# UX Design Foundations Canonical URL: ## Overview User experience (UX) design is often misunderstood as simply interface design, but is actually composed of many moving parts beyond the visual aspect—a good user experience also considers how the user feels. Whether you’re exploring a new career or looking to better understand the role of UX Designers on your team, the User Experience Foundations course is the perfect primer to learn more about the user experience design process. This UX class will blend lectures, discussions, industry examples, and classroom activities. You’ll leave the class with a broad understanding of how UX Designers work with other team members, fundamentals of the industry, and how designers move from research insights to design concepts. ## What you'll learn - What user experience design is - How UX Designers work - The overall UX design process - UX research methods: user interviews, observations, heuristics, etc. - UXD terminology and deliverables: personas, journey maps, scenarios, etc. - Sketching and the iterative design process - How to document and present your work ## Curriculum ### **What is UX Design?** - UX Design vs. UI Design - UX Design Principles ### **Disciplines in UX Design** ### **Common UX Design Tools** ### **What is UX Research?** - Iterative Design Process - Research Methods ### **Product Requirements & Problem Definition** - User Needs vs. Business Needs - Business Constraints - What is an MVP? ### **What are UX Deliverables/Artifacts?** - Market Research - Competitive Analysis - Analytics - Stakeholder Interviews - User Interviews - Surveys ### **Product Requirements** - What do users need to accomplish and what features support these goals? - How do time, budget, and resources affect what we are building? ### **Information Architecture + Navigation** #### Organizing Content - Sitemap - Taxonomy - Content Inventory - User Flows ### **Wireframing & Prototyping** #### Sketching - How do we turn ideas into designs? - Focus on testing assumptions before moving to high-fidelity deliverables - If the ideas don't work on paper, they won't work in high-fidelity digital #### Wireframing - Define the structure, hierarchy, and scale of the interface - What level of fidelity is appropriate? - Creating an interface language or methodology - What are some common programs used to create wireframes? #### Prototyping - What are the different types of prototypes and when is each used? - What does a prototype accomplish? - How do we test our prototypes ### **Usability Testing** - What are the different types of usability testing and when is each used? - What does user feedback tell us and how does we incorporate it? ### **UX Design Documentation** ### **Presenting UX Design Research** ## Schedule - Aug 5, 2026 – Aug 17, 2026 — NYC - Aug 6, 2026 – Aug 10, 2026 — NYC - Nov 5, 2026 – Nov 6, 2026 — NYC ## Instructors ### Michael Suen — Instructor Michael is an independent designer and creative director. For over a decade, he has run the design studio Weirdo, helping early-stage startups and enterprise companies alike clarify their unique value proposition and meaningfully engage their customers. Drawing on his experience as a certified Design Sprint facilitator and former startup co-founder, Michael has worked side-by-side with leaders at LinkedIn, Bose, KonMari, Lovevery, IntelyCare, Hazel Health, and more to launch new brands, products, and services. His projects have been featured in the likes of _TechCrunch_, _The_ _Wall Street Journal_, and _NPR_, and won awards at South by Southwest and Games for Change. Prior to his position at Noble Desktop, Michael served as an adjunct professor at the City University of New York, where he co-created the user experience curriculum for their workforce training program. He has also taught user experience design at General Assembly and lectured on playful design at MIT and Haverford College. In his former lives, Michael covered arts and culture as a journalist, shipped award-winning educational games as a digital producer, and participated in two successful startup exits as a founding designer (SwitchUp acquired by Optimal in 2018, VocaliD acquired by Veritone in 2022). Raised in Hong Kong and educated in Vermont, he now lives in Queens, NY. ### Christophe Drayton — Instructor Christophe is the instructor for the UX & UI Design Certificate, Figma Advanced, and Generative AI courses at Noble Desktop, and the founder and Chief Design Officer of Kaaiind, which specializes in Applied Artificial Intelligence in the Creative field. With over 20 years in Branding, UX Design, and Accessibility across Europe and the US, Christophe has positively impacted the digital experience of a large spectrum of companies, ranging from big data to startups, government entities to nonprofits, both in the private and public sectors. As an Educator, Christophe has led transformative and award-winning UX programs at Thinkful, the City University of New York (CUNY), and the Brooklyn Public Library, which have opened doors for underrepresented groups in tech who have secured roles at top companies like Google, Uber, Citi, and IBM. Most recently, he has developed innovative curricula about AI in the workplace for the University of Phoenix, LinkedIn Learning, and Coursera. Today, he focuses on developing Allie, one of the first AI-powered, patent-pending color-blind safe and WCAG-compliant design system generator, while concluding his 5-year fundamental research on color vision deficiencies in digital environments. Christophe believes in hands-on, practical application of human-centered strategy and ethical and inclusive design. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge to inspire and empower the next generation of designers, especially those entering the field through nontraditional paths. ## FAQ ### Do I need to bring anything to the class? No. We provide computers (Mac or PC) with the required software installed. Choose your operating system at checkout. ## Pricing **Tuition:** $695