Good software needs to be more than just functional — it also needs to look good and be easy to use.

Think about your favorite apps and websites: Would you still keep coming back to them if they were clunky, counterintuitive, or inefficient? Probably not. That's why UI and UX Designers are in such high demand.

UX (user experience) design involves figuring out the best way for users to interact with a product (digital or otherwise). UI (user interface) design helps keep everything tidy, polished, and aesthetically pleasing. Both play a role in users' satisfaction, and now, you can dive into them with our new course: Introduction to UI and UX Design.

Our new course is brought to you in partnership with Figma, the go-to tool for UI/UX designers that’s been around since 2016. In a recent global survey, thousands of Product, UI, UX, and Web Designers ranked Figma the most popular tool for the UI/UX field. It’s used for everything from fine-tuning UI design to prototyping, as well as versioning and managing collaborative design systems.

Figma is even used by major tech companies like Netflix and Twitter (and we use it too at Codecademy!). It’s a valuable skill to learn if you want to get a job in UI/UX. Intrigued? We'll show you how to use Figma (and walk you through setting up a free Figma for Education account) in our new course.

Who is the course right for?

A big part of UX design is working with developers and users to identify problems and think of solutions, explains Stacey Peterson, Product Designer at Codecademy.

"You're essentially questioning everything and constantly trying to dig in and learn more to solve problems," she says. "It's incredibly invigorating." People who are passionate about creative problem-solving tend to thrive in UX positions, Stacey says.

So, if a career in UX sounds right for you, this course is your first step. It's also great for developers who work closely with designers (for example, Front-End and Full-Stack Developers), because it will help keep you on the same page and provide a better experience for your users.

But anyone who wants to understand the foundational principles and practices of UI/UX to build better products can benefit from the course. And while a baseline knowledge of how to read code can help you communicate clearly with developers (and give you a leg up in the job market), you don’t need an extensive coding background to become a UX Designer — so feel free to jump right in.

What will you learn from the new course?

In our new course, you'll learn the importance of UI and UX design and their roles in the product development lifecycle. You'll also learn how to use Figma — one of the field's most popular tools. By the end of the course, you'll be able to:

• Describe, compare, and contrast the fields of UI and UX Design
• Utilize popular methodologies used by industry professionals, like Double Diamond and Design Thinking
• Understand the importance of wireframing in the design process
• Identify different web elements and their common wireframe representations
• Ideate and sketch website and mobile app concepts according to specified requirements
• Use Figma to create polished wireframes and interactive prototypes

Ready to jump into UI/UX? Get started with our Introduction to UI and UX Design!

Web Design Courses & Tutorials | Codecademy

Web Design is essential to bringing a website to life and creating the experience that you want for your end users. The courses here will help you polish your HTML and CSS skills while learning about color design, navigation design, and more.

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