Resources for Learning UX in 2020
With a new decade comes a fresh start and exciting opportunities for innovative learning experiences to help transition into a new field. Demand for UX professionals has risen massively in many territories including Europe, the US, the Middle East, and Australia. Demand from companies seeking skilled and experienced UX employees has outstripped supply, and as a result, UX salaries have increased as firms are finding they are having to compete to attract those with the right skills and experience.
Launching a career in user experience can seem fairly ambiguous and intimidating for most people looking to get started. Being that UX as a field is so multidisciplinary, there is no singular path or definitive guideline for becoming an industry professional.
After some deep-dive research scouring the internet for the best UX learning content currently available on the web, I’ve compiled a list of some of the most beneficial courses to help you build the foundation you need to get started. Some of the content included on this list I’ve previously noted in an article titled ‘Inclusive UX Education: Designing a Free Online Learning Curriculum’, but this article has expanded to include fresh content from different platforms offered by seasoned industry veterans.
Towards the end of this article (in which some of these links may contain affiliates), I’ve also included helpful links written by people at leading companies to help you with things such as interview prep, portfolio presentation, reading lists, job hunting, and other things that will help you sharpen your skills and navigate your way into working professionally with a great team within the field of user experience.
Best Online Learning Resources for User Experience in 2020 (in my opinion):
Introduction to User Experience Design — Georgia Tech University via Coursera
This course taught by Dr. Rosa Arriaga, Senior Research Scientist at Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing is geared towards the novice. If you are coming in fresh with little to no background of understanding of user experience research and design, this course is a great place to start for an in-depth, beginner-friendly introduction taught by a world-class instructor at a leading university. The course description is as outlined:
The focus of this course is to introduce the learner to User Experience (UX) Design. This course is geared toward the novice. It is for learners that have heard about “user experience” or “user interface” design but don’t really know much about these disciplines.
The course mantra is that “Design is a systematic and data-driven process.” Design is systematic because it is based on a set of techniques and also on a cycle of discovery.
In this course, the learner is introduced to the four-step user interface design cycle. Along the way learners are exposed to a set of techniques to gather information about a) what the user needs b)how to design and model interfaces based on these and then how to evaluate the design to ascertain that the user’s goals are met. These techniques are tools that are used in a standardized manner and give us the data we use in our design.
This means that anyone (regardless of their current training) that is willing to learn these techniques and follow the proposed cycle can be a UX designer!
Click here to find out more about this course:
Interaction Design Specialization — University of California San Diego
This specialization offers an engaging and immersive 8-course module consisting of:
· An introduction to Human-Centred Design
· Introduction to design principles
· Social computing
· Input and interaction
· User experience: research & prototyping
· Information design
· Designing, running and analyzing experiments
· Design capstone project
This program currently has a 4.3/5 rating on Class Central and is heavily cited on various UX community spaces such as UX Mastery Forum and the user experience sub Reddit as one of the best introductory courses to user research and UX in general on the web. Having had the pleasure of taking this program when I was finishing my undergraduate HCI studies, I can’t recommend it enough. Professor Scott Klemmer eloquently and passionately weaves the theory and application of interaction design, cognitive psychology, user interface design and human-computer interaction seamlessly throughout all 8 courses, setting a foundation of knowledge for any aspiring UX Research professional.
Participants will learn about need-finding and observation techniques, how to carry out rapid prototyping, principles for effective interface design, and strategies for evaluating interfaces. A mixture of quizzes and peer-reviewed assignments help reinforce learning as well as introduces learners to hands-on practice.
This specialization also offers office hours and a Slack group for support and discussion.
If you’re just getting started and looking for a CV boost in the form of a legitimate UX credential as well as a capstone project you can showcase to potential employers via portfolio case study, I highly recommend this specialization.
Click here to find out more about this course:
Human Computer Interaction — Georgia Tech via EdX
This self-paced Human-Computer Interaction Specialization from Georgia Tech University teaches a variety of topics such as:
- The fundamental guidelines and heuristics of user interface design to inform the creation of strong user interfaces, from major principles like discoverability and affordances to frameworks like distributed cognition and task analysis.
- The stages of the design life cycle, including need-finding and requirements gathering; individual and group brainstorming; low- to high-fidelity prototyping; and qualitative, quantitative, and heuristic evaluation of human-computer interfaces.
- The power of human-computer interaction in the modern world and the role it can play in promoting equity, accessibility, and progress.
- The application of modern development frameworks and theories like the Agile Method, Universal Design, Activity Theory, and Value-Sensitive Design to the creation of computational interfaces.
University of Michigan User Experience Research and Design Specialization
In this User Experience Research and Design Specialization on Cousera (previously offered on EdX) students will be taught how to integrate UX Research and UX Design to create great products through understanding user needs, rapidly generating prototypes, and evaluating design concepts. Learners will gain hands-on experience with taking a product from initial concept, through user research, ideation and refinement, formal analysis, prototyping, and user testing, applying perspectives and methods to ensure a great user experience at every step.
This program consists of 9 courses
· Introduction to User Experience
· Principles for Designing for Humans
· Evaluating Designs for Humans
· UX Design from Concept to wireframe
· UX Design: From Wireframe to Prototype
· Understanding User Needs
· UX Research Surveys
· UX Research at scale: analytics and online experiments
· UX (user experience) Capstone project
Similar to the UCSD Interaction Design Specialization, this course yields a legitimate credential from one of the most respected higher education institutions in America (Go Blue!) and culminates with a capstone project which you’ll be able to use as a portfolio piece.
The production quality and depth of the material offered in this program is very impressive to say the least. The frequent quizzes and assignments go a long way in helping learners reinforce material discussed. I have no doubt this program will continue to gain popularity thanks to its incredibly polished content and brand name institution credibility.
Click here to find out more about this course:
User Experience Basics Hosted by Accenture via Futurelearn
In this free course offered by Accenture, students will learn the foundations of UX design and what distinguishes good from bad UX. Learners will also explore the UX design process; user research, designing experience, using goals and ideas to draw wireframes and then building usable prototypes. Students will also learn about different techniques that can be used to test and develop designs, so that they’re ready to release to the market.
This 3-week course consists of:
Week 1: Why is user experience important?
- The foundations of UX design
- What is ‘good usability’?
Week 2: User experience basics
- The importance of user research
- User journeys
- Visual design
- Structuring your site
- Wireframes and interactive prototypes
Week 3: Tools and testing
- Types of user testing
- Interaction design
- The importance of analyzing data
Click here to find out more about this course:
Udemy Courses Hosted by Joe Natoli
Author and speaker Joe Natoli has been working in the field of user experience for over 29 years. As an industry veteran, he brings a wealth of experience and insights to the table in his five well crafted and rigorously produced online courses hosted on Udemy. Joe devotes half of his practice to writing, coaching, and speaking. From guiding students at the beginning of their careers to integrating UX into the work of seasoned veteran developers and designers, he is immensely passionate about the inherent power of UX and design.
The five classes he offers on Udemy are:
UX Strategy Fundamentals
Information Architecture (IA) Fundamentals
User Experience Design Fundamentals
UX & Web Design Master Course: Strategy, Design, Development
Design Rules: Principles + Practices for Great UI Design
Other helpful resources
Interviewing Strategies and gaging the UX maturity level of a company:
Reading lists:
Strategies for understanding and getting started in UX Research:
If you are thinking of taking a UX Bootcamp:
Great Talks for Beginners:
