Certificate in UX Design (In-Class and Online)

Brief Course Description

This foundation course will introduce students to the concept of planning and the process of designing a user interface and creating an effective user experience. Through this course, students will learn how to research the users’ needs and pain points to create a persona for the target user. Moreover, students will learn about industry design trends and standards and the tools used by the tech industry professionals to transform a design idea into a presentable design

Prerequisites

Applicants need a minimum of a high school diploma and must be 19 years or older at the time of starting the course. No course prerequisites.

Learning Objectives*

Upon completion of this course, the successful student will have reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Identify users’ needs in web and mobile applications
• Research about user problems, target user and create solutions
• Understand users’ goals, problems, needs and demands
• Create a persona for the target user
• Develop intuitive user experience while considering navigable layouts
• Discuss Human-Centred Design vs User-Centred Design
• Apply sketching techniques such as thickness, shading, sizing, depth and buttons
• Evaluate and compare effective and non-effective designs
• Transform an interface idea into a sketch that presents the user interface for web and mobile application
• Use industry standard sketching tools like Sketch and InVision
• Present design iterations, receive feedback and make revisions

Method(s) of Evaluation/Assessments*

Students are evaluated through attendance, design exercises, a presentation, class discussions, and a final project.

Completion Requirements*

Students must receive a minimum of 70% overall in order to complete the course successfully. Students are expected to abide by the policies of the college. Students are expected to regularly attend LIVE Online classes, and to have read all assigned chapters in the textbook plus any additional readings prior to live sessions. Individual and group assignments should be completed satisfactorily and on time. There will be no makeup exams or assignments without prior permission.

Brief Course Description

In this course, students will learn how to plan and execute research and data collection required for an industry-standard UI/UX design process. Students will identify user problems and the pain points, identify the potential user of a product, and explain how a product could solve a user’s problem. Moreover, students practice planning product design, conducting user research, preparing questions for user interviews, and developing interview scripts and workflow. Finally, students will collect and analyze the data for the design process.

Prerequisites

Completion of UX 01.

Learning Objectives*

Upon completion of this course, the successful student will have reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Understand users’ pain points and challenges
• Identify user’s behaviour, motivation and user journey concerning the product
• Create a user persona
• Plan the stages of user-centric research
• Develop data collection instruments such as interview scripts, interview questions and surveys
• Prepare proper user invitation for survey and interview
• Develop script, storyboard and user flow
• Execute user interview and questionnaire according to the plan
• Collect and clean up research data after survey and interview
• Analyze research data to contribute to the design process

Method(s) of Evaluation/Assessments*

Students are evaluated through attendance, design exercises, a presentation, class discussions, and a final project.

Completion Requirements*

Students must receive a minimum of 70% overall in order to complete the course successfully. Students are expected to abide by the policies of the college.  Students are expected to attend LIVE Online classes, regularly, and to have read all assigned chapters in the textbook plus any additional readings prior to live sessions.  Individual and group assignments should be completed satisfactorily and on time.  There will be no makeup exams or assignments without prior permission.

Brief Course Description

In this course, students will go through a series of learning practices to best understand the design process and set goals for the user interface and user experience. This course will provide students with the techniques, tools, and practices that align with tech industry standards for creating and developing wireframes for user interfaces and task flows for user experience.

In addition, students will practice with a variety of tools and methods to create low-fidelity and high-fidelity mock-ups and interactive prototypes. Through several class discussions and presentations, students will receive constructive feedback from their peers and instructor to improve their design and produce improved design iterations.

Prerequisites

Completion of UX 02.

Learning Objectives*

Upon completion of this course, the successful student will have reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Understand the design direction of an interactive application
• Develop a design strategy for an interactive digital application that fulfills the requirements of a user interface and user experience
• Understand the importance of low and high fidelity in mock-ups and wireframes
• Design wireframes that represent the skeletal framework of a digital interactive application
• Define the design information architecture and hierarchy
• Utilize tools and applications such as Sketch, Figma, Balsamique and InVision and design prototypes
• Create several design iterations based on user discussion and supervisor feedback

Method(s) of Evaluation/Assessments*

Students are evaluated through attendance, design exercises, a presentation, class discussions, and a final project.

Completion Requirements*

Students must receive a minimum of 70% overall in order to complete the course successfully. Students are expected to abide by the policies of the college.  Students are expected to attend LIVE Online classes, regularly, and to have read all assigned chapters in the textbook plus any additional readings prior to live sessions.  Individual and group assignments should be completed satisfactorily and on time.  There will be no makeup exams or assignments without prior permission.

Brief Course Description

This course will provide students with the foundation and understanding needed to test UI and UX design iterations. User-friendly interface and intuitive user experience result from several design iterations, prototyping, and testing. Through this course, students learn how to design and develop prototypes, present them to users, conduct usability testing, receive feedback, and apply the necessary changes to improve the UI/UX design.

