UX/UI Design
The course presents the whole process of designing user-centred digital products through a single project developed over the semester: from user research and problem exploration through information architecture, wireframes and a prototype to usability testing, iteration and a portfolio presentation.
During the semester students learn the relationship between UX and UI, research methods (interview, observation, persona, user journey), the principles of usability and accessibility, and how to base design decisions on evidence. The theory is applied in practice with Figma and FigJam: students create an affinity map, a sitemap and a user flow, build wireframes and an interactive prototype, and finally shape a mini design system made of components.
UX, UI, and product thinking
In this chapter we clarify what the experience is, what the interface is, and why the two are not the same. We look at how the goals of the user, the organization, and the technical environment collide, and then learn to formulate a designable, measurable problem from an everyday digital situation. At the end of the chapter, you record the starting point of your own project idea on a FigJam board.
User research
Before we design a solution, we need to understand people's situation, goals, and current workarounds. The chapter shows how design uncertainty can be turned into a research question, how to run an ethical, non-leading interview, and how raw notes become evidence-based insights, personas, and user journeys. The practical lesson helps you build the research material organized in FigJam.
Usability and accessibility
Designing understandable, error-tolerant, and inclusive interfaces: the main task is good if it can be completed in different situations and with different abilities. The chapter connects the usability principles (Nielsen's heuristics), the WCAG criteria, and the role of feedback, errors, and states. The practical lesson shows how to prepare a short, annotated usability and accessibility audit.
Project kickoff and problem exploration
Fixing the scope of the semester project: what task is to be solved, whom it affects, and what will make success visible. The chapter discusses the relationship between the project brief, stakeholders, the target user, and the user story, then turns the research result into a problem statement, "How Might We" questions, and prioritized solution directions. The practical lesson builds the prioritization matrix in FigJam.
Organizing content and navigation starts from how the user thinks and decides. The chapter discusses the relationships among content, labeling, card sorting, and the sitemap, then navigation and search, and finally task flows and exceptional states. The practical lesson draws the sitemap and the main user flow in FigJam.
Wireframes and visual hierarchy
With quick, cheap screen sketches we make the structure debatable before visual details distract attention. The chapter shows how a wireframe comes from the user flow, how hierarchy, layout, and copy direct attention, and how components and responsive views behave. The practical lesson teaches the Figma interface and Auto Layout for building a wireframe.
Interaction and prototype
A prototype is a testable model of the task flow, not an imitation of the finished product. The chapter connects interaction patterns and affordance, prototype fidelity and scenarios, and microinteractions and transitions. The practical lesson turns the wireframes into a clickable Figma prototype.
Usability testing
We can learn from a small number of well-run tests if we collect observations about task performance instead of putting questions of taste to a vote. The chapter discusses the test goals, participants, ethics, tasks, moderation, metrics, and the prioritization of results by severity. The practical lesson builds the consistent visual language of the refined interfaces, the mini UI guideline, in Figma.
Iteration and validation
A test result is not a bug list: it is evidence on the basis of which we handle hypotheses, trade-offs, and fixes. The chapter presents the relationship between hypotheses and the decision log, improvement cycles and trade-offs, and results and next steps. The practical lesson organizes the repeating interface elements into components, variants, and a mini design system in Figma.
Project presentation and portfolio
A good presentation is not a list of screens, but a checkable design story: situation, evidence, decision, result, and lesson. The chapter presents the role of evidence, the structure and visual narrative of the presentation, the portfolio case, and reflection in presenting the project. The practical lesson shows how to put together and deliver the presentation in Figma or FigJam.
UX/UI Design
The course presents the whole process of designing user-centred digital products through a single project developed over the semester: from user research and problem exploration through information architecture, wireframes and a prototype to usability testing, iteration and a portfolio presentation.
During the semester students learn the relationship between UX and UI, research methods (interview, observation, persona, user journey), the principles of usability and accessibility, and how to base design decisions on evidence. The theory is applied in practice with Figma and FigJam: students create an affinity map, a sitemap and a user flow, build wireframes and an interactive prototype, and finally shape a mini design system made of components.
UX, UI, and product thinking
In this chapter we clarify what the experience is, what the interface is, and why the two are not the same. We look at how the goals of the user, the organization, and the technical environment collide, and then learn to formulate a designable, measurable problem from an everyday digital situation. At the end of the chapter, you record the starting point of your own project idea on a FigJam board.
User research
Before we design a solution, we need to understand people's situation, goals, and current workarounds. The chapter shows how design uncertainty can be turned into a research question, how to run an ethical, non-leading interview, and how raw notes become evidence-based insights, personas, and user journeys. The practical lesson helps you build the research material organized in FigJam.
Usability and accessibility
Designing understandable, error-tolerant, and inclusive interfaces: the main task is good if it can be completed in different situations and with different abilities. The chapter connects the usability principles (Nielsen's heuristics), the WCAG criteria, and the role of feedback, errors, and states. The practical lesson shows how to prepare a short, annotated usability and accessibility audit.
Project kickoff and problem exploration
Fixing the scope of the semester project: what task is to be solved, whom it affects, and what will make success visible. The chapter discusses the relationship between the project brief, stakeholders, the target user, and the user story, then turns the research result into a problem statement, "How Might We" questions, and prioritized solution directions. The practical lesson builds the prioritization matrix in FigJam.
Information architecture and task flows
Organizing content and navigation starts from how the user thinks and decides. The chapter discusses the relationships among content, labeling, card sorting, and the sitemap, then navigation and search, and finally task flows and exceptional states. The practical lesson draws the sitemap and the main user flow in FigJam.
Wireframes and visual hierarchy
With quick, cheap screen sketches we make the structure debatable before visual details distract attention. The chapter shows how a wireframe comes from the user flow, how hierarchy, layout, and copy direct attention, and how components and responsive views behave. The practical lesson teaches the Figma interface and Auto Layout for building a wireframe.
Interaction and prototype
A prototype is a testable model of the task flow, not an imitation of the finished product. The chapter connects interaction patterns and affordance, prototype fidelity and scenarios, and microinteractions and transitions. The practical lesson turns the wireframes into a clickable Figma prototype.
Usability testing
We can learn from a small number of well-run tests if we collect observations about task performance instead of putting questions of taste to a vote. The chapter discusses the test goals, participants, ethics, tasks, moderation, metrics, and the prioritization of results by severity. The practical lesson builds the consistent visual language of the refined interfaces, the mini UI guideline, in Figma.
Iteration and validation
A test result is not a bug list: it is evidence on the basis of which we handle hypotheses, trade-offs, and fixes. The chapter presents the relationship between hypotheses and the decision log, improvement cycles and trade-offs, and results and next steps. The practical lesson organizes the repeating interface elements into components, variants, and a mini design system in Figma.
Project presentation and portfolio
A good presentation is not a list of screens, but a checkable design story: situation, evidence, decision, result, and lesson. The chapter presents the role of evidence, the structure and visual narrative of the presentation, the portfolio case, and reflection in presenting the project. The practical lesson shows how to put together and deliver the presentation in Figma or FigJam.