Assistant Professor, School of Information
UX Design: From Concept to Prototype
What You'll Learn
- Define and scope the design problem
- Create user stories and storyboards to transform information about user needs into design concepts
- Develop prototypes from elements of interactions and low-to-high fidelity mockups
6 Modules
12 Hours
2 hrs per module (approx.)
Rating
About UX Design: From Concept to Prototype
Great design doesn’t come out of nowhere; it is born, nurtured, and grown--all through a systematic, learnable process. In this UX course, you will explore the process of taking a basic concept, grounded in user needs, and developing it into a design that will address those needs. In the course, you will gain hands-on experience with techniques such as sketching, scenario development, storyboarding, and wireframing that will help you transform your understanding of what your users need into a compelling user experience. You will then learn how to turn wireframes and interaction architecture into interactive prototypes that can be tested with prospective users and iteratively refined into a high quality design that that is ready for a hand-off to the development team for implementation.
What You’ll Learn:
Define and scope the design problem you will try to address
Create user stories and storyboards to transform information about user needs into design concepts
Produce sketches and conduct brainstorming sessions to generate many design ideas from which you can construct a high-quality design solution
Develop interface wireframes to concretize the design and enable early user testing
Conduct user tests with paper prototypes to get preliminary user feedback on the design concept and interactions
Develop high-fidelity mockups that specify visual design elements
Create Wizard of Oz prototypes to efficiently test complex interactions and interactive systems that are not screen-based (e.g., smart assistants)
Skills You'll Gain
- Design Strategies
- Human Interface Guidelines
- Product Design
- Storyboarding
- User Experience (UX)
- User Interface Prototyping
- User Research
- Wireframing
What You'll Earn
- Certificate of Completion:
- Certificates of completion acknowledge knowledge acquired upon completion of a non-credit course or program.
Welcome Message
Welcome to UX Design: From Concept to Prototype, a course introducing the full interaction design process. Learners develop skills in ideation, personas, scenarios, sketching, and prototyping while evaluating design tradeoffs and user interaction principles.
This abbreviated syllabus description was created with the help of AI tools and reviewed by staff. The full syllabus is available to those who enroll in the course.
Course Schedule
Module 1: Introduction to the Design Process
- Reading: Welcome to UX Design: From Concept to Prototype
- Reading: Course Syllabus
- Reading: Help Us Learn More about You!
- Video: Lesson 1: What Is Design?
- Video: Lesson 2: Design Process - An Overview
- Video: Lesson 3: Framing Design Problems
- Video: Lesson 4: Formative Research
- Discussion Prompt: Self-Reflection and Discussion: Choose Your Design Problem
- Reading: Would you like to plan your learning journey with Michigan Online?
- Graded: Introduction to the Design Process
Module 2: Ideation
- Video: Lesson 1: Introduction to Ideation
- Video: Lesson 2: Sketching
- Video: Lesson 3: Brainstorming
- Reading: Introduction to Design Assignments 1 to 3
- Discussion Prompt: Self-Reflection and Discussion: Experience with Sketching
- Graded: Ideation
- Graded: Assignment 1: 20 Sketches
Module 3: Design Constraints and Making Choices
- Video: Lesson 1: Personas
- Video: Lesson 2: Scenarios
- Video: Lesson 3: Storyboards
- Video: Lesson 4: Design Rationale
- Discussion Prompt: Self-reflection and Discussion: Experience with Creating Personas and Scenarios
- Reading: Stay in touch on University of Michigan online courses
- Graded: Design Constraints and Making Choices
- Graded: Assignment 2: Personas
- Graded: Assignment 3: Scenarios
Module 4: Building Blocks of User Interaction
- Video: Lesson 1: Lesson Introduction
- Video: Lesson 2: Elements of User Interaction: Data Input
- Video: Lesson 3: Elements of User Interaction: Output, State, and Mode
- Video: Lesson 4: Introduction to Prototyping
- Reading: Introduction to Design Assignments 4 to 6
- Discussion Prompt: Discussion: Input Critique
- Graded: Quiz: Building Blocks of User Interaction
- Graded: Design Assignment 4: Mapping Out Inputs and Outputs
Module 5: Low to Hi-Fidelity Prototyping
- Video: Lesson 1: Wireframes
- Video: Lesson 2: Low-Fidelity Interactive Prototypes
- Video: Lesson 3: Testing Lo-Fi Prototypes
- Video: Lesson 4: Adding Realism to Prototypes
- Discussion Prompt: Discussion: Experience with Wireframing
- Graded: Quiz: Low to Hi-Fidelity Prototyping
- Graded: Design Assignment 5: 10 Wireframes
Module 6: Conceptual Issues in Prototyping and Design
- Video: Lesson 1: Key Design Concepts
- Video: Lesson 2: Defaults
- Video: Lesson 3: Reflective Design
- Video: Lesson 4: New Directions in UX Design
- Discussion Prompt: Discussion: Experience with Paper Prototyping
- Video: Course Wrap-Up
- Graded: Quiz: Conceptual Issues in Prototyping and Design
- Graded: Design Assignment 6: Paper Prototype
Grading Policy
Learners must earn an overall grade of 70%. Grades are based on quizzes, design assignments, and peer-reviewed activities.
Course content developed by U-M faculty and managed by the university. Faculty titles and affiliations are updated periodically.
Beginner Level
No prior experience required
