User Experience: The Beginner’s Guide
How This Course Will Help Your Career
What You’ll Learn
- An introduction to the areas of study categorized under the umbrella of “user experience”
- Key design principles established over the last four decades that together form the basis of a user’s experience of a product or service
- Key psychological principles that underlie these design principles
- What cognitive processes underlie human-computer interaction, and how to design with this knowledge in mind
- How visual perception affects the viewing experience
- Examples of good and bad design to help you avoid common mistakes
- The importance of usability over aesthetics
User experience, or UX, has been a buzzword since about 2005, and according to tech research firm Gartner, the focus on digital experience is no longer limited to digital-born companies anymore. Chances are, you’ve heard of the term, or even have it on your portfolio. But, like most of us, there’s also a good chance that you sometimes feel unsure of what the term “user experience” actually covers.
[User experience] is used by people to say, ‘I’m a user experience designer, I design websites’, or ‘I design apps.’ […] and they think the experience is that simple device, the website, or the app, or who knows what. No! It’s everything—it’s the way you experience the world, it’s the way you experience your life, it’s the way you experience the service. Or, yeah, an app or a computer system. But it’s a system that’s everything.”
— Don Norman, pioneer and inventor of the term “user experience”, in an interview with NNGroup
As indicated by Don Norman, User Experience is an umbrella term that covers a number of different areas. When you work with user experience, it’s crucial to have a good understanding of what those areas are so that you know what tools are available to you.
Throughout this course, you will gain a thorough understanding of the various design principles that come together to create a user’s experience when using a product or service. As you proceed, you’ll learn the value user experience design brings to a project, and what areas you must consider when you want to design great user experiences. Because user experience is an evolving term, we can’t give you a definition of ‘user experience’ to end all discussions, but we will provide you with a solid understanding of the different aspects of user experience, so it becomes clear in your mind what is involved in creating great UX designs.
If you are new to the Interaction Design Foundation, this course is a great place to start because it brings together materials from many of our other courses. This provides you with both an excellent introduction to user experience and with a preview of the courses we have to offer to help you develop your future career. After each lesson, we will introduce you to the courses you can take if a specific topic has caught your attention. That way, you’ll find it easy to continue your learning journey.
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Is This Course Right for You?
This is a beginner-level course suitable for newcomers and UX professionals who want to brush up on the different areas UX covers:
- UX designers looking to boost their work experience with evidence-based knowledge as well as hands-on learning
- Project managers who want to build user-centered products that stand out from the competition
- Software engineers interested in understanding user experience
- Entrepreneurs who want to gain a deep understanding of user experience so as to ship the best products
- Marketers looking to gain a holistic view of what constitutes a user’s experience with a product or brand
- Newcomers to design who are considering making a switch to UX design
Courses in the Interaction Design Foundation are designed to contain comprehensive, evidence-based content, while ensuring that the learning curve is never too steep. All participants will have the opportunity to share ideas, seek help with tests, and enjoy the social aspects afforded by our open and friendly forum.
Learn and Work with a Global Team of Designers
You’ll join a global community and work together to improve your skills and career opportunities. Connect with helpful peers and make friends with like-minded individuals as you push deeper into the exciting and booming industry of design.
Lessons in This Course
- Each week, one lesson becomes available.
- There’s no time limit to finish a course. Lessons have no deadlines.
- Estimated learning time: 18 hours 12 mins spread over 6 weeks.
Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction
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0.1: A Beginner's Guide to User Experience (7 mins)
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0.2: An introduction to courses from the Interaction Design Foundation (37 mins)
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0.3: Let our community help you (1 min)
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0.4: How to Earn Your Course Certificate (15 mins)
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0.5: Meet your peers online in our discussion forums (6 mins)
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0.6: Meet and learn from design professionals at an upcoming meet-up (1 min)
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0.7: Gain Timeless Knowledge Through Courses From the Interaction Design Foundation (21 mins)
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0.8: Mandatory vs. Optional Lesson Items (7 mins)
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0.9: A Mix Between Video-Based and Text-Based Lesson Content (8 mins)
Lesson 1: Introduction to User Experience
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1.1: Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
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1.2: What is User Experience? (16 mins)
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1.3: Why is UX Design so Important (16 mins)
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1.4: Mind the Empathy Gap (1 hour 5 mins)
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1.5: Usability: A part of the User Experience (50 mins)
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1.6: Human Centered Design (25 mins)
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1.7: Discussion (6 mins)
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1.8: Congratulations and Recap (7 mins)
Lesson 2: Why You Should Care about User Experience
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2.1: Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
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2.2: How to Sell UX Design to Clients (2 hours 28 mins)
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2.3: User Research: What It Is and Why You Should Do It (25 mins)
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2.4: Discussion Forum (6 mins)
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2.5: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 3: Understanding User Experience
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3.1: Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
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3.2: Marc Hassenzahl’s Introduction to User Experience (33 mins)
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3.3: Marc Hassenzahl’s Guidelines for Experience Design (1 hour 9 mins)
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3.4: Marc Hassenzahl’s Future Directions for Experience Design (38 mins)
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3.5: An Experience Story -Discussion (7 mins)
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3.6: Discussion (6 mins)
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3.7: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 4: Three Aspects of Product Experience
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4.1: Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
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4.2: Norman's Three Levels of Design (38 mins)
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4.3: Visceral Level of Processing (49 mins)
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4.4: Behavioral Level of Processing (24 mins)
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4.5: The Reflective Level of Emotional Design (17 mins)
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4.6: Identifying Examples of Norman's Three Types of Design (6 mins)
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4.7: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 5: Emotion and Experience
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5.1: Welcome and Introduction (17 mins)
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5.2: Emotions in Systems (27 mins)
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5.3: Application Areas (1 hour 1 min)
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5.4: Crackers Case Study (58 mins)
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5.5: Designing for Peak Experience (1 hour 0 mins)
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5.6: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 6: Design Thinking
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6.1: Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
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6.2: 5 Stages in the Design Thinking Process (43 mins)
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6.3: Stage 1 in the Design Thinking Process: Empathise with Your Users (28 mins)
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6.4: Stage 2 in the Design Thinking Process: Define the Problem and Interpret the Results (22 mins)
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6.5: Stage 3 in the Design Thinking Process: Ideate (22 mins)
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6.6: Stage 4 in the Design Thinking Process: Prototype (17 mins)
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6.7: Stage 5 in the Design Thinking Process: Test (21 mins)
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6.8: Discussion Forum (7 mins)
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6.9: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 7: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up
Learning Paths
This course is part of 10 learning paths:
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UX Designer Learning PathBecome a UX Designer through 11 courses in 4 parts
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Interaction Designer Learning PathBecome a Interaction Designer through 10 courses in 4 parts
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Visual Designer Learning PathBecome a Visual Designer through 9 courses in 4 parts
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Usability Expert Learning PathBecome a Usability Expert through 9 courses in 4 parts
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UI Designer Learning PathBecome a UI Designer through 10 courses in 4 parts
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Front-End Developer Learning PathBecome a Front-End Developer through 8 courses in 4 parts
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Product Manager Learning PathBecome a Product Manager through 9 courses in 4 parts
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Marketer Learning PathBecome a Marketer through 7 courses in 3 parts
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User Researcher Learning PathBecome a User Researcher through 7 courses in 3 parts
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Executive Learning PathBecome a Executive through 6 courses in 3 parts
How Others Have Benefited
Veena Sankaranarayanan, Australia
“I learned a good deal from various lesson items and design examples. I also appreciate how repeating key topics helped me memorize them and kept me well involved. Thank you.”
Juan Xabier Monjas Campandegui, Spain
“Perfect balance between knowledge, capacity to transmit the knowledge and sense of humor.”
Prince Onyeabor, Nigeria
“I liked how the instructors were able to link what they are saying to real life scenarios, it helped to consolidate learning for me.”
How It Works
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Take lessons by industry experts
Lessons are self-paced so you’ll never be late for class or miss a deadline.
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Get a Course Certificate
Your answers are graded by experts, not machines. Get an industry-recognized Course Certificate to prove your skills.
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Advance your career
Use your new skills in your existing job or to get a new job in UX design. Tap into our community to help you.
