Learn UX design through user research, wireframing, and prototyping. Courses emphasize creating intuitive, human-centered digital experiences.
Learn the skills to become a UX/UI Designer. This course covers design concepts, industry tools like Figma, and research methodologies. Get career-focused training, build a portfolio, and receive one-on-one mentoring and prepare for a career in UX/UI design.
Start learning Figma for UI/UX design. Gain a solid understanding of its capabilities, from creating files, to designing on a grid, working with text/photos/colors, creating components, building prototypes, exporting assets, sharing files, creating animations, and more.
Discover the essence of UX Design. From UX vs. UI to usability testing and prototyping, delve into the intricacies of user experience design. Gain practical skills in research, wireframing, and more. Elevate your design game with this comprehensive course.
UX design takes into account the elements that shape a user’s experience with a product or service, how these elements make the user feel, and how easy it is for them to accomplish their desired tasks. Also known as user experience design, it can cover anything from how a physical product feels in your hand to how easy and efficient the checkout process is when shopping online. The goal of UX design is to create easy, efficient, relevant, and all-around pleasant experiences for the user.
The term “user experience” was coined by cognitive psychologist and designer Don Norman in the 1990s. These days, apps and websites are most commonly associated with UX design, but the concept of improving a user’s experience through both form and function has existed for much longer. Now implemented by major companies worldwide, from Apple to Samsung, car manufacturers to film and TV streaming services, UX design is a crucial part of product development and customer retention.
As a UX Designer, you can create impactful experiences that improve people’s lives. Your creations can help businesses succeed, solve real-world problems, and make the digital world a more accessible place. If you thrive in a solutions-focused role and care about design, implementation, and testing, then you could find a lot of fulfillment and success as a UX Designer.
UX design is also compatible with many transferable skills, making the transition from other fields a smooth process. Sales, marketing, education, customer service, and design are all fields that use similar skill sets, so if you’re currently in one of these, transitioning to working in web or app design may be easier than you think.
UX Designers can work on a variety of touchpoints, increasing their adaptability and flexibility, making them more valuable employees. A UX Designer can work on websites, mobile apps, watch interfaces, and new ranges of more specialized technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality. If you’re tired of just working on one thing and dream of a more diverse and creative work environment, then UX design could be for you.
According to CNN, UX design roles are considered to be some of the best jobs in the United States. Entering this exciting and lucrative field requires a specific set of skills. Listed below are some of the top skills needed to be successful as a UX Designer, both technical and soft skills. If you already possess some of these, then consider yourself ahead of the curve. If you’re starting from scratch, you can learn all of the below skills in a UX design certification program.
These four elements are essential to UX design and are must-have skills for any UX Designer.
Prototypes and mockups often require specialized UX software. If you’re just starting, you can use a free option, like Origami Studio. Popular paid prototyping tools, like InVision, Sketch, or Adobe XD, typically come with a free trial that allows you to design some prototypes without having to subscribe.
Understanding your user is the first step in the design process, even before solving a user problem or meeting a user’s need. User research will help you make a better product. As you develop prototypes, you’ll conduct user testing to validate your design choices and learn more about how your users interact with your product. Knowing how to iterate through these two user-centric phases can help make you a more effective designer.
Visual design software, like Figma, Sketch, Photoshop, and Illustrator, is used by UX Designers to create the visual elements of a product. Being proficient in these tools and building your knowledge of visual design best practices for things like typography, color theory, layout, icons, and general design theory will help make you a more successful designer.
The ability to understand and feel the emotions of others, known as empathy, is a must-have soft skill for UX design. The best UX Designers take the time to learn about people and their inclinations. A deep understanding of how a user would interact with your product and any struggles that may arise helps designers create products that truly engage and delight.
Being a UX Designer involves incorporating the ideas of developers, clients, and team members. You’ll need to effectively give and receive feedback, brainstorm, explore solutions, and incorporate the expertise and needs of everyone involved in a project to create the best products possible. You’ll also take insight from customer service, marketing, and sales to update your product throughout its lifespan and increase user retention.