Prerequisites

Completion of UX 03.

Learning Objectives*

Upon completion of this course, the successful student will have reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Understand the importance of user-friendly design
• Discuss different stages of prototyping for a digital application
• Examine variations of prototyping for interactive applications
• Explore functions, abilities and features of various prototyping applications and tools
• Design and create prototypes while taking a user-centric design approach
• Present prototype to the user
• Conduct usability testing with the user and collect data from users’ input and feedback
• Understand the role of coding for web applications
• Apply necessary changes to the HTML, CSS to ensure the interface working properly
• Apply necessary changes to the previous design version to improve the initial design and user experience

Method(s) of Evaluation/Assessments*

Students are evaluated through attendance, design exercises, a presentation, class discussions, and a final project.

Completion Requirements*

Students must receive a minimum of 70% overall in order to complete the course successfully. Students are expected to abide by the policies of the college.  Students are expected to attend LIVE Online classes, regularly, and to have read all assigned chapters in the textbook plus any additional readings prior to live sessions.  Individual and group assignments should be completed satisfactorily and on time.  There will be no makeup exams or assignments without prior permission.

Brief Course Description

This course covers several important aspects for students to understand how to design a proper user interface. Through this course, students will learn about the fundamentals of digital design concepts involved in creating a User Interface, including design patterns, typography, colour theory and colour palettes. Moreover, through class projects and assignments, students will practice and examine design elements and styles, giving them the foundational elements to create a style guide for designing a UI effectively. Students also practice using industry standard tools and applications like Sketch, Photoshop, Illustrator and Figma in this course.

Prerequisites

Completion of UX 04.

Learning Objectives*

Upon completion of this course, the successful student will have reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Incorporate Information Architecture principles to user interface design.
• Understand and discuss the principles of usability in interface design and user experience.
• Discuss the importance of UI design fundamentals such as screen size, colour, typography, and responsiveness
• Identify key design messages
• Perform design research approaches needed for creating and design a user-friendly interface
• Apply various communication theories including rhetoric, nostalgic and semiotics when creating UI assets
• Design responsive and interactive interface prototypes for desktop, web, or mobile application
• Design layout, visuals, and optimize assets for a collaborative web or mobile project. Apply necessary changes to the previous design version to improve the initial design and user experience

Method(s) of Evaluation/Assessments*

Students are evaluated through attendance, design exercises, a presentation, class discussions, and a final project.

Completion Requirements*

Students must receive a minimum of 70% overall in order to complete the course successfully. Students are expected to abide by the policies of the college.  Students are expected to attend LIVE Online classes, regularly, and to have read all assigned chapters in the textbook plus any additional readings prior to live sessions.  Individual and group assignments should be completed satisfactorily and on time.  There will be no makeup exams or assignments without prior permission.

Brief Course Description

In the Responsive Web and App design course, students will learn about responsive Web Design principles. Students will learn and demonstrate an understanding of essential concepts by comparing and contrasting responsive design with other cross-platform and multiple-device design approaches. Moreover, this course will introduce students to testing tools on various platforms that could be targeted and used for testing and validation. Students also develop and practice creating wireframes and prototypes for responsive web interfaces throughout this course, implementing best practices such as using flexible grids, flexible images, motion graphics, and CSS3 media queries. Students will apply the responsive design principles to their site to ensure its functionality on desktop, mobile, and tablet browsers.

Prerequisites

Completion of UX 05.

Learning Objectives*

Upon completion of this course, the successful student will have reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Discuss the benefits of responsive design
• Describe different responsive design methodologies and techniques such as liquid layout, media query and grids
• Identify the advantages and disadvantages of the Responsive Web and App Design approach
• Analyze and assess design challenges in designing responsive layout and assets for mobile and desktop
• Design motion graphics and animated assets for web
• Create and optimize visual assets, animated graphics using Photoshop and Illustrator
• Design wireframes and prototypes for a responsive application and website
• Incorporate flexible grids, flexible images, and media queries in developing responsive web pages
• Design and develop functioning and responsive websites

Method(s) of Evaluation/Assessments*

Students are evaluated through attendance, design exercises, a presentation, class discussions, and a final project.

Completion Requirements*

Students must receive a minimum of 70% overall in order to complete the course successfully. Students are expected to abide by the policies of the college.  Students are expected to attend LIVE Online classes, regularly, and to have read all assigned chapters in the textbook plus any additional readings prior to live sessions.  Individual and group assignments should be completed satisfactorily and on time.  There will be no makeup exams or assignments without prior permission.

Brief Course Description

In this course, students will collect their previous works and designs from previous courses and create an industry-ready online portfolio. Throughout this course, the students will review all the assignments and projects they had done before this course. With instructor supervision and guidance, students revise and polish their previous works and prepare them for their final portfolio.

