Why Learn Adobe XD?

Adobe XD is a dedicated user experience design tool that allows designers to build wireframe designs of web and mobile interfaces. These designs can then be converted into working prototypes that can be shared for collaborative design or testing. Have you ever explored all of the things Adobe XD can do? Since so many industries work to build a web presence, digital designers and user experience designers can find employment in almost every industry. In addition, learning XD will help users become better at testing and iterating on their designs to help them build more accessible web pages. Finally, because of its direct integration with the rest of the Adobe Creative Cloud, learning XD can help users become more adept at using other programs, like Photoshop or Illustrator. Here, you’ll learn more about the types of careers that benefit from Adobe XD and how it can enhance your professional life. Regardless of your overall goals, learning Adobe XD is a valuable and impressive skill to add to your resume.

What is Adobe XD?

Adobe XD is Adobe’s vector-based user interface design tool. XD was designed to address Photoshop’s and Illustrator’s inadequacies as web design tools, and as such, XD is built entirely with user interface design in mind. Users can build vector-based wireframes for websites and share them with other users as functional prototypes of webpages, allowing users to test their own web designs for future iterations. Links, animations, voice responsiveness, and automated scrolling features let users model working websites with complex and interactive features, and collaborative tools allow teams of designers to work together on building web designs.

Adobe XD is one of the newest additions to the Adobe Creative Cloud, and like most Creative Cloud programs, it is designed with heavy Creative Cloud integration in mind. Users can import Photoshop and Illustrator designs and assets as parts of their UI designs, and Adobe InDesign is an ideal tool for building sketches of web pages. Unlike other Adobe Creative Cloud software, XD is still a relatively new tool, meaning that it doesn’t have the decades of iteration and releases that Photoshop and its ilk have received. This means that updates are frequently adding new tools, but it also means that the program hasn’t become an unchallenged industry standard yet.

Adobe XD is an ideal skill for web designers and UX/UI developers to learn as a dedicated web interface design tool. The ease with which it allows users to build working prototypes of web pages makes the process of testing and iterating on designs faster and more efficient than ever.

Read more about what Adobe XD is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Adobe XD?

Adobe XD is a versatile page layout design application that lets users build realistic, working prototypes of web layouts for testing and collaboration. The software lets users take basic shapes, designs, and applications and build them into vibrant and memorable web page designs. The program then lets users transform those designs into working prototypes within the application so that they may test and update their designs in real-time.

The ease with which Adobe XD allows creatives to build and test designs means that it is incredibly easy to produce a prototype, share it with other users to test the prototype's functionality, and receive feedback from those tests to return to the original design for iteration. This ease assures that designers aren’t having to undertake long, arduous processes every time they want to test a new iteration of a design, meaning that they can test more frequently and with more diverse groups of users.

Creatives who are interested in entering the world of web design and user experience design will greatly benefit from learning user interface design software like Adobe XD. Anyone already familiar with the Adobe Creative Cloud benefits even more from this training, as the program is built to help users build the kinds of prototypes they were already using in older programs like Photoshop.

Common Professional Uses for Adobe XD

Owing to the sheer number of web pages produced and the increasing emphasis that companies and organizations place on their digital footprint, Web Designers and User Experience Designers are highly sought after in many industries. These designers work with building web pages and user interfaces for various interfaces ranging from web page navigation to digital marketplaces to video game heads-up displays. The sheer variety of digital interfaces that users interact with on a daily basis means that skilled professionals who can build those interfaces will be in high demand. Since Adobe XD was built with this large diversity of interfaces in mind, it is an ideal tool for aspiring digital designers to master in order to jump-start their careers.

Noble offers professionalization training in Adobe XD. The Adobe XD Bootcamp provides students with hands-on training in both User Interface and User Experience design. Students will learn how to use Adobe XD to build wireframe designs, optimize those designs for desktop computers, tablets, and mobile devices, and how to design with advanced tools such as animations and scroll groups. Through practical exercises, students will build working prototype designs and learn how to use the tools in XD to design layouts more efficiently.

For students looking to receive more in-depth professional training, Noble’s Digital Design Certificate program gives students hands-on instruction in every stage of webpage design. Students will learn how to use creative design tools like Photoshop and Illustrator to build digital assets that will be imported into Adobe XD to create functioning, interactive interface elements. Students will also receive training in the business side of web design, receive one-on-one career mentoring, and build a working portfolio of sample designs.

Learn to Build More Accessible Web Pages

One of the most important elements of building a web page is assuring that users can understand and interact with the elements of that page. User interface and user experience are different fields because user experience design is less about graphic design creativity and more about understanding how users interact with web pages. Not only do organizations want their web presence to be accessible, but they also want users to have positive experiences with their websites.

