Course 1: Foundations of User Experience (UX) Design

Introducing User Experience Design - WEEK 1

Notes by: Niasia Bradford
● Identify and compare disciplines within UX
● Identify the factors that contribute to great user experience design
● Review common job responsibilities of entry-level UX designers
● Review teams that UX designers often work with
● Explain how UX design jobs are influenced by company size and industry
● Explore job opportunities available upon completion of this program
● Define the field of UX and explain its importance for consumers and businesses

UX Designers Ultimate Goal:

To build a product that's usable, useful, equitable, and enjoyable for users and businesses

UX Careers:
● Interaction Designer
● Visual Designer
● Motion Designer
● Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality Designer (VR/AR)
● UX Researcher
● UX Writer
● UX Program Manager
● UX Engineer

Product Development Life Cycle:

PD life cycle - from spark of idea to final project
1. Brainstorm
a. good time to pay attention to the diversity on your team
b. Check out the competition - fill a gap, not creating a solution to an already solved
problem
2. Define
a. Narrowing the focus (you can’t solve them all at once)
b. User research is key here to pinpoint specific issue
3. Design
a. Wireframes - to sketch and organize...
b. Prototypes - to convey functionality each task is clear & navigation is smooth.
4. Test
a. Internal (Alpha) - test for technical glitches and usability errors; stakeholders
ensure product is aligned w/ the company’s vision, legal, and governmental
regulations
b. External - with potential users (does it check usability, useful, enjoyable, and
equitable boxes?)
5. Launch
 a. Product is released to the world - celebrate!
b. Promote product
c. Reflect on the process for improvement

Reading:
● Good design is easy to spot but often hard to pin down. What exactly makes a product
effective to its users? Is it a matter of simplicity, structure, or functionality? The answer
depends on the product in question.
● https://design.google/library/good-design/

Book: The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

● Q1: A User experience you think needs improvement and why:

One user experience I would improve is Facebook's direct messenger feature, or lack thereof. In
August 2011 Facebook removed the direct messaging feature from the mobile application and
launched Messenger by Facebook as a stand alone messaging app, when they acquired a start-up
company [Beluga]. The concept of direct messaging runs in tandem with what social media is and its
purpose. Facebook, which is one of the original powerhouses of the digital revolution that stands
stronger than ever today, mission has always been to connect users with their family, friends, local,
and other global communities. It is an inconvenience to the users to juggle using separate
applications for such a relevant feature. This feature should be available within thumbs reach along
with all the other interactive mediums on the main application.

● Q2: A user experience you think is great and why:

One user experience I truly appreciate is the "passwords" journal in the iPhone's settings application.
Anybody that has used the internet, has most likely signed up with a website and forgot or misplaced
the scrap of paper they wrote the password on almost immediately. The user can enter the
website/link, along with their username and password of any and every account they own in this
feature. Your accounts are then alphabetized by website and, when you visit the sign-in landing
pages of these websites in your iPhone's default browser, there is an auto-fill option that is confirmed
via face, touch or passcode ID. The placement of this feature within the greater iPhone system itself
is also well thought out, in terms of keeping all this important information private. It seems to be
almost hidden amongst all the other tech specks within the settings panel, and the feature itself also
has an option to only open upon face/touch/passcode ID.This is the definition of so simple, yet so
necessary.
Entry-level UX Designer Responsibilities:

● User research: about understanding the people who use your product. You’ll learn about
users’ backgrounds, demographics, motivations, pain points, emotions, and goals via
surveys, observations, and interviews.
● Information architecture (IA): involves deciding how your product is organized and
structured. Think of IA as a skeleton that outlines how users interact with your product.
Everything in your product should be organized in ways that make sense to the user.
● Wireframing: basic outline or sketch of a product or a screen, like an app or website. Mostly
lines and shapes, with some text, drawn by hand or created digitally. Wireframing helps you
bring your design ideas to life, so other people on your team can provide input and feedback.
● Prototyping: Physical or digital format of an early model of a product that demonstrates its
functionality. Vary in complexity.
● Visual design: focuses on how the product or technology looks. As a UX designer, you need
to understand the foundations of visual design in order to communicate the connection
between a product’s functionality and its appearance to users.
● Effective communication: UX design is a very collaborative field, so being able to effectively
communicate both digitally and face-to-face with teammates is important. You need to be a
good listener, be receptive to feedback, and share your ideas in a clear way.

Types of UX Designers:
● Specialist (vertical line in “T”)
● Generalist (horizontal line in “T”)
● T-Shaped - the stem (or vertical line) of a T represents their expertise in one area, while
the top (or horizontal line) symbolizes their related skills in a broad number of areas.

Cross-Functional UX Team Members:

➢ Engineers
○ translate designs into a functioning experience, like an app or a website
○ Determines technical feasibility so it’s good to involve them from the beginning
➢ UX Researchers
○ UX research is all about understanding what users need and expect from your
product
○ Methods: Observation, Interviews, & Surveys
➢ Project Manager
○ Project managers supervise, support, and keep track of the project as a whole
○ assign tasks to team members, monitor the project budget, and manage timelines
○ Your go-to support if you hit a setback
➢ Product Lead
○ Product leads are in charge of ensuring the final product’s success and
communicating with stakeholders
 ○define the project’s core goals and deliverables so you can just focus on designing
solutions
➢ Other UX Designers
○ It’s a team effort, most of the time

What skills do you already have that can help you on your journey to becoming a UX designer? For
example, are you artistic, detail-oriented, or considerate? Do you have relevant past experience in
the world of design? Share your passion.

I have graphic design experience via Adobe photoshop, inDesign, and Illustrator. In learning this
medium, I learned of the delicate balance that exists between being creative (and “on-brand”)
yet also producing effective, communicative design. Visual appeal and functionality go hand in
hand.

In my journalistic studies we formally studied objective interviewing and researching information.

In continuing becoming a stronger UX designer, these skills will benefit my team, and make me
more of a team asset and a more well-rounded designer. Learning how to step out of your own
self, comfort, and knowing and understanding the issue and how it relates to the user is crucial.
These skills will also help me contribute to my team in more than one way, including interpreting
information given to me effectively and translating in my contributions.

Types of Companies You Can Work At:

● Start up/ small business - fewer employees, so you wear more hats and won’t spend too
much time on one task; great way to learn quickly
● Freelance - work for yourself, work on projects you want
● Advertising agency - developing wireframes and designs for campaigns that are sourced
by different brands
● Design agency/studio - one stop shop for for the look of brands, products, and services;
designer moves around a lot on may different projects
● Big company - typically specialized & works on one project from beginning to end
Startups are new businesses that want to develop a unique product or service and bring it to market.
A lot of UX designers are excited to start work at startups or small businesses because they can see
the impact of their work more quickly and develop a broader range of skills.
Freelancers are self-employed UX designers who are hired by clients for their independent services.
Being a freelancer gives you a lot of freedom, and it’s a great way for new UX designers to gain
experience in the field and add work to their portfolio.
Freelancers are self-employed UX designers who are hired by clients for their independent services.
Being a freelancer gives you a lot of freedom, and it’s a great way for new UX designers to gain
experience in the field and add work to their portfolio.
A lot of UX designers work at advertising agencies, which are teams of creatives hired by clients to
build marketing campaigns. Sometimes called “creative technologists,” these designers work to
create ads for brands using UX principles. This is a great option if you’re open to learning some
interesting skills outside of a core UX design role.
A design agency is a one-stop-shop for visual brands, products, and services. Working at a design
agency can be similar in some ways to working at a small business or startup, except you have
multiple companies as your clients. Many agencies tend to work on a broad range of products, so
you can explore many kinds of styles and approaches to UX design.
UX teams at larger companies tend to be more compartmentalized by specialization, making it
easier for you to become an expert in one particular area of UX.
 Week 1 Glossary
A
Advertising agencies: Teams of creatives hired by clients to build marketing campaigns

Apprenticeships: Provides on-the-job training to help people develop real skills

Assets: Everything from the text and images to the design specifications, like font style, color, size, and
spacing

D Design studio: A one-stop shop for the look of brands, products, and services

E Empathy: The ability to understand someone else’s feelings or thoughts in a situation

F Freelancers: Designers who work for themselves and market their services to businesses to find
customers

G
Generalist: A UX designer with a broad number of responsibilities

Graphic designers: Create visuals that tell a story or message

I
Information architecture: The framework of a website or how it’s organized, categorized, and
structured

Interaction designers: Focus on designing the experience of a product and how it functions

M Motion designers: Think about what it feels like for a user to move through a product

P
Product: A good, service, or feature

Production designers: Make sure first and final designs match in the finished project materials and that
the assets are ready to be handed off to engineering team

Prototype: An early model of a product that demonstrates functionality

S
Specialist: A designer who dives deep into one particular type of user experience, like interaction
design, visual design, or motion design

Startup: A new business that wants to develop a unique product or service and bring it to market

T T-shaped designer: A designer who specializes in one kind of user experience (e.g., interaction,
visual, motion) and has a breadth of knowledge in other areas

U
User experience: How a person, the user, feels about interacting with, or experiencing, a product

UX engineers: Translate the design’s intent into a functioning experience

UX program managers: Ensure clear and timely communication so that the process of building a useful
product moves smoothly from start to finish

UX research: Understand users and learn about their backgrounds, demographics, motivations, pain
points, emotions, and life goals

UX researchers: A type of researcher that conducts studies or interviews to learn about the users of a
product and how people use a product

UX writers: Create the language that appears throughout a digital product, like websites or mobile apps

V Visual designers: Focus on how the product or technology looks

W Wireframe: An outline or a sketch of a product or a screen

 Common UX Terms, Tools, & Frameworks
Course 1 - WEEK 2
● Define common terms in UX design
● Describe user-centered design
● Explain common design frameworks
● Describe the importance of the Next Billion Users in UX design
● Explain how UX designers think across platforms
● Understand equity-focused design
● Describe the importance of accessibility in the design process
● Explain the advantages of using design tools
● Identify common UX design tools

Framework - creates the basic structure that focuses and supports the problem you’re trying to
solve, kind of like an outline for a project. UX Frameworks include:
➢ User Centered Design
➢ 5 Elements of UX Design
➢ Design Thinking

I . User Centered Design:

At the core of this process is a deep empathy for the user. It’s not just about what a product
does for a user, but also how the experience of interacting with the design makes the user
feel
● Reiterative by nature
1. Understand how the user experiences the product. You want to know how
users will engage with your design, as well as the environment or context in
which they’ll experience the product. Understanding this requires a lot of
research, like observing users in action and conducting interviews, which
we’ll explore more later.
2. Specify the user’s needs. Based on your research, figure out which user
problems are the most important to solve.
3. Design solutions. Come up with lots of ideas for designs that can address the
user problems you’ve identified. Then, start to actually design those ideas!
4. Evaluate the solutions you designed against the user’s needs. “Does my
design solve the user’s problem?” → test the product with real people and
collect feedback.
Guiding Principles of User Centered Design:
✓ Design for users & their needs - it’s essential to keep in mind that you are not the end user
✓ Make your copy conversational - writing within design should have a friendly, simple, and
easily accessible tone
✓ Present all information clearly - product tells users they’ve executed a task correctly
✓ Acknowledge users actions - should be able to navigate without assistance; Make key
information, like checkout buttons, simple to find and identify
✓ Offer support - Offer users a safety net, like a support center or list of FAQ’s

II. The 5 Elements of UX Design:

● The five elements of UX design is a framework of steps that UX designers take to
turn an idea into a working product; Strategy → scope → structure → skeleton →
surface; each layer is dependent on the one below it

1. Strategy - where you lay a foundation of your design goals based on user needs and
the business objectives for the product.
2. Scope - where you determine the type of product you’re building. At this point, you will
consider the kind of features and content you want to include
3. Structure - you’ll figure out how to organize your design and how you want users to
interact with the product.
 4. Skeleton - Just like the layout of our bones shapes our skin, the skeleton layer details
how your design works – and like a skeleton, users won’t directly see its inner-workings.
5. Surface - represents the interface that users view and interact with (and the look).

III. Design Thinking Process:

Design thinking is a user-centered approach to problem-solving. It helps designers create solutions
that address a real user problem and are functional and affordable.

● Empathize → define → ideate → prototype → test (Each phase answers a specific question)

● Empathize phase - the goal is to understand users' needs and how users think and feel.
● Define phase - you’ll create a clear problem statement; creating a formal team goal.
● Ideate phase - team brainstorms as many solutions as possible to the defined problem
● Prototype phase - early model of a product that demonstrates its functionality (look-feel)
● Test phase - users provide feedback before the product is built by engineers and launched
to the public

IV. Lean UX:

Lean UX process focuses on reducing wasted time and resources, and producing a workable
product ASAP
● Think [research] → Make [wireframes, MVPs] → Check [feedback & reiterate)
● Not about getting it right the first time

1. Think. Explore the problems that users are experiencing and consider how you could solve
them with your design
2. Make. Start designing the product by creating sketches, wireframes, prototypes, or minimum
viable product (MVP) which is a simple prototype that you can test with the target audience.
Be prepared to go back and update your prototype as you gather feedback!
 3. Check. Find out how users respond to your design and gather feedback from project
stakeholders. Make adjustments to your designs accordingly, and repeat the three steps
again, if necessary.

