If you’re looking to get a head start in UX design or planning to further launch your career, then check out the top ten UX/UI design courses recommended by the CreateApe team.
User Experience Design Essentials - Adobe XD UI UX Design
What To Expect
Price: $84.99
Level: Introductory / Beginner
Length: 10 hours across 21 sections
If you're looking to get your foot in the door with some UX/UI design courses, User Experience Design Essentials is a great starting point. While it is a bit pricey if you don't catch it on sale, Udemy runs massive sales that fall in the 70-80% mark down range. We highly recommend picking this course up at a discount (even though it's worth the full price) to learn the basics of design.
This design course begins with minor details like color choice and font selection to build your foundation as a designer. Afterward, you'll go more in-depth into the actual design process, from creating wireframes to prototyping your design to finalizing your project and sending it off for professional review. From start to finish, this course takes you through the basics in an easy-to-digest format.
In Short
Pros:
- It’s a beginner design course.
- Easy to digest and understand.
- Typically on sale.
Cons:
- If you’re experienced, this course likely covers everything you already know.
Course Contents:
- Build and test a full website design using premade UI kits.
- Download and complete design exercises.
- Create a project ready to add to your portfolio.
- Learn basic industry lingo.
Google UX Design Professional Certificate
Price: Free to enroll, $39 per month once started
Level: Beginner / Intermediate
Length: Six months / 10 hours a week
A Google UX design certificate is a great way to get ahead as a designer, not to mention it looks great on a job application.
While it is a bit lengthy, the information covered in this course ranges from the basics like building your foundational skill set to more advanced topics such as designing user experiences. The entire course covers the bases you’ll need to cross to become a designer.
Most people complete the six UX/UI design courses at a rate of 10 hours per week, landing a hefty $300 price tag. However, completing the course(s) early can lower the total cost. The price itself can be a lesson since time management is a vital skill for any designer.
In Short
Pros:
- Rewards expedient learning.
- Does a great job establishing the baseline.
- Financial aid is available.
- Can segment learning.
Cons:
- A bit on the pricier side.
- No human element.
- Must complete the entire course to receive certification.
Course Contents:
- Google UX design certificate.
- Six different courses.
- Complete knowledge of the design process, from start to finish.
UI Design: Animated Is Better
Price: $100
Level: Intermediate
Length: 3 hours 50 minutes across five sections
Are you looking to take your designs to the next level? Some UX/UI design courses for animation are a great next step. Animated Is Better details the basics of animation to lay out the groundwork for building keyframes and animation in the Mac-exclusive Principle or universal After Effects apps.
UI animations serve as a mini-tutorial for the user that guides them through an experience. Even though micro animations are often seen as an afterthought, they’re the first thing a user sees when they interact with a design.
If implemented properly, UI animation can be a powerful tool to effectively catch a user’s attention, and the programs covered in this course can streamline animations into your design.
This course does a fantastic job segmenting information for the two widely used programs for animation. Since there’s a dedicated section for each, you’ll essentially receive two classes for the price of one.
Speaking of cost, Awwwards does occasionally put courses on sale at a massive price cut (albeit not as frequently as Udemy). Try picking up this course at a discount to put yourself ahead of the curve without breaking the bank.
In Short
Pros:
- Two courses for the price of one.
- Clear and efficient lesson structure.
Cons:
- This course focuses on refining an existing skill set.
Course Contents:
- How to use Principle effectively.
- How to utilize After Effects for video editing.
- The basics on how to add animation to your work.
How To Embrace Contemporary Trends and Create Award-Winning Experiences
Price: $100
Level: Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
Length: 3 hours 42 minutes
Creative Nights puts out a clear and concise lesson on the elusive topic of how to stay relevant. Presented in an understandable format, it's suitable for all skill levels. Anyone can pick up this UI/UX design course for a reasonable price.
However, the course focuses more on refining existing skills rather than teaching new ones, so beginners might have a more challenging time keeping up. With that said, the lessons in this course do a great job of guiding existing habits and experience to work with modern techniques, helping you to create unique designs that stand out on their own.
In Short
Pros:
- Includes takeaways for every experience group.
- Teaches the thought process behind designs.
Cons:
- Lessons run a little short, resulting in re-watching.
Course Contents:
- Explains foundational knowledge for UX design
- Acknowledges the modern standard and how to meet it.
- Elaborates on how to achieve successful design without copying the next biggest thing.
Figma UI UX Design Essentials
Price: $99.99
Level: Beginner
Length: 11 hours 32 minutes
If you’re a beginner looking to sharpen your Figma skills, this course is right up your alley. However, like most Udemy courses, this one has a substantial entry fee that luckily gets slashed every so often to make the lessons a bit more affordable.
This course is more or less three lessons jammed into one. For starters, it covers the baseline knowledge for Figma while also teaching the groundwork on client expectations.
After the initial lessons, the course details how to meet the presented expectations while outlining and defining industry terminology. However, this course is lengthy, so be sure to set aside some time to power through the lessons.
In Short
Pros:
- Three lessons for the price of one.
- Usually on sale.
- Easy-to-digest format.
Cons:
- This course becomes less useful if you have existing in-depth knowledge of Figma.
- Lessons run long.
Course Contents:
- How to create a wireframe.
- Implementing color and formatting a wireframe.
- Steps on how to prototype your design.
- Introduction to Figma applications to make your life easier.
UI Design Patterns For Successful Software
Price: $16/month
Level: Beginner / Intermediate
Length: 24 hours across 7 weeks
This online classroom works to systematically build your knowledge and ultimately reward your efforts with an industry-recognized certification to prove your professional skills.
In terms of UI/UX design courses, this one goes into extreme depth on how to develop user-friendly design patterns. Through everyday examples, these lessons help you see what makes a design great from the perspective of non-designers.
This specific course is the beginning of four different learning paths for moving forward as a designer. For example, the following courses focus on either UX design, interaction, visual design, or UI design to further build on the lessons they provide in this course. As a result, you’ll receive more guidance than most other courses on where to go next to evolve as a designer.
Though, this course only opens in waves. If you miss the closing date, you’re out of luck until it opens again. The information provided is released weekly, so even if you’re ahead of schedule, receiving your certificate will still take seven weeks.
This process allows actual people to review your work and construct feedback. However, if you’re a hard-charging designer in a time crunch, you might want to look for a faster course.
In Short
Pros:
- The beginning of a much larger learning prospect.
- Guides the user on what to learn next.
- No time limit.
- Human grading and tutoring.
Cons:
- Courses take a minimum of six weeks to complete.
- Does not reward getting ahead.
- Lessons open in waves.
Course Contents:
- UI Design Patterns for Successful Software certification.
- In-depth analysis of how to speed up your working process.
- Organizational guidance on how to structure your data.
- Understanding and enhancing the user interface.
Motion Design With Figma Animations, Motion Graphics, UX/UI
Price: $84.99
Level: Beginner / Intermediate
Length: 12 hours 51 minutes
This UI/UX design course gives you more than what you pay for. For starters, it primarily covers broad information about Figma and how to use it. Afterward, the lessons go on to intermediate topics like animation and motion in Figma.
This course does a great job outlining the importance of motion and microinteractions to guide you into a mindset geared towards recognizing and understanding the purpose of animations.
This might be a daunting course with almost 13 hours of content to sift through, but if you set aside an hour each day to learn or re-learn, you’ll finish in a week and a half. Set aside some extra time if you don’t have a solid understanding of Figma since you might be rewatching more than someone more experienced. Otherwise, this course is worth the time if you want to move around as a designer.
In Short
Pros:
- Thorough and in-depth lesson structure.
- Covers the basics alongside more complex topics.
Cons:
- Relies on existing Figma experience.
- Some topics run a bit fast, resulting in a lot of pausing.
Course Contents:
- Figma basics review.
- Motion in Figma overview.
- How to animate in Figma
- Smart animation introduction.
- Proper implementation of microinteractions.
Framer Crash Course
Price: $19.99
Level: Intermediate / Advanced
Length: 1 hour 35 minutes
If you’re looking to improve your skillset in a single afternoon, this course teaches you the basics of Framer design across an hour and a half. This course is clear and concise, making it perfect for anyone to dive right in. However, this course would be much more helpful to someone who understands design.
Learn to quickly prototype and share your designs without the headache by using Framer to make your life easier. Though this course won’t make you an expert, this goes a long way for its price.
In Short
Pros:
- Quick and easy to understand.
- Helpful information to move up as a UX designer.
Cons:
- More helpful to experienced designers.
- Not extremely in-depth.
Course Contents:
- Understanding the basics of Framer
- Learn to code and auto-insert code.
- How to code complex interactions.
Typography in UX/UI Design
Price: $24.99
Level: Beginner / Intermediate
Length: 48 minutes
Typography goes a long way in terms of design, and this course teaches you the ins and outs of fonts, typefaces, and text hierarchy. While this course is more suited for the beginner crowd, this serves as a great refresher for anyone more experienced.
With that said, text makes a world of difference when it comes to making a design stand out. In some cases, your font choice can make or break an entire design if it doesn’t align with the direction it’s going in.
Learn the basics of how to best implement fonts into your designs with this short and simple UI/UX design course.
In Short
Pros:
- Short and sweet approach to a vital designer skill.
Cons:
- Lessons run a little short, resulting in rewatching.
Course Contents:
- Learn the basics of text hierarchy and typescale.
- Understand how to implement text effectively.
Laws of UX
Price: Free!
Level: Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
Length: 3 - 5 hours
If taking UX/UI design courses isn’t your style, perhaps try this free rabbit hole of information explaining why designs work the way they do. Technical yet wildly interesting, this resource bridges the gap between concept and practice by allowing you to dive deeper of your own volition into what makes designs tick.
While this resource is a great way to spend your lunch break, the information provided isn’t as structured as an Udemy course. So, if you lose your place, you’ll have to find it again. Though if you’re not a massive fan of how most courses operate, sites like this might be right up your alley.
In Short
Pros:
- Valuable information is presented by category.
- Rabbit hole type design that encourages exploration.
Cons:
- Easy to lose your spot.
- Voted most likely to fill your tabs.
Resource Contents:
- Dive into design heuristics.
- Gather a deeper understanding of the principles of design.
- Recognize the whole picture through gestalt psychology.
- Look the same way as your audience by understanding cognitive bias.
Which UX/UI Design Courses are Right For Me?
Beginner Courses
- Covers the basics.
- Focuses on successful practices.
- Helps you create habits to guide you as a designer.
Intermediate
- Enhances your existing skills.
- Focuses more on refining a process.
Advanced
- Details the concept behind intermediate topics.
- Goes in-depth as to why designs work.
Whether you're looking to become a UX designer or refine your existing skills, these ten UX/UI design courses helped our amazing team here at CreateApe become the designers they are today.
Whether you're just starting, or have years of experience, always keep moving forward to be the best designer you can be.
If you feel ready to take your design skills to the next level, we may have a spot for you here at CreateApe. Otherwise, if you need a few extra hands to create a product, we're a full-scope agency always ready to help. We can do anything from design to development or even research and implementation. Just name it, and we're on it.
If this seems like something you might be interested in, give us a call or an email at https://createape.com/contact/
