UI Design: Foundations

› Self-paced

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Hello and welcome to Academy Xi! Our mission is to transform the world through education by empowering a community of changemakers with the knowledge and skills to create their own positive waves of change.

Academy Xi is our answer to the insatiable demand for design and technology capabilities across all industries. We run short, practical and industry relevant courses in Human-Centred Design (UX, UI, Graphic and Service Design), Business and Marketing (Agile, Digital Marketing, Product Management and Data Analytics), and New and Emerging Tech (Mixed Reality Design).

Designed and taught by passionate industry experts, our courses empower people and teams with the skills and confidence to stay ahead of the industry curve, build a future-ready career and transform their lives.

User Interface (UI) Design is concerned with the look, feel, and interactivity of any digital product such as a website, software, or mobile app. UI Designers consider the layout, grid, typography, and colour of each feature on-screen.

UI Design defines all visual elements that users interact or navigate with; such as buttons, scrollbars, dropdown menus, icons, and more. To do this, UI Designers focus on the interactivity of the interface—what a button or an icon does when a user clicks, taps, or swipes it.

METHOD OF STUDYOnline, self-paced.

TIME COMMITMENT30 hours over 6 months.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

28 topics including an introduction to visual hierarchy, layout, colour and typography best practice, UI software, wireframes and prototyping, grids, web conventions, accessibility, responsive design and brand guidelines.

COURSE OUTCOMES

A portfolio and a Certificate of Completion.

LEVEL OF STUDY

Introductory course. No prerequisites required.

Academy Xi: Our story

What is User Interface (UI) Design?

COURSE SNAPSHOT:

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A FULLY FLEXIBLE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Our UI Design Foundations course is fully flexible so you can learn at your own pace in a manner that suits your lifestyle. The self-paced nature of the course means you can go through the topics anytime, anywhere.

BUILD YOUR PORTFOLIO WITH DESIGN CHALLENGES

Apply your newly acquired UI Design skills to design challenges, which will form the basis of your portfolio. At the end of the course, your instructor will review your portfolio and provide structured feedback of where you went well, and how you can improve your UI Design solution.

POWERFUL CONTENT AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Get access to an abundance of resources on our learning portal including videos, slide decks, workbook, quizzes, and useful tools. We offer scalable learning that grows with your needs. If you want to learn more about UI, we provide optional reading resources that will cement your learning.

TAUGHT BY LEADING INDUSTRY PRACTITIONERS

Our course is designed and supported by leading industry experts with extensive experience. Being a seasoned practitioner in UI doesn’t mean you know how to teach. So we hand-pick our instructors to guarantee their in-depth experience, both in the field and in the classroom.

LEARNING BY DOING

Practical skills are key to succeed and stand out in a competitive market. In addition to teaching you the core theoretical concepts of UI, you’ll implement your skills by working on practical activities throughout each topic. After all, the best way to learn is by doing.

ALUMNI BENEFITS

Get access to our alumni-exclusive events and Slack channel with job offers, career guidance and networking opportunities. Receive discounts on your future courses and a credit when you refer a friend.

Why study with us

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AN INTRODUCTION TO UI DESIGN

Familiarise yourself with the background, core concepts, terminology, and applications of UI Design. Learn about wireframes and prototypes, key UI software, moodboards, and go through the requirements of a client brief. You’ll also be introduced to your design challenges which will form the basis of your portfolio project.

L AYOUTUnderstand what good UI Design looks like thanks to visual hierarchy, grids and other key layout components. Here, you’ll learn about:

• Visual hierarchy, proximity, and repetition• Grids and alignment

EXPLORING COLOURUncover the secrets behind colour theory and learn how to pick the best colours to create designs that grab attention and generate emotion. Apply a colour palette to your project.

• Colour theory• Choosing a colour palette• Applying colours to a project

TYPOGRAPHYLearn about typography and how to use one or more typefaces. Understand the importance and benefits of spacing, padding, margins, and discover how to work with uppercase, lowercase text, and text-heavy pages.

• Introduction to typography • Applying typography to a project

IMAGERY AND ICONOGRAPHYDiscover the importance of imagery and iconography in UI Design, and how images are not only for aesthetics but can help users navigate a website or app more seamlessly.

STANDARD UI CONVENTIONSIdentify how certain web conventions such as contrast, alignment, and other aspects influence how users experience the design. Understand the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) requirements and how to design for inclusion. Explore how to take your design across multiple platforms such as desktop and mobile.

• Web conventions• Call to action and buttons• Accessibility and UI Design• Responsive design

BRANDUnderstand what typical brand guidelines consist of and how to follow a brand or content style guide.

• Applying existing brand guidelines• Creating pattern libraries• Creating a style guide

UI PORTFOLIOFind out how to create your UI Design portfolio and showcase your work and process in a beautiful and convincing way.

FEEDBACKInterpret your client’s feedback and learn how to improve your design solution based on it.

THE FUTURE OF UI DESIGNExplore the exciting future and possibilities of UI Design and work on finalising your portfolio project. You’ll cover:

• Interaction design• The future of UI Design• Professional tips• Preparing your portfolio• What’s your next step?

What you’ll learn

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This course is for a range of learners, from Graphic or Industrial Designers, to Visual Communicators and Human-Centred Designers. By learning the principles and practices of UI Design, UX Designers will also have a more attractive skillset within the Design market. But don’t worry, there are no prerequisites to enrol.

We welcome students from all levels and professional backgrounds. Simply turn up with passion, curiosity, and a desire to learn independently and complete this course in your own time and at your own pace.

If you’d like to network and further your UI knowledge and involvement with the community, feel free to attend UI Design meetups in your local area or join an online UI community, such as Dribble.

It will take you approximately 30 hours to complete the 28 topics, activities, and portfolio preparation.

To keep you on track, we recommend booking regular and non-negotiable times into your calendar. For example, scheduling a weekly 3-hour block to read, watch, and apply your knowledge is an optimal study format for many of our online learners, and means you could complete the course in a span of 3 months.

From the time of enrolment, you’ll have 6 months access to the course content. Should you require additional time to complete the course, contact us at onlinesupport@academyxi.com

This course contains a course-wide project assessment.

At the end of every topic, you’ll complete activities and build assets which will form the basis of your portfolio.

At the end of the course, your instructor will review your portfolio and provide structured feedback on what you have done well and ways you can improve.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Interpret a client brief

• Identify user requirements of a UI Design solution

• Design user interfaces

• Apply brand guidelines, pattern libraries, and design style guides

• Curate your design assets and methods into a UI portfolio

Learning outcomes Course timeframe

Who this course is for Portfolio assessment

GET IN TOUCHSpeak to one of our Course Advisors to clear up any questions.

admissions@academyxi.com

1300 683 923

Live Chat

See how your peers are doing with our discussion tool. Feel free to ask questions and leave comments on different aspects of the course for your fellow students.

For any technical or course-related questions, reach out to our Experience Team at onlinesupport@academyxi.com who’ll help with any enquiries you may have.

Support and feedback Next steps

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