Can I Learn UX Design On My Own?

User experience (UX) design is a complex and rapidly evolving field featuring a mix of technical and human-centered skills, tools, methodologies, and best practices. Whether you’re considering learning the invaluable skill set of UX design to launch a new career or to uplevel the user experience of a personal or professional project, you may be exploring potential free options for meeting your learning goals. 

The short answer is if you’re looking to master the subject to become a UX Designer, then you should plan to invest in the professional training you’ll need to become job-ready and able to stand out in a competitive job market. However, self-learning UX design may be a feasible option for a select few, depending on their background and specific learning goals. You may fall into this category if you’re an experienced UI Designer, need an elementary introduction to the subject, or have a single important UX design question you need an answer to quickly. This article will discuss the pros and cons of self-teaching UX design, the tools available for self-teaching, and some alternative options to learning UX design on your own.

Advantages to Self-Teaching UX Design

One of the most obvious advantages of learning UX design independently is its cost-effectiveness, as many resources a person may use for self-teaching are available online for free. A person may choose to purchase books or an on-demand class to support their self-learning journey, but these options will typically be significantly cheaper than an in-person or live online class, where you’re paying for the mentorship of a live instructor and a proven up-to-date curriculum.

Self-teaching UX design also offers more flexibility over learning in a class with a live instructor. Self-learners can choose their own resources, pacing, and schedule when studying the subject and spend more or less time on a topic, depending on their personal needs. In some ways, self-teaching can be the more convenient solution. Still, for an aspiring UX Designer, this immediate convenience can make the full educational journey considerably lengthier and more inconvenient in the long run. For those with more limited goals, self-teaching allows for a more targeted approach. However, for those attempting to gain a professional-level mastery of UX design, gathering, sorting, processing, and attempting to understand and metabolize such a vast skill set, the cost-effectiveness is unlikely to pay for the hassle of self-teaching.

UX Design Self-Teaching Tools

Several UX design learning resources are available for those who wish to teach themselves the basics of UX design, answer specific questions, or gain a broad overview of the topic. While these resources aren’t enough to walk you from beginner to job-ready, they can be helpful supplements for any UX design learner’s education.

• Free tutorials and seminars:Noble Desktop offers a variety of free UX design seminars that are excellent for getting started with learning the skill set. These seminars provide foundational knowledge and insights from experienced professionals, making them a valuable resource for beginners. Meanwhile, other educational platforms and software websites offer free tutorials that cover basic concepts and tools used in UX design, though beginners should keep in mind these can only take them so far toward expertise.
• Articles and blog posts: Reading articles and blog posts in the UX design sphere can be a great way to stay updated on trends and best practices in the field. These resources can also provide overviews of foundational concepts and tips and tricks for learning UX design. Noble Desktop is a rich resource for articles that delve into UX design topics, and other professional training schools and independent UX Designer blogs also explore topics ranging from learning guides for beginners to deep dives into current trends.
• YouTube series: A quick search on YouTube will connect you with a variety of videos on UX design topics. Professional training schools like Noble Desktop and vloggers like Aliena Cai provide videos on foundational UX design topics and answers to questions learners may have. YouTube videos are beneficial in providing diverse perspectives and cutting-edge updates on the latest happenings in the field of UX design.
• Podcasts: UX Design, UI Breakfast, and other podcasts provide similar benefits to YouTube series for UX design learners, minus the visuals. Many find the interviews and conversations of podcasts an engaging way to stay abreast of the UX design world and hear the voices of various experienced designers on essential topics of the field. Of course, the nature of podcasts does not lend itself to a structured learning experience or targeting specific questions. Still, they are an easy way to experience a brief informative immersion in the topic.
• Books: The Design of Everyday Things by the “father of UX design,” Don Norman, is a must-read filled with wisdom for UX design learners. Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think and Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell, Jill Butler, and Kritina Holden are other books that learners may wish to add to their shelves. These are exceptional resources for helping an individual learn to think like a UX Designer but shouldn’t be relied on for learning the tools of the trade, best practices, or other rapidly evolving aspects of UX design.
• On-demand classes: On-demand classes, asynchronous classes, and self-paced classes are all names used to describe courses that lack a live instructor and schedule. Instead, they provide students with prerecorded lectures, readings, and assignments that students can do whenever is most convenient for them. Coursera, Udemy, and Skillshare are some of the platforms where you’ll find these on-demand classes that can provide more structure than the above resources but usually require a financial investment. Some learners are organized and self-driven enough to thrive in these courses, but most find they need the mentorship of a live instructor to learn UX design as deeply as many of these on-demand classes attempt to teach the subject.

