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User Experience Design Learning Path

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Re: User Experience Design Learning Path

#11

Post by paulojreis »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #9
paulojreis wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I can't find references/materials on Human-Computer Interaction. It seems rather strange that there isn't a single reference to HCI in a UX curriculum. I know it may sound like the "hard"/science-y part, but HCI is fundamental - quite a few principles (such as Fitt's law or the 10 Nielsen & Molich heuristics) came from HCI research and stood the test of time - they're still valid, today. Usability testing was a…

HCI itself has little bearing on design even if the HCI community wished otherwise. Fitts' law came from the experimental psychology field...given that HCI didn't even exist in the 50s and 60s. Most of its lessons are codified into easy digest principles. Don't forget Hick's law, which is also useful when designing menus (also experimental psychology).

I can't agree with you. HCI has a lot of impact on design, in spite of not being acknowledged (or even known) by most of the practitioners. What the aspiring UX designers are reading (in Smashing Magazine & others) is, mostly, rephrasings of HCI knowledge.

Most UX methods and guidelines come from HCI (and HCI, of course, comes from other disciplines).

Re: User Experience Design Learning Path

#12

Post by gautambay »

paulojreis wrote: post #7
gautambay wrote: post #4

The goal of this Learning Path is to list helpful resources into a curriculum that a motivated beginner can follow to learn the essentials of UX Design. Designers of Hacker News, we'd love your help on 2 things: 1. We'd love your feedback on the curriculum itself. e.g. Do the topics and flow look right? Are the projects sufficient? 2. If you're a UX designer who loves to teach and mentor new professionals, I'd love t…

Well, I can't find references/materials on Human-Computer Interaction. It seems rather strange that there isn't a single reference to HCI in a UX curriculum. I know it may sound like the "hard"/science-y part, but HCI is fundamental - quite a few principles (such as Fitt's law or the 10 Nielsen & Molich heuristics) came from HCI research and stood the test of time - they're still valid, today. Usability testing was a…

Thanks for the feedback. The author did include an HCI course in the extra recommended resources, right at the end. The challenge (I think) was that the HCI course on Coursera, at ~100 hrs of work, would be as long as the rest of the curriculum.

Are there topics within HCI that you think are more fundamental than others?

Re: User Experience Design Learning Path

#14

Post by gautambay »

rrrx3 wrote: post #10
paulojreis wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I can't find references/materials on Human-Computer Interaction. It seems rather strange that there isn't a single reference to HCI in a UX curriculum. I know it may sound like the "hard"/science-y part, but HCI is fundamental - quite a few principles (such as Fitt's law or the 10 Nielsen & Molich heuristics) came from HCI research and stood the test of time - they're still valid, today. Usability testing was a…

I agree somewhat, however I wouldn't place a large emphasis on it at the first section... maybe section 2 or 3. There are some parts that are valuable to keep in mind all the time from HCI, but I don't think the hard numerical science is really salient for most people looking to break into the field. Find the threshold of academia vs practical application and stay firmly in the latter when sharing course materials.

Which parts of HCI do you think are the most important to include in a curriculum like this?

Re: User Experience Design Learning Path

#16

Post by paulojreis »

gautambay wrote: post #12
paulojreis wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I can't find references/materials on Human-Computer Interaction. It seems rather strange that there isn't a single reference to HCI in a UX curriculum. I know it may sound like the "hard"/science-y part, but HCI is fundamental - quite a few principles (such as Fitt's law or the 10 Nielsen & Molich heuristics) came from HCI research and stood the test of time - they're still valid, today. Usability testing was a…

Thanks for the feedback. The author did include an HCI course in the extra recommended resources, right at the end. The challenge (I think) was that the HCI course on Coursera, at ~100 hrs of work, would be as long as the rest of the curriculum. Are there topics within HCI that you think are more fundamental than others?

I think you could summarize, instead of focusing on specific topics.