This course will provide students with the knowledge needed to plan and produce an online portfolio that meets the technology industry standards and requirements. Students will also learn the principles of how to effectively conduct a pitch presentation, solve design challenges, and present a digital interactive product to an audience.

Prerequisites

Completion of UX 06.

Learning Objectives*

Upon completion of this course, the successful student will have reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Gather appropriate workpieces for an online portfolio
• Plan an online portfolio production
• Optimize portfolio assets
• Incorporate new media technologies into the production of portfolio components
• Provide a project-planning document with a timeline, budget, and defined roles.
• Add social media plug-ins to the portfolio project
• Create specific categories for the presentation of work in an online portfolio
• Create optimized dynamic content by integrating various media types, including images, audio and video, vector graphics, and animation.
• Present previous work and portfolio effectively

Method(s) of Evaluation/Assessments*

Students are evaluated through attendance, design exercises, a presentation, class discussions, and a final project.

Completion Requirements*

Students must receive a minimum of 70% overall in order to complete the course successfully. Students are expected to abide by the policies of the college.  Students are expected to attend LIVE Online classes, regularly, and to have read all assigned chapters in the textbook plus any additional readings before live sessions.  Individual and group assignments should be completed satisfactorily and on time.  There will be no makeup exams or assignments without prior permission.

Domestic students need ONE of the following:

• Canadian Passport
• Certificate of Canadian Citizenship
• Confirmation of Permanent Residence
• Legal documentation from IRCC

And you must prove the following:

• You have successfully completed a B.C. Secondary School diploma or the equivalent of one
• You are at least 19 years old before the first day of your program

Are you a domestic student?

You must show your language proficiency in ONE of the following ways:

• Completion of BC English Studies 12, English First Peoples 12 or Literary Studies 12 with a minimum grade of C+ (or equivalents); or
• Completion of three or more consecutive years of secondary education or two or more consecutive years of post-secondary education at a recognized institution where the language of instruction is English; or
• Achieve the competency standard of a Test of English Language Proficiency as set out in Section 5.4 below. Scores for standardized English language tests are only valid for a 24-month period from the date of testing.

English is presumed to be the language of instruction in the following countries:

American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guam, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, New Zealand, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierre Leone, Singapore, South Africa, St Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States of America, US Virgin Islands, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Approved English Language Proficiency Tests and Scores

• Cambridge English Advanced (CAE): minimum score of 58 or C
• The Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL): minimum score of 55
• Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP): General 6
• Duolingo: minimum score of 110 (temporary due to COVID)
• International English Language Testing (IELTS): academic level with a minimum overall score of 6.0
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test: academic level with a minimum score of 79-80 and a minimum of 19-20 on each band
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) paper-based test: minimum score of 550 and a minimum of 23 each for reading, writing, and listening

International students need:

• A valid passport from their country of citizenship and a valid study permit

And you must prove the following:

• You have successfully completed a B.C. Secondary School diploma or the equivalent of one
• You are at least 19 years old before the first day of your program

Are you an international student?

You must show your language proficiency in ONE of the following ways:

• Completion of BC English Studies 12, English First Peoples 12 or Literary Studies 12 with a minimum grade of C+ (or equivalents); or
• Completion of three or more consecutive years of secondary education or two or more consecutive years of post-secondary education at a recognized institution where the language of instruction is English; or
• Achieve the competency standard of a Test of English Language Proficiency as set out in Section 5.4 below. Scores for standardized English language tests are only valid for a 24-month period from the date of testing.

English is presumed to be the language of instruction in the following countries:

American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guam, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, New Zealand, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierre Leone, Singapore, South Africa, St Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States of America, US Virgin Islands, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Approved English Language Proficiency Tests and Scores

• Cambridge English Advanced (CAE): minimum score of 58 or C
• The Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL): minimum score of 55
• Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP): General 6
• Duolingo: minimum score of 110 (temporary due to COVID)
• International English Language Testing (IELTS): academic level with a minimum overall score of 6.0
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test: academic level with a minimum score of 79-80 and a minimum of 19-20 on each band
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) paper-based test: minimum score of 550 and a minimum of 23 each for reading, writing, and listening

Do you identify as a mature student?

To qualify, you must meet the following requirements:

• You are at least 19 years of age at the start of their program
• You have not completed a B.C. Secondary School diploma or the equivalent of one

Application Requirements

Mature Students are accepted at the discretion of the Registrar, who may require you to submit the following:

• At least one letter of reference from a person who is not related to you
• A statement of intent clearly outlining your career goals and your reasons for believing you will succeed in the program
• A personal profile of 250 words or less

Additional Requirements

You must meet all of the program-specific and non-academic requirements where listed. In some cases, you may need to complete a placement exam to determine academic readiness.