Start Advancing Your Career Now
Join us to take “User Experience: The Beginner’s Guide”. Take other courses at no additional cost. Make a concrete step forward in your career path today.
Advance my career nowFrequently Asked Questions
When I finish a course, do I have to pay extra to get my certificate?
Can I take more than one course at a time?
With a Student membership, you can take a maximum of two courses at the same time. You can still take as many courses as you would like – free of extra charges – just as long as you finish or drop them so that you don’t have more than two ongoing courses.
I missed the enrollment, and now the course is closed. What can I do?
Don't worry if you missed the course. We will re-run it shortly. One of the reasons we continually open and close courses is in order to control the classroom size.
Networking is a large part of our value proposition, so we want just the right number of people inside the courses. That is also why we display the "XX % percent booked" on our course icons.
Do I have to be online at an exact time to study?
No. You can set your own study schedule. There are no "live sessions" since we have members from all timezones around the world. We are a truly global community.
Thus, once you are enrolled, you can take all the time to complete a given course. Every "classroom" in each course will never close, so you’ll have permanent access to your classmates and your course material (as well as your own answers).
Will I receive a Course Certificate?
Yes. You will get a digital industry-recognized course certificate every time you complete a course. Certificates never expire and can be saved as a .jpg file, so it's easy to be shared. Also, there is no limit to how many certificates you can earn during your membership.
You can see an example of a Course Certificate at the bottom of the Course Catalogue.
I have answered questions in a lesson; when will they be marked/graded?
I have updated my name, but my course certificate is not updated — how can I change it?
I have started my course later than the specified date, are my answers still going to be marked?
Sure! We will be marking all your answers for as long as you are an active member.
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For how long will I have access to the course materials?
You will have access to the course materials for the entire duration of your membership. So, if you pay for a one-year membership, you will have access for one year. Renewing your membership for a second year means you will have access to one more year, and so on.
New lessons are starting before I have completed the previous lesson(s). Am I going to be locked out of these unfinished lessons?
No, you will not be locked out of any lesson or course. You will have access to all course materials throughout your membership, so there is no pressure to keep at the same pace as the specified lesson release dates.
All we recommend is that you try to stick to the same schedule as other participants. The reason is they may have moved on to other lessons, thereby meaning you could miss out on the social aspects of the course(s).
Do I have a specific date to award my certificates?
No, you can generate your certificate as soon as you score at least 70% of the total course points.
When will I receive my Course Certificate?
Course certificates will be given to participants when they have scored more than 70% or more of the total course points. For example, if a course contains ten lessons each with ten questions, you will receive a course certificate when the instructor has awarded you at least 70 points (70% of the total course points).
There is no specified time that certificates will be awarded — instead, they are given to participants as and when they have answered all questions, even if this is long after the official end date.
How do I add my Certificate to my LinkedIn profile?
- Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
- On the right, in the Add profile section dropdown, choose Background and then select the + next to Licenses & Certifications.
3. In the following fields add:
- Name – Course name
- Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
- Check the field “This credential does not expire”
- Issue date - Input the date written on your certificate (e.g., May 2021)
- Credential ID – Your membership ID number (it's written on your certificate)
- Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your course page
4. Click the Save button.
Congratulate yourself! Earning the certificate is a great accomplishment and now you can share it with the world!
How do I add the Interaction Design Foundation Membership Certificate to my LinkedIn Profile?
- Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
- Bellow your profile description,in the Add profile section dropdown, choose Background and then select the + next to Licenses & Certifications.
3. In the following fields add:
- Name – Membership Certificate
- Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
- Check the field “This credential does not expire”
- Issue date - Input the date when you joined our community (e.g., May 2019)
- Credential ID – Your membership ID number (it's written on your certificate)
- Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your profile page
4. Click the Save button.
How much will I have to pay for the courses?
After you pay for your membership, you can take as many courses as you want with no additional costs. There are no further charges on top of the membership fee.
Do you provide mostly beginners' or more advanced courses?
How long does it take to complete a course?
You will need approximately 5-8 hours to complete one lesson. Each course has between 3 and 16 lessons.
Once enrolled in a course, you will gain access to a new lesson each week, which you are free to complete without any deadlines and no end date, either.