UX Design: Creating a Great User Experience
Bring effective user-centered digital experiences to your business or brand in this 6 week course.
Course overview
This online short course in user experience (UX) design has been created specifically for people looking to gain a thorough understanding of the UX design process, and how it can be used to solve real and complex business problems.
Whether you are currently leading on the user experience objectives within your company or are building your own brand, on this short, online course you will gain the confidence to be creative and experimental when it comes to applying UX tools, methods and principles to key projects and workflows.
Co-developed by experienced subject specialists from Falmouth University’s renowned creative and industry-focused environment, you will gain the contemporary knowledge and skills required to excel in UX design.
You will:
- Develop an understanding of the UX design process and its role in industry
- Uncover the role UX design can play in solving complex business problems
- Discover the different steps of the design process and how to turn rough sketches to interactive design prototypes
- Explore the methods behind user research and how to gather impactful insights
- Understand the importance of usability and testing your design solutions
- Sharpen your critical thinking, problem solving and analysis skills
Course details
Combining theoretical and practical approaches, this six-week short course will improve your understanding of UX design and equip you with the tools and principles to implement UX solutions to a range of different real-world problems in the context of your business or brand.
In the first session, you will get a thorough introduction to the foundations of UX design. You will then explore a different element of the UX process each week, from user research and discovery, through to ideas generation, design and testing your designs.
You will finish the course with a greater confidence in your theoretical knowledge and practical skills and will feel empowered to devise and implement UX design solutions within your chosen context.
Weekly topics
You will be introduced to the foundations and key processes involved in UX design.
You will explore user research and the methods used to gather insights to understand and learn as much as possible about users and the context of use.
This will introduce methods like surveys, interviews and observations to develop a deep understanding of user needs and goals.
You will learn how to find and assess problems and turn research into deliverables through mapping out user flows, journey mapping and creating personas.
You will be introduced to UI design and explore importance of Visual Design. You will learn about design patterns, design principles and how to apply colour and typography to a design.
You will explore the different steps of the design process and how to turn ideas into reality; from sketches and wireframes to prototypes, and why they are valuable to the design process.
You will learn the importance of testing design solutions and how evaluate for usability issues using heuristics and structured observations.
Course structures and specific weekly sessions can change as part of our course enhancement and review processes. If a certain session is important to you, please discuss it with our team: shortcourses@falmouth.ac.uk
How you'll learn
Studying online is the ideal option for those looking for flexibility while elevating their career prospects. Our online short courses have been designed from the outset to be delivered online, meaning they're crafted specifically for you to study remotely.
You'll spend approximately four hours a week completing your studies. This may include:
- Reviewing all core lecture content and sharing your reflections on the topics discussed
- Reading and responding to discussions and challenge activities
- Completing required reading
- Attending weekly webinars with your tutor and peers (or watching the recording if you can't attend)
- Asking questions and sharing your thoughts with your tutors and peers
- Completing quizzes to test your knowledge
Through a combination of these teaching methods, you will be encouraged to push yourself, explore professional skills and develop expertise to take back into industry.
You will access all materials via our dedicated virtual learning environment – known as Learn. This is also where you will find all key documentation and any course announcements.
You'll be supported by your tutor, who will deliver weekly webinars and facilitate the online forums.
How you'll be assessed
This course will culminate in a multiple-choice quiz to test your learning and understanding. The quiz is taken and submitted online at the end of the course and certification will be presented upon successful completion of the quiz (70% pass mark).
The quiz can be attempted as many times as required within a 30-day access period following completion of week 6 of the course. You will still be able to access your learning materials during this time to support completion of the quiz.
Please note, this course does not offer university credits but successful participants will be awarded a certificate of completion alongside building key skills for the workplace.
Staff
Our subject matter experts, who have developed and will deliver the course, have real-life experience of working within industry as well as experience of teaching. They are supportive and committed to helping you to develop digital competencies, and bring understanding of a range of modes of practice that specifically relate to SMEs.
Resources and support
The following resources are available to participants enrolled on our online short courses:
- Dedicated easy-to-use virtual learning environment (VLE) – known as Learn
- 24/7 support available through the VLE
- An online learning community
- Accessible online audio/visual content
- Optional weekly webinars
- Support via your online tutor for all course-related and academic queries.
You can also contact our shortcourses@falmouth.ac.uk email if you require any support with any other aspects of your studies.
Our collaborative partnership
This project is part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Cornwall Council has been chosen by the UK Government as a Lead Authority for the fund and is responsible for monitoring the progress of projects funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides funding for local investment. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK by investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit the website.
