use empathy maps to visualise what your users say, think, and feel, as well as their behaviours and goals.
Module 4
Structure and navigation
In this module, you’ll learn how to define a clear structure and information architecture for your software. This in turn will help you to design intuitive navigation and a smooth flow for your users.
In this module, you will learn:
• How information architecture determines the way a website or app is structured, and how it reduces friction and helps users achieve their goals.
• The benefits of user flow maps for understanding how users move through a website or app.
• How to create a flow diagram, to map out each user interaction and screen state.
• How to use navigation patterns effectively to guide users through a website or app, and improve their overall experience.
Module 5
Interactions
Interaction design is where we get to define what happens when people ‘touch’ our software. How does it respond when users enter data? Press buttons? Click on navigation? This module will teach you the components of an interaction and how these components – controls, rules, and feedback — facilitate an interaction.
In this module, you will learn:
• How users engage with software through a series of interactions and micro-interactions.
• The role of controls in helping users determine how they will engage with a digital product.
• How to apply interface elements such as tabs, radio buttons and checkboxes as part of your designs.
• The importance of rules for defining how the user interface will work.
• The concept of feedback and how it guides users on what to do next.
• The benefits of sketching to visualise and develop your design ideas.
Module 6
Design principles
This module will enable you to harness the power of design principles to create high-quality software. Design principles are proven guidelines and rules for effective design. They stem from different disciplines including advertising, architecture, and software development. You’ll learn why using design principles as reference points will increase the probability that your designs and software will be successful.
In this module, you will learn:
• The importance of design principles such as affordances, conventions, feedback, constraints and forgiveness.
• The theory of Hick’s Law and how it can be applied to the design of user interfaces.
• The concept of progressive disclosure and the benefits of this approach when presenting information to users on websites or in apps.
• The theory of Fitt’s Law and how it can be applied to the design of user interfaces.
Module 7
Design patterns
In this module, you’ll be introduced to the concept of design patterns: reusable solutions to common problems in software. By using these common solutions, you can ensure that your designs are more perceivable and predictable for your users.
In this module, you will learn:
• How chunking, alignment and visual hierarchy can help users understand information more quickly and accurately.
• How to help guide users through a digital interface with progress indicators and smart defaults.
• How a ‘call to action’ is used to guide a user toward completing a particular task or behaviour.
• The concept of digital affordances and how they contribute to a more smooth user experience.
• The benefits of pattern libraries as a reference point when starting a new design.
• How to help and support users to progress through their flow with error handling and inline validation.
Module 8
Mobile
Module 8 focuses on designing effective mobile applications. You’ll understand the key differences between responsive websites, mobile websites, and native applications. You’ll also learn about different mobile application types and gain an understanding of mobile design patterns.
In this module, you will learn:
• The high-level implications and constraints of designing for mobile versus desktop, such as screen size and space, content limits, and reading and viewing restrictions.
• The differences between responsive websites, mobile websites and native apps, and how each of them are built.
• What is meant by the term ‘app unbundling’ and the rationale for this approach.
• The two main mobile app flows: linear and hub-and-spoke, and the characteristics of each.
• The five main styles of mobile navigation and the ideal scenarios where each should be implemented.
• Why well-displayed content is particularly important when it comes to mobile apps.
Module 9
Workflows
In Module 9, you’ll learn the importance of designing effective workflows which allow users to complete common tasks like registration, onboarding and sign-in. You’ll also be introduced to complex forms and payment flows, along with techniques to improve user trust in your designs.
In this module, you will learn:
• The concept of workflows and how they help users complete a defined task.
• How to design registration, onboarding and sign-in screens following optimal design patterns.
• How complex forms can be designed to minimise the amount of user input and effort required.
• How to design a payment page following best design practices to minimise user abandonment.
• The concepts of micro-tasks and modes and how to design these effectively.
• The purpose of notifications and how to write them effectively.
Module 10
AI for UX design
Module 10 will explore how AI can help you design better and what you should consider when designing AI products. You’ll learn how to integrate tools like ChatGPT into your workflow, and what’s different about designing for AI-assisted experiences. You’ll also hear from senior professionals on AI’s role in UX.
After completing this module, you will:
• The benefits of using AI tools in your workflow.
• Current AI limitations and the importance of human judgement when it comes to using these tools.
• The current landscape of available AI tools for UX design.
• How to use ChatGPT to assist with common tasks in user research, analysis and design.
• Emerging approaches and techniques for designing AI-assisted products.
• The current thinking on the role of AI in UX, today and in the future.
Module 11
Prototyping and handover
In this module, you’ll gain the skills and knowledge to build interactive prototypes. You’ll learn the differences between high, medium, and low-fidelity prototypes. Finally, you’ll recognise the importance of clear handover documentation when transitioning from design to build.
In this module, you will learn:
• How prototypes offer a cost effective technique for iterating designs.
• The differences between low, medium and high fidelity prototypes.
• The key considerations involved in choosing the appropriate fidelity of a prototype.
• How to use the prototyping tool Figma to create a medium fidelity prototype.
• How to progress from a medium fidelity prototype to a higher fidelity, interactive prototype using proto.io.
• How to effectively handover your designs so they can be built by software developers.
Why the UX Design Institute?
They want to set the standard in UX education globally. They provide professionals and employers with a tangible, straightforward and objective measure by which to assess and prove UX skills and knowledge. All their courses are overseen by an Industry Advisory Council to ensure relevance. They’ve partnered with Glasgow Caledonian University to make sure they meet the highest educational standards.
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All courses are built around case studies and presented in an engaging format, which includes storytelling elements, video, audio and humour. Every case study is supported by sample documents and a collection of Knowledge Nuggets that provide more in-depth detail on the wider processes.
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When will I receive my certificate?
Certificates of Achievement are issued at the end the course, either as a hard copy or via email. Read more here.