- Introduce HCI as a discipline (multi/transdisciplinary origins);

- The Human (cognitive, social and motor aspects);

- The Computer (I/O devices and modalities, interface types);

- The relation (importance of context, tasks);

- Usability (what it is? Start with ISO 9241 definition - "The effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which specified users achieve specified goals in particular environments". Refer also to e.g. Sharp, Rogers & Preece "usability objectives", mostly to introduce safety as part of usability);

- Guidelines (heuristics, design "rules");

- Introduce evaluation (testing/empirical vs. inspection/analytical; method examples and when to use which one; you may also introduce the usage physiological measures).

I may be missing something, but I think this would give a clear overview of the the field - what's at stake when you design interfaces.

Re: User Experience Design Learning Path

#17

Post by lelifer »

jbjorge wrote: post #15
lelifer wrote: post #13

if u want to be a pro UI/UX designer, learn javascript (Kintetic, GSAP, backbone, famous, node and everything else that comes with node).

...after you've learned the principles of UX.

UX is not something you learn its something you gain w/ experience with all theses technologies. its messing up and starting over again and implementing a better design than the previous gaining even more experience/methodologies. or at least that's the pro way of learning UX.

Re: User Experience Design Learning Path

#18

Post by darushimo »

gautambay wrote: post #4

The goal of this Learning Path is to list helpful resources into a curriculum that a motivated beginner can follow to learn the essentials of UX Design. Designers of Hacker News, we'd love your help on 2 things: 1. We'd love your feedback on the curriculum itself. e.g. Do the topics and flow look right? Are the projects sufficient? 2. If you're a UX designer who loves to teach and mentor new professionals, I'd love t…

I'm a little confused--is the first video in the 3rd section ("intro to the design of everyday things") really an entire course? If so, i think the time-to-complete estimate (1 hr) should be changed...If it's not, it'd be great if the particular videos to be watched were noted.

Re: User Experience Design Learning Path

#19

Post by nchlswu »

paulojreis wrote: post #11
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HCI itself has little bearing on design even if the HCI community wished otherwise. Fitts' law came from the experimental psychology field...given that HCI didn't even exist in the 50s and 60s. Most of its lessons are codified into easy digest principles. Don't forget Hick's law, which is also useful when designing menus (also experimental psychology).

I can't agree with you. HCI has a lot of impact on design, in spite of not being acknowledged (or even known ) by most of the practitioners. What the aspiring UX designers are reading (in Smashing Magazine & others) is, mostly, rephrasings of HCI knowledge. Most UX methods and guidelines come from HCI (and HCI, of course, comes from other disciplines).

> Most UX methods and guidelines come from HCI (and HCI, of course, comes from other disciplines).

I don't think you can simplify it to HCI preceding UX or UCD methodologies.

As you point out, HCI of course comes from other disciplines and just like the field of UX, it's borrowed a lot. HCI, Human Factors, Psychology, etc., all borrow techniques from others (as you've acknowledged)and a lot of what they do has been developed in parallel.

A lot of UX and design methods were developed in parallel by designers with at traditional design background or others without formal research backgrounds. Despite UX being characterized as a science or more rigorous than traditional design, it is largely a pragmatic practice.

Re: User Experience Design Learning Path

#20

Post by gautambay »

paulojreis wrote: post #16
gautambay wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the feedback. The author did include an HCI course in the extra recommended resources, right at the end. The challenge (I think) was that the HCI course on Coursera, at ~100 hrs of work, would be as long as the rest of the curriculum. Are there topics within HCI that you think are more fundamental than others?

I think you could summarize, instead of focusing on specific topics. - Introduce HCI as a discipline (multi/transdisciplinary origins); - The Human (cognitive, social and motor aspects); - The Computer (I/O devices and modalities, interface types); - The relation (importance of context, tasks); - Usability (what it is? Start with ISO 9241 definition - "The effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which specifi…

Thanks, super helpful!
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