About the course
Creating successful products requires more than just functionality; it demands designing experiences that are intuitive, efficient, and genuinely enjoyable for users. User Experience (UX) Design is the critical discipline focused on understanding user needs, behaviours, and motivations to create digital products – including websites, web applications, and mobile apps – that provide meaningful and relevant experiences. This 2-day intensive hands-on workshop provides a comprehensive introduction to the core principles and practical techniques of UX Design, equipping participants with the foundational skills needed to design user-centered digital products effectively.
The workshop begins by defining what User Experience truly means, exploring its importance, and delving into the fundamental principles of good design tailored specifically for modern devices and platforms. Participants will then learn key techniques for understanding user needs and planning the user journey through the product. This includes developing user scenarios to understand context, creating a story matrix to align potential features with user goals, brainstorming features based on needs, planning fundamental navigation and information architecture, and visually illustrating user-flows through storyboarding. While the planning principles covered are broadly applicable to any digital product, the workshop will include practical exercises that apply these methods, potentially using dashboard planning as a relevant example of structuring and presenting complex information effectively for specific user needs.
Building on understanding users and the planning phase, the course delves into hands-on design fundamentals. This section focuses on practical application rather than abstract theory, covering essential principles such as the effective use of typography for readability and hierarchy, critical considerations for designing user input forms for usability and efficiency, and creating aesthetic layouts that convey professionalism and guide the user's eye. The workshop includes dedicated practical sessions for sketching screens, applying learned design fundamentals to quickly visualise and iterate on layouts for app or website interfaces. Finally, participants will learn the process of building prototypes, covering the creation of both low-fidelity (quick sketches, wireframes) and high-fidelity (more detailed, interactive mockups) prototypes, understanding the importance of narrowing project scope, and embracing the iterative nature of the design process to refine and improve the user experience based on feedback and testing. Through a blend of theoretical concepts, interactive discussions, and extensive hands-on design and sketching activities throughout the two days, attendees will gain tangible experience applying core UX design principles to realistic design challenges.
We can couple this workshop with other topics such as our Inclusive Design training course to build a customised syllabus to meet your learning goals.
Instructor-led online and in-house face-to-face options are available - as part of a wider customised training programme, or as a standalone workshop, on-site at your offices or at one of many flexible meeting spaces in the UK and around the World.
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- Define User Experience (UX) Design, explain its importance, and understand the role of a user-centered approach in digital product development.
- Articulate and apply fundamental principles of good design specifically relevant to modern digital devices and platforms.
- Apply user-centered design workflows and planning techniques, including developing user scenarios, creating a story matrix, and storyboarding user-flows.
- Understand and apply basic principles of Information Architecture and navigation planning for digital interfaces.
- Apply basic design fundamentals, including typography, user input form considerations, and aesthetic layout principles, to enhance the usability and visual appeal of digital interfaces.
- Practice sketching screens and building effective basic layouts for app or website interfaces through hands-on exercises.
- Create both low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes to visualise and communicate design ideas effectively.
- Understand the importance of narrowing project scope and the iterative nature of the UX design process for continuous improvement.
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This 2-day intensive hands-on workshop is designed for anyone involved in the creation or improvement of digital products who wants to understand and apply the principles of User Experience (UX) Design to create more effective, intuitive, and user-centred interfaces. It is ideal for:
Software Developers
Product Managers and Product Owners
Business Analysts
UI Designers (seeking foundational UX understanding)
Project Managers
Marketing Professionals involved in digital products
Anyone seeking to understand the user perspective, user needs, and improve the usability and design of digital applications and websites.
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Participants should have:
Familiarity with using digital products such as websites, web applications, or mobile apps.
An open mind and willingness to participate actively in hands-on design exercises, sketching activities, and group discussions.
No prior experience with UX Design, UI Design, or graphic design tools is required.
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This UX Design course is available for private / custom delivery for your team - as an in-house face-to-face workshop at your location of choice, or as online instructor-led training via MS Teams (or your own preferred platform).
Get in touch to find out how we can deliver tailored training which focuses on your project requirements and learning goals.
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Overview of UX Design
What do we mean by User Experience (UX)? Defining UX and its importance.
Exploring the principles of good design relevant to digital interfaces.
Understanding user-centered design (UCD) philosophy.
Designing for modern devices and platforms (responsive considerations overview).
Discussion: Examples of good and bad UX.
Planning your Digital Product's User Experience
Overview of typical UX Design Workflows and processes.
Understanding User Scenarios: Creating narratives about users and their goals.
Creating a Story Matrix: Aligning user needs, scenarios, and potential features.
Brainstorming features that align with identified user needs and goals.
Aligning features with Scenarios to ensure relevance.
Planning Navigation and basic Information Architecture (IA) - structuring content for users.
Illustrating User-Flows with storyboarding or flow diagrams.
Hands-on Exercise: Developing scenarios and storyboarding a user-flow, potentially using dashboard planning as a practical application example.
Hands-on Design Fundamentals
Helping Users reach their Goals: Designing interfaces that guide users effectively.
Principles of Typography for readability, hierarchy, and visual appeal in UI.
User input Form considerations: Designing usable and efficient forms.
Aesthetic layouts for a professional feel: Basic principles of visual hierarchy and layout.
Hands-on Exercise: Applying typography and form design principles to enhance a simple interface element.
Sketching Screens
Introduction to sketching as a rapid ideation tool in UX.
Applying design fundamentals to build effective Screens through sketching.
Techniques for quickly building the layout for your app or website screens.
Hands-on Exercise: Sketching multiple variations for key screens of a digital product.
Building a Prototype
What is a prototype and why is it used in UX? (Communication, Testing).
Different types of prototypes: Creating low-fidelity prototypes (sketches, wireframes).
Creating high-quality prototypes (interactive mockups - conceptual introduction to tools and process).
Understanding the tools used for prototyping (Mention examples like Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision, Balsamiq - focus on the type of output).
Narrowing the scope of the prototype for focused feedback.
Hands-on Exercise: Building a low-fidelity wireframe prototype (using sketching or simple digital tools), and/or exploring a high-fidelity prototyping tool.
Iteration and Refinement
Understanding the iterative nature of the design process.
Why iteration is essential for refining the user experience.
Incorporating feedback into design iterations.
Review and discussion of concepts covered and next steps for applying UX skills.
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Here are some well-respected publications to add to your reading list:
"The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman: A foundational book explaining the principles of user-centered design and usability through real-world examples.
"Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability" by Steve Krug: A highly practical and accessible book focused on web usability.
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