Frequently Asked Questions

UX Academy delivers highly interactive 6 to 8-week evening and online courses taught by industry-leading UX practitioners and designed to fully equip you with all of the tools and knowledge you need to succeed in UX. Taught in a small, friendly environment, UX Academy will enhance your knowledge, confidence and understanding of UX Design. If you are still looking for an answer to any questions, feel free to send us specific questions using the form at the bottom of the page.

Below you will find answers to our UX Academy frequently asked questions which should fill in all the gaps you might have about UX.

Do I need coding experience to study or work in UX/UI Design?

No coding skills are required. You will use industry-standard tools such as Figma and Invision, which need no coding ability.

If I am unable to attend any session for any reason, will I be able to catch up and keep up?

All of our classes are recorded, slides from all classes will also be provided. You will be able to contact the teachers if you have any further questions. You are also welcome to retake a particular session in the next beginner course batch, as we run three to four beginner UX courses per year.

How often does the course take place in a week?

Our part-time UX Design Courses will run online once a week. All our UX Courses begin at 6:00 pm and end at 8:30 pm (London time).

How much time do I need to allocate for the course?

The course will run one evening a week. You will also be required to dedicate 2-4 hours per week to project work.

How will we work in groups if the course is online?

Thanks to the specialised industry tools and software we use, our course tutors will be able to allocate you into groups. In these groups, you will all virtually be able to participate in simultaneous hands-on exercises and perform real-time interactions as if you were in class offline.

How will this course work online?

Currently, courses run remotely via live video, hands-on exercises, and real-time interaction with tutors. You will be using a shared whiteboard to do team projects.

What is the main difference between the Beginner UX and Intermediate UX Course?

Our intermediate course requires 1+ years of dedicated UX design work in the industry. Our beginner's courses suit UX newcomers and individuals from design and non-design backgrounds.

Please read about our latest UX insights to learn more.

Do I need any UX experience/knowledge to attend the course?

For Beginner UX Course and Voice Design Course:

These courses require no previous UX knowledge or experience. People attending the UX or conversational design course come from various backgrounds.

For the Intermediate UX Course:

The intermediate program is perfect for those with existing UX experience. It will help them take their careers to the next stage and continue to build on their UX knowledge.

Learn more about our UX Alumni who come from different backgrounds here.

Will I need any tools to attend the course?

You will need your laptop (PC or MAC). The tools used in our UX Design Courses will be provided and are SAAS based, so these work on both PCs & MACs.

Is there any pre-course work?

We will be offering pre-course reading for all our UX Design courses so you can get familiarised before the course starts. These are some books recommended by the trainers:

The Design Of Everyday Things, by Don Norman
Design Is a Job, by Mike Monteiro
Don’t Make Me Think, by Steve Krug
About Face: The Essentials Of Interaction Design, by Alan Cooper
Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience, by Jeff Gothelf.

How much are the courses?

Our 6-weeks Intermediate UX Course is £1200, Product Design Course is £1100, and Voice Design Courses at UX Academy is £1500 per person. Our 8-weeks Beginner UX Course is £1500 per person. Our 10-weeks UX/UI Design Bootcamp & Internship is £2500 per person.

Do you have a discount for group trainings?

Yes. Group discounts are available for our UX design courses based in London. If you are looking for group discounts, contact us for more information.

Can I get an invoice or purchase order upon payment?

We can provide invoices on request for any of our UX Design Courses. Please get in touch with us for more information.

Can I pay for the program in phases?

Yes. You can view our payment plans page to read about the plans offered at UX Academy.

Can I reserve my place in a course with a down payment?

Yes, you can pay a deposit of £199 to save a spot in one of our UX Design training courses. The remaining amount will need to be paid 2 weeks after the course starts. You can pay the deposit here.

If I cancel or I am unable to attend the course, will I be able to get a refund?

We will provide refunds up to 14 days in advance. Alternatively, you can sign up for our next UX training class, as we run two to three courses yearly.

General UX Questions

What is UX?

User experience (UX) is a person's experience when using a product or service. It sounds self-explanatory, but there's more to it than that! It can be understood qualitatively (asking people in interviews what they thought) or quantitatively (anything involving complex numbers such as questionnaire scores), and it can take into account psychology, market research, and even anatomy. But ultimately, UX always comes back to the core question - how an individual felt interacting with an app, website, shop etc.

UI or UX?

They are related, but they are different! User experience (UX) is a person's experience when using a product or service, while user interface (UI) is the specific product an individual interacts with. This is best understood through an example – let's take an online retailer. The UX is about the customer journey, how they find products, decide whether to buy and how easy it is to check out. The UI is the site they are dealing with, which buttons are pressed, how they look, and the graphic design. UX and UI are different, but one can't exist without the other.

What does a UX designer’s day look like?

This depends on the company, the role, and the sector. Frankly, every designer’s day is different, and every position is unique! They could be conducting research and testing, focussing on project management, designing user flows, making prototypes, or determining architecture. As a general rule, they aren’t involved in the visual and graphic design work, focusing on the user journey specifically. Each designer will have areas of interest or specialities within a broad field, but each will bring something unique to the table.