Guiding Principles of Lean UX process:

✓ Move forward. Focus on the goal, don’t get distracted by “nice-to-haves.”
✓ Stay curious. Continuously seek feedback to understand why specific design choices
work or don’t work.
✓ Test ideas in the real world. test their ideas - using prototypes, for example - outside
of the conference room and with potential users.
✓ Externalize your ideas. Instead of internally debating and analyzing whether or not an
idea is going to work, turn your ideas into something physical, viewable, and testable,
while they’re still fresh in your mind. This way, you’ll get feedback on your designs in the
early stages, when diverse perspectives and feedback are most helpful.
✓ Reframe deliverables as outcomes. Focus on creating usable, enjoyable products
that users actually want and need. Always keep in mind that you’re designing for your
users first-and-foremost, not for the project stakeholders.
✓ Embrace radical transparency. Feel comfortable being honest with everyone on the
team (and expect the same in return), since you will depend on each other’s insights.
This way, everyone can make informed decisions about how to move forward and avoid
wasting time and energy.

V. Double Diamond UX:

Double Diamond is a more traditional UX process, which breaks down UX design into two main
phases (or “diamonds”
● research → design (iterative process)
● encourages teamwork across the organization - to be successful, the entire team must know
how to incorporate design principles, design methods, user engagement strategies, and
leadership principles. Be prepared to take on multiple roles and responsibilities, as
needed.
1. Discover the problem. Gather information about potential issues users are facing.
2. Define the problem. Filter through the data, and focus on the main issue your product
aims to solve.
3. Develop solutions for the problem. Begin designing your product as a work in
progress. This is where wireframes and prototypes come into play.
4. Deliver the product. Review and test your product to prepare it for release.
Guiding principles of the Double Diamond process:

✓ Focus on the user - The user is the top priority, as always.

✓ Communicate visually (thru design choices that supplement text), equitably/accessible
✓ The Double Diamond process encourages creative collaboration and co-creation
✓ Iterate - Accept that the design is a work in progress and isn’t going to be complete right
away. The magic is in the revision. With every iteration, you give the user a new
experience.

Other Frameworks:
● Universal Design → One-size-fits all approach; design loses its effectiveness in the long run.
● Inclusive Design → Inclusive design means making design choices that take into account
personal identifiers like ability, race, economic status, language, age, and gender. Inclusive
design includes researchers and designers from traditionally excluded populations in the
process, so they can provide their unique perspectives during all phases of the design
process. With inclusive design, you solve for one type of user, and the benefit of that solution
can extend to many other types of users.
● Equitable Design → The goal of equity-focused design is to uplift groups that have been
excluded historically
○ Equality means everyone gets the same thing
○ Equity means providing different levels of opportunity and support for each person in
order to achieve fair outcomes. Start by identifying a product you want to build. Then,
think about the groups that have not been served by this type of product in the past.
Finally, build your design while keeping the groups who identified as
underrepresented front and center.
More resources on Equitable Design:
● Benjamin Evans: The power of inclusive design - An episode of the Design Better
Podcast
● How to design and manage equity-focused evaluations - UNICEF, focused on the
section about “What is equity and why does it matter?” which is on pages 18-24 of the
PDF (or pages 2-8 in the bottom left corner of the document)

Benjamin Evans: The power of inclusive design - An episode of the Design Better Podcast
Notes:
● Diversify your teams
● Yes this is human centered design. BUT which human [specifically] are we placing at the
center of [this] design
● Best way to check your bias in unblocking bias is asking “who are we missing?”
● Empathy helps fight your own bias - empathy is the key to designing from an emotional
place on things that may not necessarily apply to you

How to design and manage equity-focused evaluations - UNICEF notes:

● The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a practical manifestation of the
Declaration’s aspiration to reduce inequity in human development among nations and
peoples by 2015.
● However, the gains made in realizing the MDGs are largely based on improvements in
national averages. A growing concern is that progress [when] based on national
averages [it] can conceal broad and even widening disparities in poverty and child
development among regions and within countries.
● The causes and consequences of inequity vary across cultures, countries, and
communities. Inequity is rooted in a complex range of political, social, and economic
factors that include but are by no means limited to: gender discrimination; ethnic,
linguistic, minority, and religious discrimination; discrimination due to disability status;
structural poverty; natural or man-made disasters; geographic isolation; cultural and
social norms; and weak governance.
● In addition to the reasons explained above, equity is becoming urgent due to at least five
major global threats that could undermine accelerated progress towards equitable
development for children: the food and financial crises; rapid urbanization; climate
change and ecosystem degradation; escalating humanitarian crises; and, heightened
fiscal austerity (UNICEF, 2011a).
● You get more out of society with equitably-focused structures

Reading - Designing For Global Accessibility Part 1:

● Awareness is everything (how designers and developers can increase their awareness
of accessibility issues)
● https://design.google/library/designing-global-accessibility-part-1/
● No two users are exactly alike. Physical and cognitive disabilities, as well as
environmental factors, can inhibit people from fully engaging with technology: hardware,
software, and beyond.
Researching Accessibility
https://design.google/library/survey-methods-connecting-global-audience/
https://design.google/library/designers-guide-accessibility-research/
https://gramvaani.org/?p=2755
Diverse representation
https://diverseui.com/
Inclusivity & Accommodate different levels of literacy/languages
https://developers.google.com/international/
https://material.io/design/usability/bidirectionality.html
Privacy, safety, and security
https://www.w3.org/TR/app-privacy-bp/
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/10144311?visit_id=637
528387235737828-13946215&rd=1

Reading - Designing For Global Accessibility Part 2:

● Context matters (explored critical logistical considerations)
● https://design.google/library/designing-global-accessibility-part-2/
● As UX researchers, we often find similar—sometimes even identical—issues that impact
users’ ability to interact with their tech; and while the restrictions across users and use
cases vary, the design implications are similar. For example, bright sunshine, low vision,
or a cracked phone screen can all be factors that motivate the need for better contrast
ratios
Build great user experiences for modest devices
https://material.io/blog/device-metrics
https://developer.android.com/docs/quality-guidelines/build-for-billions/device-capacity
Ensure that your app functions seamlessly in intermittent networks—and when offline
https://developer.android.com/docs/quality-guidelines/build-for-billions/connectivity
https://design.google/library/offline-design/
Keep usage costs low
https://developer.android.com/docs/quality-guidelines/build-for-billions/data-cost
https://design.google/library/offline-design/
Treat accessibility settings as critical, not just as a checklist
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.accessibility.audi
tor
https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/accessibility/testing
https://developer.chrome.com/blog/new-in-devtools-65/#a11y

Reading - Designing For Global Accessibility Part 3:

