Design Thinking: UX and Advanced Topics

As the technology around us becomes more and more complex, so too do the ways in which we interact with it. The advent of mobile-focused, touch-based interfaces revolutionized the landscape of interaction design in just a few years. Today, the potential of AR/VR interfaces loom on the horizon. Who can say how we will control technologies in 10 or 15 years?

While human/computer interaction evolves, one aspect of this stays refreshingly constant: Humans. Technology will always have users, and those users will always have specific needs if they are to be successful. This course covers everything that goes into finding what users need and satisfying those needs.

We will cover this process from start to finish - beginning with identifying users and their needs, then finding ways to meet those needs as thoughtfully as possible.

Release schedule:
This course will be released on a rolling release schedule. There are a total of 4 modules in this course, each of which covering a discrete step in the interface design process. Module 0 and 1 will be released when the course goes live, and the remaining modules will be released as follows:

• Module 2: 7/6
• Module 3: 7/13
• Module 4: 7/20

Module 1: Understanding User Needs

• Needfinding
• Contextual Inquiry
• Refine User Needs

Module 2: How User Needs Inform UI Design

• “How Might We” Statements
• Incorporating User Research
• Understanding Tasks
• Simple UI Mockups & Prototypes

Module 3: Incorporating UI Elements

• Combining Tasks into a cohesive design
• Common “visual affordances”
• UI Design Trends and Best Practices
• Evaluating Interfaces

Module 4: Making it all look good

• Color
• Typography
• Whitespace/content balance/clarity
• Branding
• Visual Hierarchy and how the eye accepts information