Hey! I'm Deja. I have been a designer and developer since 2015. I have watched the field of UX blossom from this "unknown term I had to explain" to now being one of the most sought after careers in the tech industry.

Several of my peers have asked how to get started learning UX design. Here are a few of the resources, sites, and creators that shared information about UX/UI development or general design. All of these resources are free or can be accessed with a limited free trial.

None of the links are affiliated or sponsored. Please follow links at your own risk and practice internet safety.😊

What is UX/UI Design? What are UX/UI Designers?

UX = user experience. UI = user interface.

UX design is a practice that focuses on enhancing the user's experience with a product, whereas UI design is a practice that focuses on how an interface or product looks. UX and UI design are two different aspects of product design that require a compatible, and almost identical skillset. In this article, we will use the term "UX" to refer to both user experience designers and user interface designers.

A UX designer studies how people use a product—from the user's point of view—and considers how that may be impacted by features and functions of the product.

UX professionals work with digital products, physical products, or even imaginative products. Any product that requires user interaction can be improved using UX methods.

UX designers conduct research, participate in marketing and development meetings, create wireframes, mockups, and prototypes for a product. Most importantly, UX designers are champions for their users. Their job is to understand and empathize with users and to alter a product to be more enjoyable for the user. UX designers must consider all potential users, of various abilities and backgrounds, ages, cultures, and more. It is a logic-heavy job that requires creativity and psychology expertise.

UX/UI Design Training Resources

Codecademy

Codecademy is an online platform dedicated to giving anyone the skills they need to be successful in the modern century. They have a UX design course alongside resources for learning about web and mobile development.

Course Link: https://www.codecademy.com/learn/intro-to-ui-ux

Nielsen Norman Group

The Nielsen Norman Group website was created by UX pioneers Don Norman and Jakob Nielsen. It is a popular site to keep up with design industry standards and trends. They offer free articles and videos to browse. You'll find some gems on this website.

Browse Free Articles: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/#videos

Coursera

The mission of Coursera is to provide transformative education experiences for learners around the world. They have various educational classes and programs including UX design courses. The courses listed below are a part of their paid tier. You can access these classes using a 7 day free trial. You can also apply for a tuition assistance scholarship. Additionally, you may get the option to audit classes if you take the course class-by-class (instead of enrolling in the certified program).

Google: https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-ux-design University of Michigan UX: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/michiganux CALARTS: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/ui-ux-design

FreeCodeCamp

FreeCodeCamp is a non-profit organization that offers free coding courses, tutorials, and blog posts for people interested in learning to code. Check out their UX design articles to learn from experts about popular design techniques, methodologies, and web accessibility.

Browse Articles: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/search/?query=ux

EdX

EdX is an online learning platform that hosts over 3,000 courses from universities and organizations around the world. You can audit edX courses for free.

UX Design Course: https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-to-user-experience-3

Product Design Course: https://www.edx.org/course/product-design-prototyping-testing

Product Design Course: https://www.edx.org/course/product-design-the-delft-design-approach

Game Design: https://www.edx.org/course/game-systems-and-balance

Figma

Figma is a tool for interactive design and one of the most popular UX design assets. It's free to use and offers a mini design course that covers basic design principles and how to use the Figma software.

Learn with Figma: https://www.figma.com/resources/learn-design/lessons/

Adobe Live

Adobe is the company behind popular tools Photoshop, After Effects, and Acrobat. If you plan to learn about design, I highly recommend creating a Behance account and checking out what artists have created using Adobe tools. Adobe also offers free courses and classes through "Adobe Live." You can watch "Adobe Live" on Behance as well as YouTube. Both links will be below!

Behance: https://www.behance.net/live/replays/creative-fields/132/UI-UX Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVMJPRXrBIOFDBZEaF-_pEA

Udemy

The website Udemy helps people learn new skills and earn credentials by providing a platform for instructors to share their knowledge with the world. There are plenty of paid courses, but it also has a good number of free courses. You can browse Udemy's collection of free UX design courses at the link below.

Udemy Search: https://www.udemy.com/courses/search/?price=price-free&q=ux+design

Linkedin Learning

LinkedIn Learning is an on-demand library of instructional videos offered on the Linkedin website. They offer a 1 month free trial for people who have a LinkedIn account. You can query UX design on their platform to find neat courses.

Checkout Courses: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/

Youtube

YouTube is the popular video sharing platform.Below are a few channels on YouTube that I recommend for their high-quality UX design content.

UX Design Course Tutorial for Beginners: User Experience Design Fundamentals

UX Design Process Explained (in 17 Minutes)

Learn UI/UX Design & Figma - 2022 Interactive Crash Course

I hope these resources are useful to you. Please feel free to share them with friends or family who might benefit. And if you have time, please consider leaving a like or comment. Thank you!