Introduction to UX Design for Beginners by a New York Product Designer

UX Design, Learning Living Knowledge!
We help you get started on UX with solid fundamentals and practical know-how.

Hi, this is Eric! 😀

I came to New York to study abroad at the School of Visual Arts (majoring in Interaction Design) and currently work as a product designer at The Knot Worldwide (TKWW), a global tech company in New York, doing UX, UI design, and user research. FYI, TKWW creates platform services focused on weddings and parties. Before that, I worked as a product designer at a fintech startup in New York, and before coming to New York, I worked as a UI planner in Seoul, planning and creating smartphone apps. FYI, even though I’m in New York now, I’m a pure native Korean^^

Since I entered the UX field, I have witnessed many changes in the past 10 years. One of them is that people have been using the Internet much more since the iPhone came out, and as a result, the importance of UX design has become greater than ever. People are solving many aspects of their daily lives through smartphones and the Internet. As such, it has become possible and important to scientifically create apps or websites to meet people's needs through experiments and data. Accordingly, the demand for UX designers who know how to understand users, experiment, iterate, and improve designs is increasing. So if you are thinking about entering the UX field or have already decided, I would like to tell you that it is a good idea to consider the future.

Through this class, I will help those who have not majored in design and are just starting to study UX to easily and enjoyably enter this field. I will teach you about the essence of UX and UX design, and the know-how I have gained from working in various environments such as corporations, startups, tech companies, and freelancers for many years. I will also share my knowledge and experience on how UX designers find problems and create solutions when working, and how they collaborate with developers and PMs, so that you can design your UX career on a good foundation. 💪

1. Lecture Introduction 👋

'Easy and fun introduction to UX design from practitioners'

People may feel uncomfortable when using a product or service. What is the cause of this problem? Is it because people are machines?

No. In the world of UX design, this is strictly the responsibility of designers and architects. It is seen as a lack or absence of consideration of the user's perspective when creating a service. UX designers exist to empathize with the user's perspective, not their own, and to solve their problems. This can be connected to the core of business success.

Do you see what these products have in common? Regardless of aesthetics, they are inconvenient for users to use. In UX, designing a beautiful product is not enough.

Airbnb, Uber, Pinterest, Facebook... The reason why these famous services succeed is no different. They didn't just create pretty and cool apps and websites, but they continued to learn about the difficulties and problems their users faced and solved them.

For example, Airbnb was born when founder Brian Chesky, a recent college graduate, wanted to make money using his spare space in his San Francisco home, and when he saw the needs of travelers who were short on accommodations for conferences and other events. UX design is at the center of this process of continually learning about these user needs.

Airbnb's early design (Source: fueled.com)

In order to understand the needs of users, UX designers repeatedly create hypotheses, come up with solutions to solve them, and verify whether these actually solve the users' problems. This process requires collaboration with related team members such as developers, PMs, and marketers. This process may not be easy. And depending on the size of the company, such as whether it is a startup or a large corporation, the company's problem-solving method, and the nature of the product, the UX design approach may vary.

So, in order to get started with UX design, you need to ask questions about the essence of UX. What is UX, and what is the role of a UX designer? You need to be able to find answers to the questions of what the core competencies of a UX designer are that do not change in a constantly changing environment, how to adapt to change, and how to communicate with the people you work with.

In this lecture, I will share with you the knowledge and experiences that have been of practical help to me as a practitioner, so that you can find the answer faster.

And a bonus "Designer's Mindset"! 🎁

There is a mindset that I learned while working as a UX designer in the US. Knowing this concept, I am working 100 times, 1,000 times more comfortably and happily. Although I work comfortably, I am growing and working more than before, and I feel a lot of reward. I will tell you about this mindset that I learned and how it can be a great help to UX designers!

2. Target audience: This course is for these people. 👨👩

I have been teaching introductory UX design courses for beginners through various channels including Tal-ing ( related link ). Most of the students who have taken my courses have asked the following common question:

"What does UX design do?"

“I’m not a major, can I become a UX designer?”

"I don't know if I have a good visual sense, but can I get into this field?"

I was able to help you find the answer to this question based on my experience and knowledge. I think it was helpful for beginners to share the knowledge and experience I have accumulated from working in various environments, from Korea and the US, startups to tech companies, and as a freelancer, since I first entered the UX field.

I think the most effective way to get started with UX design is to hear from practitioners. Even if you study a lot of theories, if you don’t know how to apply them in practice, the meaning of learning will be reduced. In other words, studying living, working knowledge is the most important thing.

