Introduction

It's so exciting for me to finally commence learning with FOF Africa for UX design mentorship program 1.0. we were assigned to do some tasks which were very overwhelming when they came in but as the days go by I'm able to comprehend the tasks given to us. so in this article, I'll be sharing with you what I learned in this short UX course I studied. so without further ado let's get into it.

Tutorial 1: What Is UX Design

In the first tutorial, I got to learn what UX design means what user experience design is and what good and bad UX looks like. UX design stands for user experience design it means the design of experiences for users. A user can be anyone in the world. The word UX was first coined in the year 1990 by a man named Don Norman. I also got to learn that as a UX designer, we need to be an empath standing as an advocate for the users.

Tutorial 2: An Introduction To The UX Design Process

The UX design process can generally be divided into four key phases: Research, Design, Testing and Implementation also designers go through other steps before arriving at the end of the project like carrying out user research, analyzing their findings, defining user personas, mapping out user flows, creating wireframes and prototypes, conducting user testing, and finally, handing the designs over for visual design and development.

Tutorial 3: The Different Areas Of UX Design

UX design as a profession consists of generalists and specialists more companies are now hiring specialized UX designers. UX specialization is categorized into four models commonly referred to as the Quadrant model. The four model includes:

1. Experience Strategy

2. Interaction Design

3. User Research

4. Information Architecture

I also learned that information architects are user-centric digital librarians because they are the ones responsible for organizing the information on a website or application.

Tutorial 4: The Skills You Need To Be A UX Designer

In this tutorial, I got to understand that UX design is about designing something easy to use and accessible for users. As the tutor said as a UX designer we have to have hard & soft skills which will help for a better career as a UX designer the hard skills include: user research, information architecture and wireframing and prototyping while the soft skills include: communication, empathy and organisation.

Tutorial 5: Tips For Your First UX Portfolio

As a UX designer having a portfolio is essential for showcasing your work and expertise. In the portfolio, you will have a well-written case study for each project describing your design process before arriving at the result and I also got to learn that a UX design portfolio is an exhibition of a UX designer's work.

Tutorial 6: How To Become A Professional UX Designer

This tutorial shed more light on becoming a professional UX designer be it through self-study, non mentored online courses and also through structured learning. I also got to know that UX designers are in high demand and also well paid.

Conclusion

The UX industry is constantly evolving giving a chance for new roles to emerge in this short course I was able to understand what UX and UI mean and how designers work with teams to bring projects to life and also not forgetting that creating a user-centric product boost products RIO.