Skills you will gain
- Mastery of Advanced UX Tools: Select and apply industry-standard design and prototyping tools to create effective user experiences.
- Application of User Research Methods: Conduct targeted user research to inform and validate design decisions.
- Integration of Cognitive Psychology in Design: Apply cognitive principles to enhance usability, interaction, and engagement.
- Collaboration in Product Development: Work effectively within teams to ideate, design, and deliver UX solutions.
- Professional Presentation and Documentation: Communicate, document, and codify UX designs for clients and stakeholders.
Course Description
This follow-up to “User Experience Design Fundamentals” covers new design methods and offers hands-on practice. In addition to understanding the UX design principles and processes at a greater depth, advanced practitioners also have to engage users for research, use tools to communicate design, as well as carry out the design in a collaborative product development environment. If you want to take your design skills to the next level and practice advanced techniques in user experience design, this is the course for you.
The course focuses on application of the design methodologies and design strategies, from concept development to prototyping, including user research and design presentations. The goal of this course is to get you ready to take real-world UX design challenges and master industry practices in interaction design, visual design and information design, including DOs and DON’Ts. You will also learn how to apply human cognitive principles in design. The course will expose you to design & prototyping tools to create effective and pleasing user experiences. The course includes techniques for team collaboration, UX design presentation, documentation, and effective codification, as commonly practiced with clients and in corporations.
You will work on individual and team projects while sharpening your UX design skills and knowledge, while receiving feedback from the class. Projects may include websites, software applications, or product interfaces. The course will also provide guidance in establishing a UX design portfolio.
Topics
- Design Thinking
- Design Methods and Strategies
- Applying Design Principles
- Research Methods
Prerequisites / Skills Needed
Working knowledge of:
- An image processing and/or drawing application (e.g. Adobe Illustrator, Google Drawings, OmniGraffle, Sketch, or a similar program) is required. The drawing is to communicate product design in high fidelity graphics.
Additional Information
Students should have completed the prerequisite course, or have at least two years of work experience in the field.
Participants will also be exposed to a deep library of resources and tools for later reference and use.
- Flexible Attend in person or via Zoom at scheduled times.
| Date | Start Time | End Time | Meeting Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, 04-06-2026 | 6:30pm | 9:30pm | Flexible | SANTA CLARA / REMOTE |
| Mon, 04-13-2026 | 6:30pm | 9:30pm | Flexible | SANTA CLARA / REMOTE |
| Mon, 04-20-2026 | 6:30pm | 9:30pm | Flexible | SANTA CLARA / REMOTE |
| Mon, 04-27-2026 | 6:30pm | 9:30pm | Flexible | SANTA CLARA / REMOTE |
| Mon, 05-04-2026 | 6:30pm | 9:30pm | Flexible | SANTA CLARA / REMOTE |
| Mon, 05-11-2026 | 6:30pm | 9:30pm | Flexible | SANTA CLARA / REMOTE |
| Mon, 05-18-2026 | 6:30pm | 9:30pm | Flexible | SANTA CLARA / REMOTE |
| Mon, 06-01-2026 | 6:30pm | 9:30pm | Flexible | SANTA CLARA / REMOTE |
| Mon, 06-08-2026 | 6:30pm | 9:30pm | Flexible | SANTA CLARA / REMOTE |
| Mon, 06-15-2026 | 6:30pm | 9:30pm | Flexible | SANTA CLARA / REMOTE |
This class meets simultaneously in a classroom and remotely via Zoom. Students are expected to attend and participate in the course, either in-person or remotely, during the days and times that are specified on the course schedule. Students attending remotely are also strongly encouraged to have their cameras on to get the most out of the remote learning experience. Students attending the class in-person are expected to bring a laptop to each class meeting.
No meeting on May 25, 2026. To see all meeting dates, click "Full Schedule" below.
You will be granted access in Canvas to your course site and course materials approximately 24 hours prior to the published start date of the course.
Recommended Textbooks:
UX Strategy (2nd Edition) by Jaime Levy, O'Reilly Media, 2021. ISBN: 978-1492052432
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People (2nd Edition) by Susan Weinschenk, New Riders, 2020. ISBN: 9780136746911
This course applies to these programs: