Learning UX Design with the Interaction Design Foundation — A Review
Change is natural.
Some things in life change even without us noticing. But, I think, deciding to leave your current career and turn a page, takes a lot of courage. After a decade in the fashion industry I was tired of the long hours and crazy pace. I also just had my first baby and was looking for a new direction in life. Eventually, I made the decision to go into UX Design.
Switching to a new field and starting a new career can be very intimidating, thus I looked for an online platform where I could learn without losing sleep or end up bankrupt. There are many platforms and online courses that promise to teach you everything you need in order to land a job in UX, but most of them are too expensive and very intense. As I didn’t have the time, I couldn’t take that risk. My needs were different. Yes, I wanted to become a UX designer as fast as possible, but I needed to do it on my own terms. That’s when I stumbled upon the Interaction Design Foundation.
It was actually too good to be true. With a relatively small yearly fee, I got access to Ivy League design education! There, I could choose my own path and complete it at my own pace. I didn’t have much to lose, so I paid the fee and prepared to begin my first course.
About Interaction Design Foundation
IDF is more than just another online tool, it’s an open-source education that materials by the world’s design elite community. Their digital platform gave me everything I need in order to learn, but that is possible through a lot of other online platforms. With IDF I felt I have the opportunity to be a part of a huge global multidisciplinary community with a shared interest in the field. The curriculum is of a very high quality and the lecturers are leading professors and industry experts from around the world. In addition, IDF cooperates with leading institutions around the world such as Stanford and MIT.
You don’t register to one specific path, but, rather, your yearly membership gives you access to all the needed material even after you have completed the course. This method doesn’t limit you to a specific field or courses but allows you to customize the program to fit your needs. For me it was a perfect fit. The combination of free choice while maintaining structured and attainable goals was very crucial for me in order to succeed.
The Learning Curve
So I chose the platform, then came the time to start studying. It’s been around 8 years since I finished my bachelor’s degree and the return to studying was filled with hurdles. I was concerned at the beginning, but after a few days of procrastinating I sat down and started my first course in UI designer learning path. My path included 10 courses which were divided into 4 steps.
Each course is divided into chapters with reading material, visual examples, short and long videos and more. At the end of each chapter you can find links to expand your knowledge, and of course assessment questions to test what you just learned. Once you have completed a course, you receive a diploma (which is quite known within the industry) with a grade which you can upload to your Linked account, your CV, or your website as a confirmation of your accomplishments, the knowledge and experience you gained along the way.
Eventually I decided to take the courses in the order IDF recommends, but it’s just a suggestion therefore everyone can start with any course they like.
Design Thinking was my first course.
The beginning was a bit hard; I haven’t studied for years and I needed a few adaptation days to get back into a learning mood. As a mother of a newborn, time management was critical for me. The course was very comprehensive, and the materials were divided into chapters and sub chapters. It was put together well and included relevant current examples. The experts from the industry who taught the courses added a lot of flavor and experience. However, as it was the first course, it was also intimidating. A lot of reading material was given, and not enough videos were provided, resulting in a first course which was a little dry.
Nevertheless I was motivated until the first real challenge arrived: the open questions. At first I was a bit afraid. However, I was able to overcome my lack of confidence because of my exposure to other people on the platform which allowed me to see the vast levels of knowledge and experience people had. We were all experts and newbies learning together, sharing information and our desire to improve. We pushed and motivated one another regardless of our experience, location or discipline.
As I answered the first set of questions, I discovered one of the greatest advantages of the IDF platform which helped me continue and push myself forward: the platform gives quick and effective feedback. The multiple choice questions receive automatic feedback. I was happy to discover that I correctly answered my first set of questions , which was exactly what I needed to push myself forward. I proceeded to the open questions. A few days later I received a personal email from the course teacher that congratulated me for getting the full amount of points. This kind of feedback is essential if you want to give your users a feeling of accomplishment and confidence to continue with the studies. From that moment on I felt that I’m on the right track.
When I finished my first course I got my first certificate. I was pretty excited. The certificate gives you a validation of all the hard work and keeps you motivated. This helped me believe that I can do this; that I’m going to be a UX designer. This feeling came back over and over again with every course I completed and my appetite just got bigger and bigger :). I wanted to learn more, to expand my knowledge. I became enthusiastic about user experience.
The first course was very comprehensive. I learned a lot (maybe too much). It taught me that design thinking is a human centric approach with 5 essentials non linear steps that can help me tackle any wicked problem. It taught me to see design as a method where every person can succeed, and that it doesn’t have to be created by a unique artist with a special muse. This was a very refreshing change for me. Coming from fashion design, where the designer waits for an inspirational moment to take over, this was an entirely new point of view. I learned that design is a structured process you can learn and improve on. This is another great advantage of IDF; you get exposed to a lot of new and innovative points of view that look at things through a wide range of different perspectives.
After a few weeks of studying, I moved to the second phase and started a course called UI Design Patterns for Successful Software. This was a much more practical course. Our main focus was the practice of user interface design and the different patterns the designer can use to create the most effective and user friendly interfaces.
This course does a great job at teaching you about the different design patterns for designers to help them create a user friendly UI, by asking us to analyze examples from our own experience with user interfaces as users ourselves. This is a great starting point for building concepts and ideas while explaining and analyzing examples. It really helped me feel ready for the next phase of creating and building user interfaces myself.
The course doesn’t just scratch the surface, but it goes deep and provides a lot of information about each pattern, its advantages and disadvantages, how to use it effectively, and more.
Ever since I took this course, I can no longer look at websites or apps as I did before. Now, I analyze them; what works, what doesn’t work, I notice the location of each component and the reason for it, and I think how it might be improved. My day to day digital experience has evolved into a new level. This course, along with the previous ones, have allowed me to understand that every product or service includes a user experience, and it made me aware of how important it is to put users in the center as their experiences affect their psychological status and, subsequently, the potential of the product to sell. I even started analyzing daily activities such as supermarket lines and began questioning how I can improve the user experience around them.
It has been almost a year since I joined IDF. I am currently one of their top students, having completed several of their courses. But more importantly, I was exposed to a whole new world, and I am very happy I chose to make this change in my life. Studying UX has become a part of my daily routine, every free moment I have, I log on to IDF in order to continue my current course. I love starting new classes and broadening my knowledge. I’m also beginning to see the results of the diplomas I received which are starting to create more interest on my LinkedIn account. My next step is to create a portfolio and start looking for a position as a UX Designer. I’m super optimistic and full of excitement to start this new chapter in my career.