Generally speaking, UX design isn’t considered very difficult to learn, but it does have its challenges. Your professional background will play a big part in how challenging UX may be. If you’re someone with a background in development, you won’t have to stray too far from your comfort zone, as learning UX design is like an extension of your current skills. But if you have a background in design, you may find the more technical aspects of UX design foreign. Adding research, testing, and even coding to your skill set may require you to stretch yourself in new directions.
UX design is a discipline consisting of a variety of creative and technical skills, and mastering this combination of skills can be particularly challenging for some. Additionally, UX Designers often juggle several considerations (visual design, user research, content strategy, usability and accessibility, information architecture, and overall business goals) while also effectively steering a project and communicating findings to a broad array of stakeholders. This all takes a certain level of multitasking, focus, drive, and the ability to see the bigger picture. These skills take time to perfect and can be difficult for those who are used to only handling one task at a time.
Comprehensive UX design bootcamps that offer a deep understanding of UX design typically take two months on full-time schedules and six months for part-time learning. Without professional instruction, learning UX & UI design could take much longer. You’ll either be working on your own motivation with free tutorials and guides you can find online, or you’ll be enrolling in an undergraduate or graduate degree program, which will take several years.
Many factors need to be considered when answering this question. Firstly, you’ll need to know what learning environment is best for you. Do you thrive in a collaborative environment that allows you to interact with your peers and receive immediate feedback from your instructor? Or, do you prefer a more solitary learning environment where you can learn at your own speed?
You’ll also need to decide how much time you can commit to your education and what level of flexibility your schedule demands. Do you want to dive deeply into an intensive program? Do you work full-time and require your classes to be scheduled for evening and weekend hours?
In-person classes offer face-to-face interaction with your fellow students and your expert instructor. This collaborative environment is available for full-time and part-time courses and provides structure and accountability, two things that can help you succeed. Online courses may lack this in-person interaction, but they make up for it with increased flexibility. Live virtual courses still benefit from immediate instructor feedback and interactions with other students, while on-demand virtual training allows for the most flexibility since you can decide when and where you learn.
The good news is that, no matter which version you attend, you can obtain a quality UX design education with a top-notch curriculum and expert instructors.
If you want to make the most of your education, you could consider a few additional subjects to learn alongside UX design. Firstly, UI design would be a good place to start. Short for “user interface,” UI design focuses on the look and feel of a product’s interface, in contrast to UX design, which focuses on the overall experience a user has with the product. UI design is used to create prototypes and mockups to test the visual design of a product, so studying this subject can offer you a more holistic approach to your work.
Coding and development would also be a worthwhile field of study. Learning the basics of HTML, CSS, and various programming languages can help you gain a better understanding of the back-end of your projects and allow you to collaborate and communicate with your project partners more effectively.
Finally, studying graphic design could be beneficial. As a UX Designer, you’ll focus on the look and feel of webpages and applications, including the images and graphics used. Mastering graphic design can come in handy at smaller companies where team members are often tackling more than one aspect of a project.
Known as the birthplace of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” Baltimore is a city where history meets innovation. This dynamic blend of past and future fuels the city’s thriving industries—all of which increasingly depend on user experience (UX) design to stay competitive. Below are some of the top sectors in Baltimore where UX professionals can make a significant impact.
Baltimore County’s prime east coast location positions it as a key hub for transportation, distribution, and logistics. The industry supports 235,538 jobs, generates $11 billion in worker income, and includes 14,000 employers regionally. Statewide, those figures rise to 462,196 jobs, $22 billion in income, and 33,000 employers. Major players such as Amazon, Sam’s Club, Walmart, and the U.S. Postal Service contribute to this robust network—creating opportunities for UX Designers to improve everything from delivery systems to warehouse interfaces.
Education is another cornerstone of Baltimore’s economy. The county is home to five major colleges and more than 760 public and private education organizations, employing 24,080 professionals and generating $935 million in worker income. According to Niche.com’s 2020 Rankings, Baltimore County’s four-year institutions rank among the top ten in Maryland, fostering a steady pipeline of educated talent and ongoing demand for UX expertise in online learning, digital platforms, and administrative systems.
With over 55,000 government employees working in Baltimore County, the region plays a vital role in local and federal operations. Its proximity to Washington, D.C., along with access to the I-95 corridor and a highly skilled workforce, makes it a strategic location for major government headquarters. UX design is essential here too—improving the accessibility, efficiency, and user-friendliness of public sector digital services.
