How Long Does it Take to Learn UX & UI?

Like many aspiring Graphic Designers and technology enthusiasts, you might want to learn UX & UI design but worry that it will take too much time. UX & UI Design can be simple to begin learning but requires the mastering of several skills. Professional courses in UX & UI design can take two to six months depending on scheduling and the complexity of the course. Alternatively, courses on individual tools or aspects of UX & UI design can take weeks or days. Keep reading to learn about how you can learn UX & UI design and some resources to help speed the process along.

What is UX & UI Design?

User interface (UI) design involves the development of a digital application’s interface and how it appears to users. Interface designs need to not only look appealing but also effectively communicate information to audiences. UI Designers create graphic assets and use them to build menus and layouts, among other aspects of a user interface. UI design relies heavily on principles of visual and graphic design.

UI design pairs closely with user experience (UX) design. Rather than building the look of a digital application, UX Designers focus on how an application feels to use. A user’s experience should be simple and engaging in ways that allow them to easily navigate the program. UX Designers conduct focused tests and analyze data to understand their audience’s behaviors.

UX & UI Designers work closely together. The fields also overlap so that it’s not uncommon for one designer to fulfill aspects of each role, particularly at small firms. 

Read more about what UX & UI design is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with UX & UI Design?

There are many skills gained through studying UX & UI design. UX & UI designers learn how to identify and solve problems. They form hypotheses, conduct research, engage with customers, analyze data, and build prototypes. They know how to build a long term project plan, follow through, and iterate. Even if not pursuing UX & UI design as a career, the skills gained through studying the field are useful for Department Managers, Project Managers, and entrepreneurs. 

UI design specifically focuses on creating text, images, and graphics and combining them into a digital interface that must be both visually appealing and functional. These skills are essential for marketers and entrepreneurs looking to build websites, social media content, and other digital media.

UX Designers work closely with customers through focus groups, user surveys, and interviews. Many UX Designers spend more time interacting with the public than with their team of designers. Building the skills needed to understand your audience is useful in any field that works closely with people such as hiring, general management, marketing, campaign strategy, and market research, among others.

UX & UI Designers are ultimately responsible for crafting the experiences of the digital products we use in our everyday lives. They work to ensure those experiences are accessible and enjoyable. Choosing to pursue a career in UX & UI Designer can be exciting as these designers play a large role in influencing how the world around us works.

Average Time it Takes to Learn UX & UI Design

Comprehensive UX & UI Design bootcamps that offer a deep understanding of UX & UI design last around two months on full time schedules and six months for part time learning. These courses are usually designed to not only teach you the ins and outs of a topic but to assist in jumpstarting a new career. For example, Noble Desktop’s UX & UI Design Certificate teaches UX & UI design concepts, offers a portfolio workshop and one-on-one job mentorship. Thus, for job seekers, the time commitment for one of the courses could be well worth it.

Without professional instruction, learning UX & UI design could take much longer. You’ll be working via your own motivation and with whatever free tutorials and guides you can find online. While self-learning can be a good tool to begin your journey in a new career field, self-guided tools are rarely enough to teach comprehensive or industry-leading techniques. Free online tutorials are also frequently outdated and possess errors. Thus, professional instruction is recommended for job seekers or those looking to become experts.

Other Factors

How long it takes to learn UX & UI Design depends on several factors. These include whether you attend professional classes or learn on your own and if you seek to learn beginner or expert skills. Your personal schedule and your experience with other UX & UI design concepts will also play a role.

Self-Guided or Instructor-Led Learning 

Instructor-led learning is always faster than self-guided learning. An instructor provides structure to the learning process through guided teaching. They are also available to answer any questions and guide students through roadblocks. On the flip side, self-guided learning relies on an individual’s motivation, skill at finding the right tutorials, and ability to troubleshoot issues. This search takes up time that could be dedicated to learning. Plus, a lack of motivation can drastically slow down progress. Thus, self-guided learning almost always takes much longer.

Beginner or Expert Skills

Most people can acquire basic skills in UX & UI design reasonably quickly. Beginner tutorials on design tools and concepts are easy to find online, making fundamental learning simple to obtain even for self-learners. However, trying to find advanced or expert resources online for free will prove more difficult, costing more time. Thus, professional classes are recommended for learning expert skills and making the most of your time. Though endeavoring to learn expert skills will take longer than the fundamentals, it can be necessary to jumpstart a career. 