● Be inclusive by default (how designers and developers can make tactical UX decisions to create universally inclusive apps)
● https://design.google/library/designing-global-accessibility-part-iii/
● An estimated 80% of people with disabilities live in emerging markets like South East
Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central America. And many of them are new internet
 users. Living in an increasingly globalized world means that there’s an opportunity to
proactively build ethical and meaningful products that are inclusive of societies and
cultures worldwide

Consider environmental contrasts like sun and shade - contrast is key

https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.accessibility.audi
tor&hl=en
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/nocoffee/jjeeggmbnhckmgdhmgdckeigabjfbd
dl?hl=en-US
Color has meaning—use it wisely
http://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator/
https://material.io/design/usability/accessibility.html#color-contrast
Design for various screen conditions and input abilities
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/motorola-shattershield-cracked-smartphone-screen
-survey/#/2
Larger tap targets can also accommodate those with hand tremors and limited dexterity
or those with low vision.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.accessibility.audi
tor&hl=en
Access to technology should be a global concern, and available to all*

The Next Billion Users

● The future generation of internet users, whom will most likely use the internet different
from us
● One important thing to keep in mind when designing for the Next Billion Users is the
rising use of mobile devices in emerging markets, which is changing how people use the
internet.

Reading - Design Offline

https://design.google/library/offline-design/
● The field of offline designing is relatively new - room for innovation
https://material.io/design/communication/offline-states.html#principles (tool to
help you build better offline capabilities into your products)
● Clearly indicate offline functionality- although offline design is not standardized across
mobile products, there are patterns you can use to help people understand your
product’s offline capabilities (i.e the offline cloud pin)
https://material.io/resources/icons/?style=baseline
● Display no functionality - i.e faded buttons for buttons that don't work/not valid
● Allow downloading for future offline use
https://material.io/resources/icons/?style=baseline
● Transition from downloading to offline-ready → Use an animation to show when a file is
being downloaded and when it’s ready for offline use; timer; communicate with the user
and give them options (pause, cancel, delete through entire download process)
 ● Make offline file location discoverable - i.e “your download is ready” pop-up bar/ snack
bar
● Notify users when connection is restored - For example, videos, search queries, or
messages can be queued up so that when the connection is restored, users are notified
about the content waiting for them. Using this approach, the system serves the content
without the user losing a sense of trust or responsiveness when offline
● Offline states offer opportunities for delight - Offline design can take an already popular
application to the next level by delighting users and improving accessibility for those with
limited connectivity; Consider common use cases in which someone could lose internet
connection and still make the most of your product.

Reading - The Making Of Youtube Go

● https://design.google/library/making-youtube-go/
https://design.google/library/ux-next-billion-users/

Reading - Connectivity, Culture & Credit

● how designers can be more empathetic and effective when creating products for emerging
markets.
● https://design.google/library/connectivity-culture-and-credit/
● 9 [+1] essential points are crucial for designers to consider when creating apps,
services, and devices tailored to the lives and local infrastructure of the next
billion users
1. Internet access isn’t guaranteed - maybe in US but not globally
○ https://design.google.com/articles/digital-natives/
○ https://station.google.com/
2. Smaller, simpler devices are the norm - Most emerging-market devices cost just $40-60
and might come with 512MB of memory, a small, low-res screen, and limited battery life.
3. Data is limited - pre-paid is the jam for 95% of emerging markets
○ Many turn their phone off at night to save data
○ People appreciate transparency when it comes to understanding their data
consumption and they value the ability to control
4. Forget about credit cards - have to support local business models
5. Bridge the cultural divide - as a designer you have a certain level of privilege (class,
status, education), so bridging those differences needs to be top-of-mind in order to
make our work successful
○ It helps to have field researchers conducting user studies in the market to
understand if your product is respecting social, cultural, political, and religious
norms.
○ If your user is uncomfortable discussing some type of technology, they're prob
not comfortable using it
○ Understanding the context of where & how your product will be used
6. Get beyond language
○ Account for local languages, and low-literacy users
7. Leverage human relationships
 ○ It doesn’t matter who you are or how much money you have, social interaction is
the primary reason people come online. I
○ For many, social media is the internet - you both connect and express through
social media
○ Community and social infrastructure is also key. Limited resources may mean
that devices and data are shared. And trust in new technology often hinges on
word-of-mouth
8. Leave minimalism at the door
○ The minimal interface just couldn’t compete for the user’s attention in a place
where local visuals are more vibrant and dense
○ https://design.google/library/art-behind-android-marshmallows-new-wallpapers/
○ The line between density and clutter is a tricky one. Balance meaningfulness and
hierarchy with the local aesthetic.
9. Design for delight
○ Users often appreciate design that attempts to charm and surprise - nothing has
to be boring
10. Get out of the studio and into the real world
○ There's a huge difference in reading a report and actually chatting with the locals
○ visit the people and places you’re designing for—ask questions, take notes, and
set aside your own assumptions before knocking on someone else’s door.

Reading - UX Toolbox
Wireframe - is an outline or a sketch of a product or a screen. Wireframes help designers figure out
how a page is arranged, where each piece of a product fits in with the others, and how users will
likely interact with the product.
Prototype - is an early model of a product that demonstrates functionality.
● Figma is a widely used, all-in-one wireframing and prototyping tool that allows
for real-time collaboration among multiple team members. This makes Figma
ideal for designers working remotely and for teams with members in different
locations. Figma is versatile and customizable, with plenty of features to speed
up the design process.
● Adobe XD is great for editing graphics, building prototypes, and collaborating
with other people on your team. It has particularly robust features for tasks that
happen during the later stages of UX design, as you get into what we call
high-fidelity designs.
● Sketch is another popular wireframing and prototyping tool in the UX
community. Unlike some of the other tools you’ll encounter, iOS only
● Bonus: Framer X is a new UX design tool and arguably one of the most
advanced. Designers can use Framer X to develop prototypes and animations
from scratch. To get the most out of Framer X, you need to have some
familiarity with coding, so it has a steeper learning curve than other tools.

Presentation tools:
During the early, conceptual phases of the design process
 ● Google Slides is a web-based presentation program included in Google Workspace,
Google’s suite of productivity software. Google Slides is free, and anyone with a Google
account can create or edit Slides presentations.
● Microsoft PowerPoint comes in both offline and online versions; have to own to create
or edit a presentation
● Keynote available both online and offline; have to own the product to make edits or
create new presentations (iOS)

Image Creation & Manipulation Tools:

● Adobe Illustrator is primarily used for drawing vector images. Vector images (or SVGs)
are images created using points (vectors) to produce perfectly smooth lines. This
makes it easy to edit and resize images in Illustrator; better tool for creating an image
from scratch
● Adobe Photoshop works primarily with photos, known as raster images. These images
are composed of thousands, or even millions, of pixels, the smallest unit of display on a
computer screen. Photoshop has more uses, including image manipulation across file
types, saving images for digital publishing, and even presentations.

