Social Media Management and Design with Canva
Learn to run social media pages and design posters, posts, videos and flyers with Canva, even if you have never designed anything before.
- 17 lessons
- 4 h 19 min
- Certificate
Design and social media - Intermediate
UX and UI Design: Design Apps People Love
Learn the full design process for apps and websites: research real users, plan screens, sketch and wireframe, style with colour and type, make it accessible, test it, and build a portfolio.
About this course
Every app on your phone was designed by someone. Some feel easy and friendly; others make you tap the wrong button, hunt for a menu or give up. The difference is usually design: understanding who the users are, what they are trying to do, and shaping every screen to help them do it.
This intermediate course teaches UX (user experience) and UI (user interface) design as a practical process. You will talk to users, write personas and journeys, organise content, sketch and wireframe, choose colours and type, build a small design system, design for accessibility and small screens, build a clickable prototype and test it with real people. You will use free tools only: paper, a pencil, and the free plan of Figma or a similar design tool.
Examples come from mobile money, school portals, local shops and community services, because good design starts with real local problems.
What you will learn
- Explain the difference between UX and UI and describe the design process from research to testing
- Plan and run simple user interviews and turn the findings into a persona and a problem statement
- Map a user journey and a user flow to find where people struggle
- Organise content with card sorting and design clear navigation
- Sketch and wireframe screens on paper and in a free design tool
- Apply hierarchy, spacing, colour, contrast and typography to make screens clear
- Build a small design system of reusable components
- Design for accessibility and for small mobile screens first
- Build a clickable prototype, run a usability test and improve the design
- Present your work as a short case study in a portfolio
Course content
5 modules · 17 lessons · 5 h 55 min · 6 quizzes
Module 1: Understanding users
What UX and UI are, how to talk to users, and how to turn what you learn into personas, journeys and a clear problem statement.
- What UX and UI design really are 15 min
- User research: talking to real people 20 min
- Personas and empathy maps 15 min
- User journeys and problem statements 20 min
- Quiz: 8 questions
Module 2: Structure and wireframes
Organise content, map the steps users take, and sketch screens on paper and in a free design tool before choosing any colours.
- Information architecture and card sorting 20 min
- User flows and navigation patterns 20 min
- Sketching and wireframing 25 min
- Quiz: 7 questions
Module 3: Visual design and design systems
Make screens clear and attractive with hierarchy, spacing, colour and type, then capture your choices in a small design system.
- Layout, hierarchy and spacing 20 min
- Colour and contrast 20 min
- Typography and icons 20 min
- Components and a simple design system 25 min
- Quiz: 8 questions
Module 4: Accessible and mobile-first design
Design for everyone, on small screens, slow networks and in real-life conditions, with forms and words that help.
- Accessibility: design for everyone 25 min
- Mobile-first and responsive design 20 min
- Forms, feedback and microcopy 20 min
- Quiz: 8 questions
Module 5: Prototyping, testing and your portfolio
Make your screens clickable, test them with real people, improve them, and present the whole story as a portfolio case study.
- Building a clickable prototype 25 min
- Usability testing and improving 25 min
- Your portfolio and case study 20 min
- Quiz: 8 questions
Final exam
26 questions. Pass with 70% or more to earn your certificate.
What you need
- Comfortable use of a computer or laptop and the internet (see Computer Basics and Digital Literacy, or equivalent)
- Paper, a pencil or pen, and a smartphone for sketching and testing
- A free account on a design tool such as the free plan of Figma (used from Module 2)
- Optional: completed Graphic Design Fundamentals, which helps with the visual design module
Further reading
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