10 UX Resources For Back To School

Summer is almost over with the arrival of back to school season. With that in mind, here are 10 great UX resources that will help you improve your UX design skills.

The list includes several online and in-person courses and a few of my all-time favorite UX design books. Check them out and let me know what you think.

1. Mastering Mobile App Design In Sketch 3

This is the best online course I’ve found for total beginners interested in using Sketch 3 for mobile app design. Caleb Stultz, the instructor, is an experienced, passionate designer who takes you step by step through all the ins and outs of Sketch 3.

While most of the reviews are 5-star, there are a few people who wanted the course to include more about Xcode and Swift. I disagree and think this course totally hits it out of the park. It’s relatively short and laser-focused on Sketch 3 design concepts. I’ll have a more detailed review in an upcoming blog post.

2. iOS 10 and Swift 3: From Beginner To Paid Professional

If you read my post about whether or not UX designers should know how to code, you know I’m in the learn to code camp. What really sets this course apart from other self-paced courses is the fact that the Devslopes team maintains an active forum with staff available 24/7 to answer questions.

Apple will release iOS10 sometime this fall and it will be a huge update. This course will help you understand everything you need to support the platform appropriately.

3. User Experience Design Fundamentals

If you are just getting started in UX design, Joe Natoli’s UX Fundamentals course is an excellent introduction. While it draws heavily from the book The Elements of User Experience by Jesse James Garrett, Natoli has done a masterful job of presenting the content in an easily digestible, visual format.

4. UX & Web Design Master Course – Strategy, Design, Development

If you want something a little more meaty, Joe Natoli’s UX & Web Design Master Course is a great next step for those looking to level up their UX and overall web design skills. This comprehensive online course will help you learn a variety of UX principles and strategies that you can apply directly by coding three different websites for three very different audiences.

5. CareerFoundry UX Design Course

CareerFoundry is a great option for those of you who want personalized instruction combined with a self-paced online curriculum. I realize I’m biased since I’ve been a UX Mentor at CareerFoundry for almost two years – but I’ve also seen several of my students land good junior UX positions upon completing this six-month online course.

6. General Assembly UX Immersive Course

If you have the resources and are looking for an on-campus experience, General Assembly is well known for its 10-week UX intensive program in New York City. During the program you’ll work with a small team of your peers to create a portfolio of 5 unique projects.

7. Mapping Experiences

In this book, author Jim Kalbach explains how to turn valuable customer observations into actionable insights with a unique tool called an alignment diagram. This tool enables you to visually map out the existing customer experience, which in turn helps to create future solutions.

8. How To Make Sense Of Any Mess

This wonderful, short book takes a very holistic view of information architecture. From digital products to organizing a sock drawer, Covert asserts that information is everywhere and should be organized within the context of the people using it. Highly recommended.

9. The User Experience Team Of One: A Research And Design Survival Guide

Leah Buley is a seasoned UX professional and very well-respected in the industry. This amazing book helped me take my consulting practice to the next level. It’s an excellent resource for anyone who wants to be an independent UX consultant or is tasked with building a UX practice within their organization.

10. Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach To Web Usability

Last but not least, Steve Krug’s masterpiece is in its 3rd edition. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in UX or digital design in general. Like Abby Covert’s book, you can read it on a plane ride from New York to Chicago. It’s truly a timeless classic in the field.

Over To You

So what do you think? Are you familiar with any of the titles on this list? If yes, how have they helped you? What’s missing? Please leave your thoughts in the comments, and best wishes for a healthy and happy back to school season. As always, thanks for reading!