Animation Tools:
● Lottie is a tool that helps you edit and ship your animations in just a few clicks.
Animation files formatted in Lottie, also known as LottieFiles, use less file space on your
hard drive since they are code-based. On Lottie, you can also explore animations
created by other designers for inspiration or use.
● Adobe After Effects is often used to add motion graphics and visual effects to designs.
For example, UX designers might utilize Adobe After Effects to make text move across
the screen or create transitions between pages.

Reading - Design Cross Platform Experience

platform- is the medium that users experience your product on
● Desktop computers
● Laptop computers
● Mobile phones
● Tablets
● Wearables, like smart watches
● TVs
● Smart displays

Considerations for designing for multiple platforms:

● Adjusting design elements and features to fit different screen sizes- making every
word, icon, and image count!
● Consider the way users interact with each platform and how those interactions might
affect your design decisions- keyboards & clicks vs. touchscreens, swpies
 ● Consider accessibility when developing your designs at each point- like using a screen
reader, closed captioning, or a switch device; try using some of these to experience that of
disability users
● Layouts refer to the way that information is organized on the screen- Consider the
layout of content on a couple more platforms: tablets combine both the desktop and mobile
phone user experience, which means you can incorporate aspects of desktop and mobile
phone content layouts in your designs.
● Functionality- There are a lot of reasons why users might choose one platform over
another, but functionality and the kind of tasks they want to complete is a huge driver. Your
designs for each platform will likely vary based on how and when you expect users to need
the product.

Reading- The four Cs of designing for multiple platforms:

● Consistency
○ Guidelines that need to be followed in order to stay consistent with their brand
identity
○ Maintaining a consistent design helps improve the user experience and build trust,
because users can expect the design to feel familiar across platforms and products.
● Continuity
○ Continuity in design means that users can maintain their progress as they move from
one platform to the next. User experience might be slightly different, but functionality
remains consistent
● Context
○ This means thinking about when and how users prefer to interact with certain
features on different platforms.
○ Designers have to take into account the context of the user’s situation and adapt the
design for each platform accordingly.
● Complementary
○ One way to create a great cross-platform user experience is to make sure that the
design of each platform adds something new for the user.
○ I.e.- you might build on those emails using the product’s mobile app, which has
features like adding photos directly from your phone. Taking into account how each
platform could uniquely enrich the overall user experience is the best way to create
complementary UX designs.
 Week 2 Glossary
A
Advertising agencies: Teams of creatives hired by clients to build marketing campaigns

Apprenticeships: Provides on-the-job training to help people develop real skills

Assets: Everything from the text and images to the design specifications, like font style, color,
size, and spacing

B Brand identity: The visual appearance and voice of a company

D
Design studio: A one-stop shop for the look of brands, products, and services

Design thinking: A way to create solutions that address a real user problem and are functional
and affordable

E
Empathy: The ability to understand someone else’s feelings or thoughts in a situation

End user: The specific audience a UX designer creates something for

F
Five elements of UX design: Steps a designer takes to turn an idea into a working product.
The five elements are strategy, scope, structure, skeleton, and surface, where each element
refers to a specific layer involved in creating the user experience

Framework: Creates the basic structure that focuses and supports the problem you’re trying
to solve, like an outline for a project

Freelancers: Designers who work for themselves and market their services to businesses to
find customers

G
Generalist: A UX designer with a broad number of responsibilities

Graphic designers: Create visuals that tell a story or message

I
Information architecture: The framework of a website or how it’s organized, categorized, and
structured

Interaction designers: Focus on designing the experience of a product and how it functions

Iteration: Doing something again, by building on previous versions and making tweaks

M Motion designers: Think about what it feels like for a user to move through a product

P
Platform: The medium that users experience your product on

Product: A good, service, or feature

Production designers: Make sure first and final designs match in the finished project
materials and that the assets are ready to be handed off to engineering team

Prototype: An early model of a product that demonstrates functionality

R Responsive web design: Allows a website to change automatically depending on the size of

the device

S
Specialist: A designer who dives deep into one particular type of user experience, like
interaction design, visual design, or motion design

Startup: A new business that wants to develop a unique product or service and bring it to
market

T T-shaped designer: A designer who specializes in one kind of user experience (e.g.,
interaction, visual, motion) and has a breadth of knowledge in other areas

U
User: Any person who uses a product

User-centered design: Puts the user front-and-center

User experience: How a person, the user, feels about interacting with, or experiencing, a
product

UX engineers: Translate the design’s intent into a functioning experience

UX program managers: Ensure clear and timely communication so that the process of
building a useful product moves smoothly from start to finish

UX research: Understand users and learn about their backgrounds, demographics,

motivations, pain points, emotions, and life goals

UX researchers: A type of researcher that conducts studies or interviews to learn about the
users of a product and how people use a product

UX writers: Create the language that appears throughout a digital product, like websites or
mobile apps

V Visual designers: Focus on how the product or technology looks

W Wireframe: An outline or a sketch of a product or a screen

 Joining Design Sprints
Course 1 - WEEK 3

● Describe the phases of a design sprint

● Explain the importance of design sprints
● Plan a design sprint
● Explain the role of an entry-level UX designer during a design sprint
● Describe the importance of retrospectives after design sprints

Design Sprints
● A design sprint is a time-bound process with five phases typically spread out over 5 full,
eight-hour days.
● The goal of design sprints is to solve a critical design challenge through designing,
prototyping, and testing ideas with users.
● Before launching into a design sprint, you need to review your design challenge and ask
yourself these key questions:
○ Are there many potential solutions to your design challenge?
○ Does a design challenge require people from cross-functional teams to weigh
in?
○ Is the design challenge's scope wide enough for a sprint?

Phases of the Design Sprint

1. Understand
2. Ideate
3. Decide
4. Prototype
5. Test

Understand Phase
➢ Sets your sprint on the right track and helps your team get a clear picture of the design
challenge.
➢ Your team takes time to learn from experts and engage in creative discussions with a lot
of different people from other departments and industries. These conversations help you
more clearly understand the design challenge.

Ideate Phase
➢ To get the creative juices flowing, you start this phase by coming up with ideas and
building off of them to create solutions.
➢ Each participant takes time to sketch and present their ideas. Don't worry about your
drawing skills here, the idea is what matters.
➢ On top of all the ideating (naturally) you’ll also need to start planning for user testing.
start recruiting users that fit your target profile now, so the sprint stays on schedule.
Decide Phase
➢ Now it's time to decide which solutions you want to build. Finally, you'll wrap up the day
by creating a step-by-step blueprint for your prototype.