What is the role of a UX Designer?

They make products and services more accessible, better, and more enjoyable by always putting the customer first and applying the lessons drawn from UX. It is an incredibly varied role and can be hard to pin down. They could be involved in the initial design and build of a product long before any customers have even used it. Equally, they could constantly be tinkering and improving a long-running service based on real-time user feedback. Sometimes it is best to think of a UX designer as translating and actioning what customers want from a business.

Product Design vs UX Design?

A product designer is concerned with the entire user experience of a product and factors in the organisation's business needs. This can include UX design but also UI, research and design. It is a much more generalist position, whilst UX design is a specialist focus.

What skills do you need to be a UX Designer?

The good news is that there’s an extensive range of valuable skills. As a job fundamentally about understanding people, a background in psychology, anthropology, and the humanities is always useful, as well as having good emotional intelligence and empathy. Enjoying problem-solving or having an analytical bent is key as it forms a large part of the job. Being interested in technology and the digital space is a must. Whether that can be backed up yet with those technical skills is less important than being curious and willing to learn what you need. Commitment to always learning is the top skill for UX design!

Does UX Design require coding?

In a word, no. UX design is more concerned with understanding the user journey, providing strategic insight and actionable improvements. UX designers will never be asked to programme unless it’s a hybrid role or the employer misunderstands the job! That said, having a bit of coding can’t hurt, as it will be helpful with regard to understanding how a digital product works and whether potential changes are feasible or not.

Can you learn UX Design on your own?

You can learn the basics, research the field, and explore whether UX is right for you. Being proactive and entrepreneurial is a good thing! But it’s a rapidly growing sector with more to learn daily. To progress, an expert guide is needed to clear the fog and teach you what you need to know. Like any career or vocation, it’s best to learn from those with experience and who know UX inside out. More than anything else, a training course will allow you to do real work on live projects.

Can I be a UX Designer without a degree?

A resounding yes! Being a UX designer is about a willingness to learn, putting in the hard work, and understanding people. A diverse background and different experiences can only be a good thing.

Is learning UX Design hard?

It can be challenging, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. However, the challenge will be satisfying and progress quicker than expected, especially if you learn through doing!

Career Questions

Is UX Design a good career?

We certainly think so! It is a career that promises great diversity, with something new always around the corner. UX designers themselves are happy with their career choices. The 2020 Nielsen Norman Group’s User Experience Careers survey reports an average job satisfaction of 5.4 (on a scale of 1-7). Most importantly, this figure has held steady since 2013, when the first survey was done. Even as the field has developed and changed, UX designers have remained consistently happy with their choice!

Do UX Designers get paid well?

Yes. According to uxdesignersalaries.com, the average income for UX designers in the UK is £46,000. Experience plays a significant role - the more a designer has, the more they get paid. For someone just starting, the yearly salary averages around £31,000, increase to £44,000 after 5 years, and the mean at 10+ years is £61,500! Considering that the median (half earn more than this, half earn less) income in the UK is £30,000, UX designers are doing very well.

Are UX Designers in demand?

Many experts think so. LinkedIn declared UX design as one of 2020s most in-demand skills. They said the same in 2019. InVision’s latest jobs report showed that 70% of hiring managers had increased the number of people in their design teams. Meanwhile, Zartis.com has highlighted many UX designer roles going unfilled due to a knowledge gap. In short, there are currently more job openings than designers. The demand is most definitely there!

How competitive is UX Design?

While there are currently more roles than designers, competition for top jobs is fierce. That’s the difference between earning a good income and a high income. Moreover, the field combines permanent roles and contract work, with many designers operating as freelancers. This all may sound rather daunting, but don’t be put off. Each designer offers something unique and different; standing out from the crowd is a matter of playing to individual strengths and finding a niche. Portfolios are vital in hiring decisions, but their content doesn’t all need paid work. Even a beginner can produce an outstanding portfolio, which will set them on the path to success!

Voice Design Questions

What is Voice Design?

Voice design is all about mapping out the conversation pathways that could happen between a voice interface and a user. These maps or models are then used to ensure the product understands and acts upon a customer’s requests. Think Alexa, Siri, and Cortana. It is a specialism within UX that requires a good understanding of the user and linguistics. What voice design is really about is how people communicate.

What is a Voice User Interface (VUI)?

Voice user interface or VUI is the specific technology that allows a user’s voice to interact with the product. Think of it like the translator between you and the machine. Voice design is the job of designing for the VUI.

Voice Design vs Conversation Design?

There is a subtle difference that becomes apparent when using a product. Voice design is geared towards function. Getting something done. Conversational design is aimed at creating a rapport with the user. It establishes a personal connection and imbues a sense of personality. Of course, these overlap significantly, and often the aim is to design a product that has the best of both worlds.

Is there a future in Voice Design?

According to Voicebot (2020), 87.7 million adults in the USA use smart speakers, and by 2025 the voice recognition market will be worth $24.9 billion. Meanwhile, Google reports that 72% of people who own a smart speaker use it daily. That sounds like a bright future indeed.