So! 💡 This class was created with the following people in mind:

✔️ People who are interested in UX design and want to know what UX designers do

In this class, I will talk about the essential definition of what UX is, what UX designers do specifically, how they collaborate and communicate with other team members such as developers and product managers, and even practical aspects such as how designers increase their salary. So, I will help people who have no knowledge of this field to understand UX to some extent.

✔️ Non-design majors, working in a field completely unrelated to UX, but considering switching careers to UX

The UX field is a field that is becoming increasingly important and growing in market these days as the internet and technology become more important. This is a global trend, not just in Korea. So I’ve met many people who see the potential of the UX field and are thinking about changing careers. However, non-design majors have some common concerns. They are worried about whether they can do it since they did not major in design and do not have a visual sense or the ability to visualize ideas. So in this class, I will tell you what core competencies are required for designers and what efforts should be made to develop those competencies. I think I can answer the question of whether non-design majors can do UX and UI design to some extent.

✔️ Those who want to quickly build a solid foundation in UX and UI

In order to do well in UX and UI design, it is important to have a solid foundation. This is ultimately about logical thinking. One of the things that designers often do wrong when designing a product is explaining the reason for the design. UX focuses a lot on the reason. Why is it good to design this way, how can it help the user, what kind of experiments led to this. So in this class, I will tell you about the design principles and the importance of design principles that you need to know in order to quickly develop logical thinking in a short period of time.

✔️ People who have a desire to learn about new fields

The UX field requires designers to constantly learn and experiment. They need to know what users want, how technology is changing, and understand business and business models. In that sense, the UX field can be a good fit for those who like to learn something. You can also learn about the UX field itself through this opportunity.

3. What you will gain from this course 🙌

① Understanding the core concepts of UX and how UX is created

First, after taking this course, you will understand the core concepts of UX and how UX is created in the field and through what process. And you will learn what methods are used for product development in the current tech industry and how the role of the designer can change depending on each method. This will ultimately determine how UX designers will collaborate with stakeholders such as PMs, engineers, and marketers, so you will also understand the aspect of collaboration.

Introducing wireframes, one of the core activities for creating UX

Introduction to UI design, creating high-fidelity prototypes and final deliverables

② Principles for “quickly” doing UX, UI design, and user research ✨

You can learn about the design principles used in the field to create good UX and UI designs, and why you should continue to study to become a good designer. No matter what you start, if you have a solid foundation, you can do it faster and better. Through this course, I will help you build your foundation, and through the foundation, you can design your career on a good foundation.

The part about "consistency" among the design principles that create good UX in classes. Throughout the class, I will explain how each concept and principle can be applied in practice through examples. I will insist on a case-centered class. 🤝

A section on "Heuristic Evaluation: Status Guidance" among the design principles for creating good UI for classes.

③ Understanding UX jobs and types

There are various types of jobs in the UX design field. There are various types such as UX designer, UI designer, product designer, user researcher, etc., and even with the same title, the roles given may vary depending on the nature of the company. Through this class, you will understand what jobs there are, what each job does, and through this, you will be able to think about what kind of job you would like to do.

④ Understanding UX/UI design tools 🛠️

Designers need to be able to create outputs that visualize their ideas, such as wireframes and UI designs. To do this, it is important for beginners to understand what design tools are available on the market, the pros and cons of each, and which tool to learn.

There has been a huge change in UX/UI design tools in recent years. Photoshop, which was used by most people only a few years ago, is being neglected, and Sketch and Figma are on the rise. I will tell you which tools are hot right now, why they are hot, and why they make it easier for you to become a UX/UI designer.

Here's why the rising Figma app is gaining popularity among designers, and what its pros and cons are~ ( Image source: Figma.com)

⑤ Career design and roadmap 🚀

After taking this course, you will be able to make a specific plan for what to do for your career design and roadmap. If you have decided to enter the UX design industry after taking this course, it is important to know what specific plan you need to make to become a designer in a short period of time and achieve your goals such as employment or studying abroad. I will give you recommendations and tips on what activities you should do to achieve your goals in the next step.

⑥ And, bonus honey tip release🍯. Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Here are some questions that students often ask me, such as how designers can "quickly" increase their salary, whether designers need coding skills, and whether it's better to work at a large company or a startup. If you have any additional questions, please leave a comment in the Q&A section!

Then see you in class! 👋