Prototype Phase
➢ You're now ready to build the first version of your new app feature. You don't need a
finished product, just something realistic enough to test with users. By focusing only on
what the user experiences on their screen.
➢ During this phase, you also finish prepping for user testing by confirming the test
schedule, finalizing interview questions, and making sure your prototype is good to go.

Test Phase
➢ During user testing, you'll have a diverse group of people test your product and provide
feedback.
➢ As users test your prototype, you observe how they react and then interview them about
their experiences. Your team gains critical insight about changes that need to be made
before you launch the new feature.

Additional Resources
If you’re looking for a deeper dive into design sprints, why not take it up with the source? The Google
Design Sprint Kit is an open-source resource for anyone who is learning about or running design
sprints. case studies about design sprints that have solved all kinds of challenges; templates for
decks and activities

In addition, check out this article on Medium about the importance of design sprints.

Reading - Sprint by Jake Knapp. Chapter

“Start at the End” - to get an overview of how to establish long-term goals for a sprint
“Liftoff” - to motivate you to get started with your first sprint

Reading - In the real world, you’ll need to create a design sprint brief in order to prepare for an
upcoming design sprint. Here are a couple of resources to help you make your first design sprint
brief when you're on-the-job as a UX designer soon.

● Design sprint brief template. Using what you’ve learned from the video, it’s your turn to
create a brief based on your team’s needs. This template from the Google Design
Sprint Kit can help you get started.
 ● Design sprint template tool. If you want to bring your design sprint planning beyond a
document, try a template tool like this one from MURAL. With a template tool, you can
customize your brief to fit your team’s needs, integrate your brief with the tools your
team already uses, and create materials that are well-designed and ready to share with
clients.

Reading - Learn more about an entry-level designer’s role in a sprint

You’re getting the hang of all things design sprints! As you continue to explore, you might be curious
to learn more about an entry-level UX designer’s role in a sprint. We’ve got the inside scoop for you!
Check out this post from the INKONIQ BLOG about how a design sprint works at Google and this
article on Medium about what one UX designer learned from their very first design sprint.

Additional Resources:
● https://smile.amazon.com/Sprint-Solve-Problems-Test-Ideas-ebook/dp/B010MH1DAQ/re
f=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520423427&sr=8-1&keywords=sprint
● https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeB_OpLspKJGiKv1CYkWFFw

Reading - Common Retrospective Questions

A retrospective is a collaborative critique of the design sprint. The goal of a retrospective is to

make sure everyone who took part in the sprint has the chance to give feedback and think about
opportunities for improvement. The only bad suggestion is the one not shared!

The key questions to ask during a retrospective are:

➢ What went well?

a. Which tools saved you the most time and effort?
b. When did you feel the most satisfaction?
c. What helped you make your best contribution to the team during this sprint?
➢ What can be improved?
● Avoid groupthink; empowered > shamed
 ● Identify ways that the team could have ended up with a better solution.
a. What went wrong that caught you off guard?
b. Which problems came up the most often?
c. When do you think we experienced the biggest challenge as a team?
➢ Then examine the sprint’s outcome, or final product
● Identify ways that the team could have ended up with a better solution.
a. Did the team overestimate or underestimate the work required to complete the
design?
b. Did an external factor derail your productivity?
c. And most importantly, does the final design actually solve the user problem?
➢ Lessons Learned
● By the end of the retrospective meeting, your team will have a better understanding
of what went well and what could be improved
● Before your next sprint, review the conclusions you reached at the end of the last
retrospective. Your conclusions should inform how you conduct the next sprint.
a. What did you discover during the sprint that you’re still wondering about?
b. How could the current process be holding the team back from creating better
solutions?
 Week 3 Glossary
A
Advertising agencies: Teams of creatives hired by clients to build marketing campaigns

Apprenticeships: Provides on-the-job training to help people develop real skills

Assets: Everything from the text and images to the design specifications, like font style, color,
size, and spacing

B Brand identity: The visual appearance and voice of a company

D
Design sprint: A time-bound process, with five phases typically spread over five full 8-hour
days. The goal of design sprints is to answer critical business questions through designing,
prototyping, and testing ideas with users

Design studio: A one-stop shop for the look of brands, products and services

Design thinking: A way to create solutions that address a real user problem and are functional
and affordable

E
Empathy: The ability to understand someone else’s feelings or thoughts in a situation

End user: The specific audience a UX designer creates something for

F
Five elements of UX design: Steps a designer takes to turn an idea into a working product.
The five elements are strategy, scope, structure, skeleton, and surface, where each element
refers to a specific layer involved in creating the user experience

Framework: Creates the basic structure that focuses and supports the problem you’re trying
to solve, like an outline for a project

Freelancers: Designers who work for themselves and market their services to businesses to
find customers

G
Generalist: A UX designer with a broad number of responsibilities
Graphic designers: Create visuals that tell a story or message

I
Information architecture: The framework of a website or how it’s organized, categorized, and
structured

Interaction designers: Focus on designing the experience of a product and how it functions

Iteration: Doing something again, by building on previous versions and making tweaks

M Motion designers: Think about what it feels like for a user to move through a product

P
Platform: The medium that users experience your product on

Product: A good, service, or feature

Production designers: Make sure first and final designs match in the finished project
materials and that the assets are ready to be handed off to engineering team

Prototype: An early model of a product that demonstrates functionality

R
Responsive web design: Allows a website to change automatically depending on the size of
the device

Retrospective: A collaborative critique of the team’s design sprint

S
Specialist: A designer who dives deep into one particular type of user experience, like
interaction design, visual design, or motion design

Sprint Brief: A document that you share with all your attendees to help them prepare for the
sprint

Startup: A new business that wants to develop a unique product or service and bring it to
market
T T-shaped designer: A designer who specializes in one kind of user experience (e.g.,
interaction, visual, motion) and has a breadth of knowledge in other areas

U
User: Any person who uses a product

User-centered design: Puts the user front-and-center

User experience: How a person, the user, feels about interacting with, or experiencing, a
product

UX engineers: Translate the design’s intent into a functioning experience

UX program managers: Ensure clear and timely communication so that the process of
building a useful product moves smoothly from start to finish

UX research: Understand users and learn about their backgrounds, demographics,

motivations, pain points, emotions, and life goals

UX researchers: A type of researcher that conducts studies or interviews to learn about the
users of a product and how people use a product

UX writers: Create the language that appears throughout a digital product, like websites or
mobile apps

