What Classes to Take to Become a User Experience Designer

Students will learn several important skills in order to become a UX Designer. To gain this knowledge, it is useful to enroll in a program or course that highlights the most practical, realistic uses of these skills. Firstly, you will learn the foundational skills associated with UX design, including how to conduct research, organize information on different interfaces, and evaluate user behavior. You will also study design concepts and learn the importance of creating a user-focused interface. You can take certificate courses in UX design, bootcamps in UX design or vector graphics software, or short courses that focus on smaller, equally important concepts in UX design. It may even be worthwhile to explore adjacent fields to widen your skillset. Ultimately, it is easy to find courses in-person or online that suit your UX design learning needs.

What is a User Experience Designer?

A UX Designer ensures the user has a positive interaction with the product or service they are using. These design professionals spend their days conducting research, analyzing consumer behavior, and enhancing the interface to make it appropriately interactive, logical, and efficient to use. A UX Designer will typically conduct research through surveys, interviews, and usability testing and decide what to do with the next stages of the design process. They will use this data to create different wireframes and prototypes that align with the needs of the user and the goals of the company.

In addition, UX Designers use many tools and platforms to assist with their creations. The most popular is the design application Figma. This collaborative interface design tool is used for prototyping, editing vector graphics, and ultimately, designing prototypes for websites and mobile applications. It’s ideal for collaboration as designers can work on the same project simultaneously. Likewise, many use Adobe XD, which creates vector designs for web and mobile products. This application is also highly collaborative and allows for interactive prototyping.

This role requires some level of collaboration, as many UX Designers work closely with other professionals, including User Interface (UI) Designers, Project Managers, Web Developers, and Digital Marketers, depending on the project. They often receive and provide constructive criticism that helps take the project to the best level possible. However, there is also a high level of individual work, particularly during the research and prototype stages. The ideal UX Designer has broad creative skills and strong attention to detail and will thrive in an environment that values new perspectives, concepts, and ideas to result in a successful project.

What Skills Will I Need to Learn to Become a User Experience Designer?

If you are interested in a UX design career, you are likely considering what you will need to learn. You will need a variety of skills to become a UX Designer that ranges from technical and analytical to creative and communicative. This may sound like a wide range of skills. While this may be true, it is possible to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to become a professional, well-developed UX Designer. Regardless of how much experience you have, there are skills so specific to UX design that it may be worthwhile to enroll in a traditional training method like a program, bootcamp, or certificate course.

Research Methods and Testing

User research and testing are essential to becoming a UX Designer. To start, you will need to understand the methodology behind different research methods and learn how to analyze the data from said research methods. This may include usability testing, which is performed to evaluate the consumer’s behavior and determine what interactive features need to be updated or maintained. This can help make prototypes more effective in the next draft. On the other hand, UX Designers also conduct surveys and interviews to gain more insight into how the consumer views the product and its ease of use. Hearing directly from the product’s main consumers ensures that the interactive, intuitive, and user-centric design efforts are followed and adhered to. Without this useful skill, you will miss out on vital knowledge. In truth, it will be virtually impossible to work as a UX design professional without these skills.

Information Architecture

In addition, a UX Designer will understand information architecture and design concepts. Information architecture refers to understanding how information should be arranged on any given digital page or product. This includes knowing design principles such as hierarchy and balance, but also knowing the importance of consistency and clear, descriptive labels. For instance, users will expect certain buttons and functions to be present on a particular page. While users navigate a webpage, they typically go to the very top for drop-down menus and many assume the search bar will be in the upper corner of the page. In addition to this, the search results that pop up will be relevant and able to be filtered through. With mobile applications, users expect certain navigational features to be in one space for increased usability. Most mobile applications are organized by the content's importance, meaning that the user can easily access what is needed the most. In addition, there are interactive features, such as swiping and long-pressing, that make using the application easier for the user.

Soft Skills, Design Principles, and Other Relevant Information

Other skills are considered necessary yet unspecific to UX design, such as communication and attention to detail. It may also include a strong understanding of effective design principles and having adequate interpersonal skills when dealing with clients and stakeholders. To understand what the user expects and desires, it takes someone who responds to feedback well and has an innovative mindset. In tandem with these skills, a UX Designer may attempt to learn some basic marketing tactics to discover how to appeal to consumers as much as possible. Plus, UX Designers are team players. They are often collaborators on myriad projects, working closely with other design, marketing, and management professionals. The number of collaborators and level of feedback ensures that each UX element of the product is incorporated and developed to the fullest extent.

What Courses Should I Enroll in to Become a User Experience Designer?

Figma Bootcamp

One of the most commonly used tools in UX design is Figma, a design application specifically for UX design in web programs and mobile applications. The Figma Bootcamp from Noble Desktop gives you the skillset to become a Figma master. In this course, students will learn how to use Figma’s functions and tools in-depth through different hands-on, interactive projects. In particular, students will create designs on grids, develop layouts for different digital screens, make animations with Smart Animate, and use different variants to update the design with ease. Over 12 hours of total instruction, students will bring their designs to life and implement user-friendly and functional elements.