Drawbacks to Learning UX Design on Your Own

While self-teaching UX design can be a cost-effective and flexible option, it has a few significant drawbacks. The most notable is the lack of the personalized instruction and feedback from a live instructor and the structured learning environment offered by an in-person or live online class. Without a live instructor, it’s easy to develop bad habits, misunderstand vital concepts, or miss out on the latest industry practices. This can lead to gaps in your knowledge and skills, which can be detrimental when applying your learning in real-world scenarios or seeking employment in a competitive job market.

Another drawback is the overwhelming amount of information available online. While there is no shortage of free and low-cost resources for learning UX design, sorting through them to find reliable and high-quality content can be time-consuming and confusing. The absence of a curriculum can lead UX design learners to spend excessive time on less relevant topics or outdated concepts while neglecting crucial skills and the latest best practices. This lack of direction and guidance from an expert instructor can significantly extend the time it takes to meet an individual’s UX design learning goals, making self-teaching a less efficient path to mastering UX design compared to structured, instructor-led classes.

Alternatives to Learning UX Design on Your Own

For those seeking a more guided approach to learning UX design, enrolling in a professional training class like those offered by Noble Desktop can be highly beneficial. These programs provide a structured curriculum, a set schedule, a live instructor, and immediate feedback, ensuring you receive a quality education that is up-to-date with industry standards in user research and usability testing and the latest versions of tools like Figma and Adobe XD.

By choosing a professional training program, you also gain access to a community of learners and professionals, networking opportunities, and career support services, which are invaluable, especially when pursuing a career in UX design. Instructors with real-world experience can provide insights into creating effective user personas and wireframes and guide you through the iterative design process. Investing in an in-person or live online UX design class can significantly accelerate your learning process and give you a competitive edge in the job market.

Learn UX Design with Noble Desktop

Professional training school Noble Desktop provides a variety of instructor-led UX design classes to help you turn your learning dreams into reality. If you’re looking for a comprehensive UX design course that provides all you need to begin a career as a UX Designer, Noble’s UX & UI Design Certificate program provides all the training you need, plus additional perks to help you land your first entry-level job. Unlike most UX design bootcamps and certificate programs, the UX & UI Design Certificate is available on a full-time or part-time schedule, with the latter allowing you extra time to thoroughly practice and learn the material while continuing to work if needed. Either schedule option provides 132 hours of classroom learning, eight one-on-one mentorship sessions for career prep, and a free retake option for one year. No prerequisites are required for this beginner-friendly program, where you will master user testing, prototyping, Figma, and other essential UX and UI design skills. By the time you graduate from the program, you’ll have a professional-quality portfolio to demonstrate your proficiency to future employers and a verified digital certificate of completion.

If your UX design education needs aren’t as extensive as a certificate program, Noble’s UX Design Foundations is a primer on the fundamental principles and processes of user experience. This 12-hour course is ideal for you if you’re interested in exploring the topic to see if you may want to chart a career path in UX design in the future. Professionals working in adjacent careers may also use the UX Design Foundations class to strengthen their understanding of user experience so they can apply the concepts in their current work. Whatever the reason you may wish to master the basics of UX design and research, you can learn them through hands-on exercises, lectures, and discussions in this UX design class.

Noble Desktop also provides short courses and bootcamps in individual UX design tools, such as the Figma Bootcamp. If your next step in your UX design learning journey is to learn Figma quickly and thoroughly, this 12-hour course can equip you to succeed with the industry-standard software. In this class, you’ll learn how to use the powerful application to make user-friendly layouts, create animations, build interactive prototypes, export assets, and perform many other crucial tasks of the UX design workflow. Your tuition for the Figma Bootcamp includes Noble Desktop’s proprietary workbook, a free retake option, and a verified digital certificate of completion.