V Visual designers: Focus on how the product or technology looks

W Wireframe: An outline or a sketch of a product or a screen

 Building a Professional Presence
Course 1 - WEEK 4
● Describe a UX design portfolio
● Create an online portfolio to showcase UX design work
● Recognize the essentials of a good portfolio
● Apply storytelling and branding elements to a UX design portfolio
● Use writing best practices in a UX design portfolio
● Explain how to build a professional design presence online
● Create or update professional profiles on social media
● Join and participate in online UX communities
● Explain impostor syndrome and ways to overcome it
● Explore strategies for reaching out to potential mentors
● Discuss best practices for building a professional network

Learning Objectives:
★ what a portfolio is and why UX designers use them
★ how to choose a website builder for your portfolio - Creation of website
★ how to demonstrate your unique value and personal brand through the story you tell
★ how to describe your work concisely and articulately
★ how to create a consistent online presence
★ how to network with others and find a mentor

Portfolio Examples:
● Lisa - www.lisasuefischer.com
● Shabi - www.shabnamkashani.com
● Dane - danegalbraith.com
● Nicolas - www.nicolaspellegrino.com
● Josh - joshglucas.com
● Kartik - www.kartikrao.in
● Kaiwei - kaiwei.design
● Anqi - www.anqiwan.com
● Carson - www.carsonyoung.ca
● Tongfang - www.tongfangsun.xyz
● Penny - pennybanks.com

Before website builders (WYSIWYG - what you see is what you get) designers used to create
everything in HTML and CSS. Coding gives more flexibility, but does provide more of a
challenge. Make sure your UX work is front and center, after all this is what its all about.

keep these questions in mind to help you find the website builder that best meets your unique needs.
1. Do I know how to code, or should I use a website builder that doesn't require coding
experience?
2. Is it a low-cost or free option?
 3. Does it offer customizable templates?
4. Does it provide flexibility and complete control over design?

UX Portfolio Best Practices:

● Make it instantly clear who you are and what you do

● Express yourself in a way that fits your job interest
● Be easily contactable.
● Clarify your current employment status.
● Reflect your personality.
● Include explanatory images in your case studies.
● Present your process, and not just your final product.
● Use clear microcopy.
● Consider adding your CV.
● Mention the basic details of each project.
● Only include your best work.

Reading: 7 Best WIX UX Portfolios

https://www.wix.com/blog/creative/2020/06/ux-portfolio-examples
Tips for execution:
● Whitespace around the intro to draw focus
● Website menu stays fixed to the screen, providing convenient navigation throughout
● Utilize the top fold of your website to introduce yourself and briefly clarify your areas of
expertise
● Create a fixed logo that conveys your personal branding
● Contact information [there are a few possibilities]: you can create a dedicated contact
page, website footer, ‘About’ page, or all of the above.
● Number projects, define the problem, and number the solutions → create some type of
organization
● starting with an overview of the project → clearly indicating your role, the main mission
and the timeline
● include a thorough case study for each of completed project - walk through work process
● Highlight key elements covered of [any] UX design process - from ideation to wireframes
and prototypes, UX research and more. All of this is presented alongside images and
concise, explanatory text.
● Adding descriptive images into your case studies not only makes the text more readable
and inviting, but can also help site visitors better understand your process.
● “before and after” shots of the interfaces, as well as images of surveys, paper prototypes
and cards that her team used throughout the research
● Real photos of her and her team at work help break up the text and make the case
studies feel more personal
● Employ your other relevant skills and talents throughout portfolio
● Feedback/suggestion forum at the end of each project for user
 ● Cache section showcase other works that didn’t make the cut

Pro-Tips:
1. Establish your personal brand - where your personality, unique skills, and values intersect
with your personal persona
2. Tell a story - with a beginning middle and end to create interaction and engagement
3. Keep text to a minimum - highlight the key insights that help inform the design process;
if/when more explanation is needed try to create click-offs to PDFs or other pages.
4. Simple & intuitive navigation
5. Register your domain name so your website address doesn’t include the website builder
name.
6. Diversity in projects 3-6 projects that each highlight a different facet of your design process.
7. Feature case studies - leads user through design process from beginning to end
a. What’s the problem we're trying to solve?
b. What process did we follow?
c. Where did you succeed or fail?
d. What insights informed your design decisions along the way?
e. What was the ultimate solution?
f. Why was that solution the best?
g. Include → the project name, duration, your role on the design team & personal
contributions, the project goal, the research conducted, the intended audience,
sketches &/or wireframes, user testing result, final design, & conclusion about what
you learned in the process
h. Caution → do not share proprietary or sensitive info; honor non-disclosure
agreements
8. Make sure your website is responsive- on screen appearance adjusts to the users device
9. Test your website - on different devices to make sure everything functions and is aligned
properly

Exploring Personal Branding

personal brand - where your personality, unique skills, and values intersect with your public persona
Your personal brand is your primary source of marketing.

How do you decide what your personal brand should be?

1. What am I naturally good at?
2. What have I learned to do well?
3. What do I enjoy?
4. What do I value?
5. How do other people describe me and my talents?
6. What do I want people to recognize me for?

Why is branding important?

Your personal brand is what makes you stand out from the crowd. You want people to understand
who you are, your passions, and your strengths right away. A strong personal brand will also help
match you with a company that shares similar values. You want your public-perception and
self-perception to be as close as possible, and your brand remains consistent across the entirety of
your online presence.

Reading: Examples of Strong Personal Brands

1. Oprah - Her personal brand lets people know that Oprah’s content will be powerful and
uplifting. Just a mention of the name “Oprah” evokes images of honesty and empathy.
Consistent across her platforms too (O! Magazine, Oprah Radio, the Oprah Show)
2. Sarah Cooper - comedian & author that pokes fun at life, which shows consistently in her
headlines and other ways across her website and youtube
3. Bill Nye - scientist and engineer who’s famous for making science fun and engaging. Notice
that he uses puns in his tweets, while still presenting useful facts about science. The voice
that he tweets in is consistent with his television personality, and maintains his brand as the
“goofy science expert.”
Your personal brand is an essential way to demonstrate your value as a designer. Whatever your
brand is, make sure that it’s specific, clear, and above all, consistent in all of your work

Reading: Start to build your own Personal Brand

Start by thinking of a few words and core values that you feel accurately sum up you and your work.
You'll want to reflect the personal and stylistic preferences in your personal brand.Your personal
brand should be recognizable across all of your online presence.

1. Create a personal logo - that accurately reflects you as a designer

2. Make the most of fonts and colors - consistency is key; these elements also evoke emotion
3. Keep your voice consistent - consistency is key; also use appropriate placement
4. Use graphics, animations, and photography - imagery gives a more personal touch
5. Be yourself - do not overthink! Post what feels natural to you and aligns with your interests,
without thinking too hard about appearing a certain way. This is why your personal brand
should align closely with who you are.