You may wonder what the difference is between all the different types of courses you read about; in truth, it may be overwhelming to choose between a bootcamp and a class or a degree program and a certificate program. In general, bootcamps are far more immersive than other types of courses and range in everything from their subject matter and length to benefits and learning materials. Overall, students in bootcamps work on projects that are designed to help them advance their skills and become working professionals. In addition, many bootcamps offer certificates of completion that prove the students have taken the time and exerted the effort to master their skills. Bootcamps allow students to learn as much information in as little time and can lay the foundation for more advanced educational efforts.

Notably, most bootcamps offer students benefits and resources that help make the learning process less daunting. Noble Desktop is no exception. Students enrolled in any course at Noble will have access to different types of benefits that help make their learning experience more enjoyable and successful. Plus, most bootcamps and higher-level courses value career development, so students will have a chance to develop a professional portfolio. In the Figma Bootcamp, students will have access to workbooks and setup assistance. Beyond this, students will also have the chance to retake the course at no additional cost within a year of their original enrollment. Once the course has ended, Noble Desktop will award students with a verified digital certificate of completion that displays their mastery of the material.

Figma Advanced

A shorter, lower-stakes option is to take individual classes. Noble Desktop offers short courses in a variety of subjects ranging from beginner to advanced. For instance, the Figma Advanced course is a six-hour class designed for students with some previous experience. Students will explore all the high-level features Figma has to offer, such as using variables and variable modes, conditionals, light and dark modes, and variable collections. In addition, the instructor will guide students through using primitive and semantic layers to create a product.

Similar to their bootcamps, Noble Desktop’s classes offer an assortment of benefits. Their advanced-level Figma course provides students with a free retake for a year and setup assistance if needed. Aside from that, students will benefit greatly from the small class sizes and hands-on projects. In addition, they will receive a certificate indicating they have completed the coursework and are now advanced Figma users.

Illustrator in a Day

Likewise, you can learn related skills and other useful software that may benefit a UX Designer. To learn more about vector graphics and how to create them, you can enroll in the Illustrator in a Day course by Noble Desktop. Throughout six hours of instruction, students will learn how to create vector graphics that can be added to an interface. Specifically, students will practice making shapes, using the Pen tool, adding layers, and tracing images. In addition, they will practice using different brushes and tools to create anything from cartoon characters to signage and other illustrations. 

In this course, students receive similar benefits as other short courses. In addition to the free retake option, students will have access to class recordings within one business day of the lesson’s end. These are available for up to a month after the session, which is an ideal way to brush up on your skills or refer back to a complex concept in class. The verified digital certificate will be awarded to show each student has completed the program successfully. This one-day course is perfect for gaining a solid foundation that can be built upon or for learning the base-level skills and features to use Illustrator for small graphic design elements in prototypes and finished projects.

After Effects in a Day

UX Designers also use After Effects now and then to develop high-fidelity prototypes with interactive designs and elements. Although UX Designers may use After Effects far less frequently than they use other software, it is still useful to learn how to use it. The After Effects in a Day class from Noble Desktop provides an introduction to the most useful functions of After Effects, including ways to create gifts, develop animations for logos, incorporate motion seamlessly, and add transitions.

With the help of skilled instructors, students will gain essential After Effects skills in just six hours. The instructor will guide students through hands-on projects like animating logos, adding sounds, and creating other interactive visual effects. Students can access class recordings and workbooks, enjoy small class sizes, retake the course at no extra cost within a year, and earn a certificate of completion. This class is ideal for a UX design professional who may need some skills in After Effects but who doesn’t need to spend weeks learning all the more advanced and time-consuming features.

Learn the Skills to Become a User Experience Designer at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop hosts classes in myriad subjects, including UX design. With the help of their Classes Near Me tool, you can find courses that suit your learning needs and help you take the next step in your journey. For immersive, in-depth exposure to design concepts, consider the UX and UI Design Certificate. This 132-hour course (available full-time or part-time) breaks down the skills needed to excel as a UX/UI Designer. Students will learn how to use tools like Figma to design and create webpages, applications, and other digital platforms. In addition, the instructor will guide students through different research methods and explain how to analyze findings. Between practical experience through hands-on portfolio projects and case study reviews, students will feel as though they’ve gained a solid ground upon which to further develop their UX/UI design skills.

For beginners who want to gain a solid foundation for UX design concepts, Noble Desktop’s UX Design Foundations program lets students explore the UX design field in-depth. Over 12 hours of total instruction, students will learn not only about the job role but what the process entails. They will explore different research methods, such as user interviews, observations, and heuristics, as well as familiarize themselves with terminology relevant to the field. This course is an ideal way to prepare yourself for a career in UX or UI design or to gain more insight into the design process as a whole.

To focus on a specific UX design tool, you can enroll in the Figma Bootcamp. In this 12-hour course, students will learn to use Figma, a popular UX application that is specifically geared towards user interface and user experience design. Through different projects, students will learn to draft designs before turning them into prototypes. They will incorporate vector-based graphics, use different tools for the design process, learn to make animations and work with Team libraries.