As someone who is new to product design, I didn’t know what to expect when I joined this UX Academy course but it turned out to be a great learning experience.
The first three sessions were led by Nick Spiller who taught us the basic principles of product design such as idea validation, research and testing methods and user personas. My most favourite thing that I learned was the “blue sky thinking” which allows us to think of the best solution to the problem we are trying to solve even if it doesn’t seem feasible, then considering the constraints to that solution later. We also learned about the different tools used by a product designer and how to utilise them depending on our specific design needs.
We were assigned teams to work on a real life project which was really efficient because we all had different things to bring to the table. I learned a lot from my teammates who were experts in UX and product design. For every homework we had to work on such as creating a user flow or prototype, my team and I decided to create these individually and collate our ideas. It was fun and exciting collaborating with people from different backgrounds in the industry.
Guilia led the last three sessions of the course which was the develop and validation phase. For our project, we used Figma and Guilia had sent us video tutorials so we can easily learn and navigate through the tool when creating our prototype. I found it really helpful as someone who is using the tool for the first time. We also had different individual and team exercises in between sessions – this allowed us to immediately practice the concepts we were being taught in class. During the last session, we learned about the different KPIs and metrics we can use to measure success with our product.
During the course of the product design class, we had two mentorship sessions with Guilia and she was very helpful and accommodating with all our issues and questions in regards to the project. The online mentorship session provided us with the guidance and support we needed to be as efficient as possible. We were given feedback and suggestions on how we can improve our work and it was great to hear Guilia’s ideas and receive feedback from someone who is an expert in the field.
Overall, the UX Academy Product Design Course helped me understand and appreciate the work designers put into their practice. The course structure was conducive for online learning and everyone was patient and understanding when we encountered connection issues. I recommend this course to anyone looking to enhance their skills or move their career into product design.
Whether you want to start a career in UX, or just diversify your skillset in general, UX Academy has several courses available to suit your needs. Get the chance to work on real life projects and build your UX portfolio when you join UX Academy.