Use Writing Best Practices in Your Portfolio:

Main goal is structure the info clearly & concisely, highlight the most important parts, and keep it
easy to skim
● Avoid complicated language & jargon
● Clear descriptors, not buzz words
● Approachable
● Keywords & UX concepts
● Inject personality
● Find a trusted editor

Intro Page:
● “Above the fold” of the homepage of a website ; Intro = name & what you do, establish your
personal brand

About Me Page:
● What kind of work do you do?
 ● Values
● Credentials, accolades & notable clients
● Where do you currently work (if you're in the field)?
● Links to portfolio & contacting professional networking sites
Building Your Online Presence:
● Personal statement = 1-2 sentences that describe what you do and what you stand for. The
best personal statements are memorable and catchy
● Photos - consistent profile across platforms
● Color scheme, logo, font - the look and feel consistent across platforms

Create Or Update Social Media Profiles:

● LinkedIn
○ LinkedIn is a professional networking site where you can connect with people you
know, learn more about companies, read about interesting ideas, and post your own
content. LinkedIn is a great place to host your resume and get noticed by recruiters.
○ Top website to connect with recruiters
○ Follow specific companies and hashtags
○ Linkedin will tell you if you're friends with friends that identify with the company/job
● Twitter
○ Twitter, a social media platform where you can follow people, interact with their posts,
and share your own ideas
○ better for reading posts from prominent people in the UX design industry, starting
conversations with peers, and learning from industry thought leaders on a more
personal level
○ start by following industry insiders and liking and retweeting their posts.
○ Read, reply, tag, - like striking a conversation
● In addition, Medium, Dribbble, and Behance are tailored specifically for designers to share
their work and network. Great places to talk to other designers, get feedback on your design
work, and look for jobs. Dribbble and Behance are good supplements to a portfolio

Best Practices To Develop An Online Presence:

Make sure that all of your professional social media profiles are filled out completely and include
the following information:
● name
● education, including this certificate program
● work experience or interests
● skills (e.g., problem solving, collaborating, tools like Figma and Adobe XD, and more)
● A professional photo of yourself

LinkedIn is an important site for networking and job searching. Employers are likely to check your
LinkedIn when considering you for a job:
location
Links to your portfolio and resume
Qualifications → including past work experience and the completion of this certificate
Outstanding achievements (e.g., employee of the month, awards, special recognitions)

Twitter - Even with limited text, you can still talk about your goals and what you do professionally.
Twitter is more of a glimpse into your personality, personal brand, and interests.
Update Existing Online Profiles:
● Do a Google Search on your name, you can see exactly what a recruiter will find if they
look up your name.
● Make all profile pictures professional. This does not have to be a professional portrait,
but you should choose a clear photo of yourself with minimal distracting elements.
● Make personal profiles and/or albums private. It can be helpful to separate your
personal online profiles from your professional ones. Try to keep the amount of
personal information that a recruiter can view to a minimum.
● Carefully review your content. Be on the lookout for any of your posts that might be
inappropriate or controversial

Add To Your Portfolio: include resume, links to social media, easy to find contact info

https://www.interaction-design.org/join
https://www.themuse.com/advice/want-people-to-accept-your-linkedin-requests-use-these-10-te
mplates
 Week 4 Glossary
A

Above the fold: The content on a webpage that doesn’t require scrolling to experience

Advertising agencies: Teams of creatives hired by clients to build marketing campaigns

Apprenticeships: Provides on-the-job training to help people develop real skills

Assets: Everything from the text and images to the design specifications, like font style, color,
size, and spacing

B Brand identity: The visual appearance and voice of a company

C Case study: Leads you through a design process from beginning to end

Design sprint: A time-bound process with five phases typically spread over five 8-hour days.
The goal of design sprints is to answer critical business questions through designing,
prototyping, and testing ideas with users

Design studio: A one-stop shop for the look of brands, products and services

Design thinking: A way to create solutions that address a real user problem and are functional
and affordable

Domain: Address of your website

Empathy: The ability to understand someone else’s feelings or thoughts in a situation

End user: The specific audience a UX designer creates something for

Five elements of UX design: Steps a designer takes to turn an idea into a working product.
The five elements are strategy, scope, structure, skeleton, and surface, where each element
refers to a specific layer involved in creating the user experience

Framework: Creates the basic structure that focuses and supports the problem you’re trying
to solve, like an outline for a project
Freelancers: Designers who work for themselves and market their services to businesses to
find customers

Generalist: A UX designer with a broad number of responsibilities

Graphic designers: Create visuals that tell a story or message

Impostor syndrome: The belief that you’re unskilled, inferior to others, or bad at your job,
despite your success

Information architecture: The framework of a website or how it’s organized, categorized, and
structured

Interaction designers: Focus on designing the experience of a product and how it functions
Iteration: Doing something again, by building on previous versions and making tweaks

M Motion designers: Think about what it feels like for a user to move through a product

Networking: Interacting with other people to develop professional contacts and learn more
about a job industry

Non-disclosure agreement: A contract an employee might sign when working with a

business, in which they agree not to share sensitive information

Personal brand: The way in which your personality, unique skills, and values as a designer
intersect with your public persona

Personal statement: A one or two-sentence phrase that describes what you do and what you
stand for

Platform: The medium that users experience your product on

Portfolio: A collection of work you’ve created that shows your skills in a certain area

Product: A good, service, or feature

Production designers: Make sure first and final designs match in the finished project
materials and that the assets are ready to be handed off to engineering team

Prototype: An early model of a product that demonstrates functionality

Responsive web design: Allows a website to change automatically depending on the size of
the device

Retrospective: A collaborative critique of the team’s design sprint

Specialist: A designer who dives deep into one particular type of user experience, like
interaction design, visual design, or motion design

Sprint Brief: A document that you share with all your attendees to help them prepare for the
Sprint

Startup: A new business that wants to develop a unique product or service and bring it to
Market

T T-shaped designer: A designer who specializes in one kind of user experience (e.g.,
interaction, visual, motion) and has a breadth of knowledge in other areas

User: Any person who uses a product

User-centered design: Puts the user front-and-center

User experience: How a person, the user, feels about interacting with, or experiencing, a
product

UX engineers: Translate the design’s intent into a functioning experience

UX program managers: Ensure clear and timely communication so that the process of
building a useful product moves smoothly from start to finish

UX research: Understand users and learn about their backgrounds, demographics,

motivations, pain points, emotions, and life goals
UX researchers: A type of researcher that conducts studies or interviews to learn about the
users of a product and how people use a product

UX writers: Create the language that appears throughout a digital product, like websites or
mobile apps

V Visual designers: Focus on how the product or technology looks

W Wireframe: An outline or a sketch of a product or a screen