Your Personal Schedule

Every individual has their own commitments and limited time they can devote to learning. Full time bootcamps in UX & UI Design take around two months to complete while part time bootcamps last around six months. Some people may find it difficult even to commit to part-time learning, in which case self-guided learning could be a better fit. This will take even longer than professional classes, and the speed at which you learn will depend largely on your personal motivation. Ultimately, everyone learns at their own pace, and there’s no shame in needing to take longer than someone else. It’s important to set realistic expectations on how quickly you can learn UX & UI design when considering your personal schedule. 

Familiarity with UX & UI Design Concepts and Tools

Knowing the concepts of design theory and the basics of UX & UI design tools are not prerequisites for learning UX & UI design. However, getting a head start on these concepts and tools can speed up your learning by making you more comfortable and less likely to feel overwhelmed by new topics. Continue reading for information on free resources to get you started. 

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost 

UX & UI design can be fairly simple to start learning but difficult to master. There are a number of UI design tools that are used for creating illustrations, manipulating photos, building prototypes, and designing experiences. UX design requires learning how to collect and analyze data and research user behavior. Each of these skills can be picked up by novices individually. However, mastering all of them collectively to pursue a career in UX & UI design can be rather challenging due to the many different aspects of training required. 

There are no upfront costs to begin learning UX & UI design as free resources and seminars are available. However, those who wish to master design concepts to start a new career will need to attend professional classes. Comprehensive courses that teach UX & UI design as combined topics generally cost from $3,000-$5,000. Outside of class, there are a number of tools used by UX & UI Designers. Common tools include Adobe XD, Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and Sketch. All of these programs cost money if not provided through your job or school.

There are no required prerequisites to begin learning UX & UI design or attend professional classes other than basic computer comprehension skills. Students who know a little about graphic design principles or basic HTML and JavaScript coding will feel more comfortable when faced with UX & UI design concepts and tools. 

Read about how difficult it is to learn UX & UI design.

Watch a Free UX & UI Design Online Course

If you’re interested in UX & UI design but aren’t ready to dive into a full course, you can start learning for free online. Some ideal places to start include Noble Desktop’s free Intro to Figma and Intro to UI Design seminars. In these introductory courses, you’ll learn what Figma can do and how its features integrate with UI and UX design. You’ll also learn about UI design, how it relates to UX design, and what the visual design process entails. These courses are perfect for giving you an overview of UX & UI design before deciding to attend a full course.

Free online courses are ideal for beginner learners to start their journey as they often feature overviews of a program. You can find additional free courses through skill-sharing websites such as Youtube, Coursera, or Udemy. While these classes can be valuable and cost-effective for beginners, their main purpose is to provide overviews of a program. Professionals looking to comprehensively learn UX & UI design skills to advance their careers will need to attend more advanced, professional development classes. 

Read about more free UX & UI design videos and online tutorials.

Learn UX & UI Design with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

If you’re interested in learning UX & UI design, Noble Desktop offers several classes for you to choose from. These classes are available both in-person and live online. Classes are small and are taught by instructors who are experts in their fields. Free retake options are also available. 

In Noble’s UX & UI Design Certificate program, you’ll learn both UX & UI design concepts, build a professional portfolio, and gain one-on-one job preparation assistance. This is the perfect course to jump start a new career. Additionally, you may wish to enroll in the Figma Bootcamp. While Figma is taught in the UX & UI Design Certificate, the bootcamp dives in depth into the program. You’ll thoroughly learn the leading application for interface design from beginner to advanced techniques applicable to both UX & UI design. 

Additional classes can be found through the Visual Design and UX Design categories. The UI Design Certificate teaches graphic and interface design for websites and mobile applications. You’ll also learn essential software used by professionals including Figma, Adobe Photoshop, and Illustrator. The Digital Design Certificate teaches design techniques for web, print, and mobile. You’ll learn Figma for interface design along with Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign for designing digital and print materials. The Visual Design Portfolio Bootcamp teaches interface design through hands-on and multi-project courses. You’ll need to feel comfortable using Figma before enrolling in this course. 

Whether you know you want to start a career in UX & UI design or want to explore how UI design principles can be utilized in more graphically inclined careers, Noble Desktop has the classes you are looking for.

Key Insights

• UX & UI design takes on average two to six months to fully learn, depending on whether you undertake full-time or part-time classes.
• Professional training is the fastest method to master the concepts and tools of UX & UI design.
• Individuals with busy schedules can learn UX & UI design through self-guided learning, which could take several months and will be difficult to learn expert techniques.
• Expert skills always take longer to learn than basic skills but are worthwhile for job seekers.
• Familiarizing yourself with the basics of visual design concepts and UX & UI design tools can give you a jumpstart on learning and make you more confident in the classroom. 
• You can receive comprehensive UX & UI design training through an in-person or live online course with Noble Desktop.