Introduction to User Experience

Design is about organizing materials and processes in a productive way. It integrates all kinds of human needs – social, psychological, emotional, technological, biological – into a full picture. It’s about developing a clear understanding of the current state in order to look for possible futures and an ideal state. User Experience, or UX, applies these principles in the digital world. Investing in UX design will help you and your organization differentiate your offerings and create successful, delightful interactions with your users.

During this six week course, students will be introduced to the main functional areas of UX. Homework assignments each week will build upon each other and take students through a complete digital design project to address a problem statement they find interesting, ex: pet care service, gift exchange, book delivery.

Introduction to Usability

Is your website as usable as it should be? If not, your users are only a click away from getting a better experience from a competitor. In this six-week course you’ll learn the principles, methods and tools for evaluating your website’s usability—and recommending key improvements. Lessons each week will examine a different principle of usability, and students will evaluate their website based on the criteria covered that week. Participants will come away not only with a working knowledge of the factors that contribute to (or detract from) a website’s usability, but also with a full Usability Evaluation of the website of your choice.