Baltimore’s mid-Atlantic location and medical reputation make it a leader in healthcare innovation. The city is home to top institutions like Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland Medical System, MedStar Health, and LifeBridge Health. In March 2024, Maryland added 1,600 healthcare jobs, bringing the year’s total to 7,400 new positions—a 2.0% growth rate, nearly double the national average. Baltimore also has deep roots in medical technology, with companies like Covidien—founded locally in 1976—pioneering advancements in the field. From telehealth interfaces to patient management systems, the need for skilled UX Designers in healthcare continues to grow.
The U.S. Department of Labor and Statistics reports that Web and Digital Interface Designers make an average wage of $101,000. (UX design is often lumped into the same category as user or digital interface), which is substantially more than the average salary. UX design jobs can fall under a variety of different job titles, so it’s important to know what keywords to look for and what each job description entails.
The most common job title is UX Designer, with professionals in this role making anywhere from $96,000 to over $111,000 in Baltimore. Many entry-level roles will have this title, giving you a great place to start your search and launch your career. With the national average salary sitting at around $59,000 in the United States, it’s easy to see how lucrative a career as a UX Designer can be.
A UX Architect, or User Experience Architect, is a professional who designs and improves the user experience for digital products. They use psychology, design, and technology to create seamless interactions that are intuitive, enjoyable, and functional. Salaries in Baltimore can range widely for a UX Architect, averaging around $130,000 depending on the company and your level of experience.
If you prefer to be a little more behind the scenes, focused on the implementing and testing aspects of product development, then you could become a UX Researcher. While perhaps less visible, this role still boasts a salary above the national average, with Baltimore locals making over $109,000 per year.
UX Managers are responsible for ensuring that users have a positive experience with a product by meeting their needs and expectations. This involves a variety of tasks, including conducting user research, designing user interfaces, managing a team of designers and researchers, setting design standards and processes, coaching and mentoring team members, providing feedback on team members’ work, and identifying areas for improvement. The average salary in Baltimore for a UX Manager is $125,000.
Held live online (or in-person in New York), Noble Desktop’s UX boot camp covers design concepts, industry tools like Figma, and research methodologies. With the help of expert instructors, you’ll learn to design digital products (like websites and apps) and build clickable prototypes that you can show to users for testing, clients for review, and developers who will turn your design into the final working product.
Small class sizes help to foster a more intentional learning environment, and extra benefits like one-on-one mentoring and a free retake add extra value to the cost of this course. You’ll get a certificate upon completion that you can display on your LinkedIn or add to your resume or portfolio.
Noble Desktop also offers this intensive certificate program that covers both UX and UI design. Students will gain the skills needed to become a UX/UI Designer through training in design concepts, industry-standard tools like Figma, and research methodologies. This program teaches you to design user-friendly products while preparing you for a career with hands-on projects and one-on-one mentoring. You’ll design prototypes and digital products, conduct user research and testing, and use these insights to iterate and refine your designs for a seamless user experience. Upon completion, you’ll be presented with a certificate that you can present to future employers to prove your competency.
Noble Desktop also offers this more specific course that focuses on Figma’s design and prototyping capabilities, which are used by UX Designers across the globe. In this class, you’ll learn to create designs and then turn them into interactive prototypes that go from screen to screen, open navigation overlays, make specific areas within a screen scrollable, and more. You’ll even add animations to your designs using Smart Animate, gain experience with advanced prototyping functionality, and create flexible design systems with components, styles, variables, and more.
If you’re looking to offer in-person or online training to your office or team, Noble Desktop can help. It offers a variety of corporate training programs, including in UX design. You can order vouchers in bulk at a discount, choose which courses are available to employees, and even let your employees choose their own schedule. Plus, you can choose to have your training hosted at a location of your choosing, live online, or at Noble Desktop’s Manhattan office.
With a top-notch customizable curriculum and instructors who are experts in their industries, Noble Desktop’s corporate training is designed to cater to your business or organization’s needs. For more information or to schedule a free consultation, you can reach out to Noble Desktop at corporate@nobledesktop.com.