The ease with which Adobe XD allows creatives to build and test designs means that it is incredibly easy to produce a prototype, share it with other users to test the prototype's functionality, and receive feedback from those tests to return to the original design for iteration. This ease assures that designers aren’t having to undertake long, arduous processes every time they want to test a new iteration of a design, meaning that they can test more frequently and with more diverse groups of users.

User Experience Design is a fairly complex field with its own set of theories and best practices. Those new to the field may wish to consider Noble’s UX Design in a Day course. This course provides students with an overview of the field and the methodologies of research and testing that let UX designers make informed, thoughtful decisions concerning the interfaces that they design.

Master the Adobe Creative Cloud

For years prior to the release of Adobe XD, creatives were using tools like Illustrator and Photoshop to build designs for web pages. This was a cumbersome process, as these programs weren’t built with web layouts in mind. However, when Adobe released XD, they did so knowing that it would closely integrate with the rest of their Creative Cloud software. Thus, learning XD is a useful space for designers to also learn or build upon their skills in programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator. Since the programs are so closely linked and most users will have access to the entire suite through a Creative Cloud license, one of the advantages of learning a single program is that it opens a number of paths to make use of other programs.

Users interested in building their skills in other programs may wish to consider enrolling in Noble’s Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp or Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp. Both of these programs are useful for XD Web Designers because they are the programs whose limitations XD was designed to address. In these classes, students will learn to build graphical elements of their web pages and integrate them into XD interfaces. On the flip side, learning XD will give students a space to apply their existing knowledge of these programs to a new design medium, letting them put their illustrating and photo-editing skills to a new use.

How to Start Learning Adobe XD

For many students, hands-on instruction is the best way to learn a new skill. Live Adobe XD training is available both in-person and online, and Noble’s Classes Near Me Tool can help students locate live and online learning opportunities available to them. These live courses let students interact directly with their instructors and receive personalized feedback on their work. Hands-on learning exercises will help students master Adobe XD and prepare them for a career in web design.

On-demand courses are also available for students looking for a more flexible schedule to learn XD. These courses let students dictate the pace of their training, which can be ideal for students who have obligations that prevent them from attending in-person classes. These courses will require students to be self-motivated, as they won’t be provided tailored feedback. Students interested in on-demand learning options can utilize Noble’s website to search for on-demand XD courses.

There are also a number of free tutorials and training options available. Noble’s XD Learn page and the Web Design and Development playlist on their official YouTube channel provide users with free articles, tutorials, and videos to help them learn XD. These resources won’t be enough to replace more professional training options, but they are ideal places to begin learning XD basics.

Read the full guide on how to learn Adobe XD.

Learn Adobe XD with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Noble offers a number of online options for Adobe XD training. For novice users, the Adobe XD in a Day course provides students with training in the program's basic features, such as how to build a simple wireframe layout and collaborate with other designers. This course is designed to give students the required knowledge to learn more advanced XD skills at their own pace. Adobe XD Advanced offers students this advanced training, building on existing XD skills to teach students how to use scroll groups, animations, and sound effects to create dynamic and complex design prototypes. These courses can be taken together in the Adobe XD Bootcamp.

Noble also offers career-focused training through their Digital Design Certificate and Web Design Certificate programs. These immersive courses teach students the skills they will need in future careers as Digital Designers and Web Designers. The Digital Design Certificate program focuses more on web design's creative and visual side, teaching students how to design assets in Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign to be imported into XD for use in a web layout. The Web Design Certificate focuses on the technical side of the field, teaching students how to code in HTML/CSS and JavaScript to turn their designs into functioning web interfaces.

These certificate programs teach students who want to enter the UX/UI design industry. They come with one-on-one career mentoring sessions and provide industry-recognized certificates of completion, confirming to prospective employers that graduates have received professional training in several important career skills. In addition, because they are hands-on courses, students will participate in practical design exercises and build their own sample designs or working prototypes to place in a sample design portfolio when they enter the job market.

Key Insights

• Adobe XD is Adobe's web interface design tool. It is a relatively new part of the Creative Cloud designed to provide users with tools specifically designed for building layouts and web page prototypes.
• Web Designers and User Experience Designers use Adobe XD to help design vibrant, memorable, accessible user interfaces for web pages, mobile applications, and video games.
• As it is so easy to test and iterate designs with XD quickly, it is an ideal tool for user experience testing. This means that it helps User Experience Designers test their interfaces and respond quickly to feedback.
• As a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, XD easily integrates with Adobe’s other creative tools like Photoshop and Illustrator. This means that learning any of these programs will assist users in learning other programs and allow them to do more creative work with their existing skills.
• Professionals looking to use Adobe XD can find a number of different training options available through Noble.