User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Design is the process by which software applications and user interactions can be designed to be simple, accessible, effective and attractive for the end user. The objective of UX and UI Design is to create user interactions and software application experiences that are appropriate for specific platforms or devices and provide desirable end user outcomes utilising insight and understanding about the practical, emotional and experiential motivations and values of the end user. UX and UI Design explores the motivations and desires of the end user and seeks to design user’s interactions that best satisfy those motivations and desires in a concise manner.

This course introduces students to the role, basic concepts and benefits of UX and UI Design in the development process of software applications. The aim of the course is to enhance the student’s understanding of the methodology, terminology and benefits of UX and UI Design in the development of software applications.

Among the topics included in this course are: classification and terminology of UX and UI Design techniques, the relationship between UX and UI Design, how UX and UI Design relates to the rest of the software development lifecycle, understand a user’s emotions, desires and attitudes about using a particular feature, product, system, platform or software application, modes of interaction, human-computer interaction models, usability, accessibility, aesthetics, design thinking, value proposition design, user journey mapping and gathering meaningful insights from users feedback and research.

On successful completion of this unit students will be able to explain the basic concepts of UX and UI Design. Plan, build and measure the success of an appropriate UI Design. Design an interface and experience with a specific end user in mind. Conduct testing to gather meaningful feedback to evaluate the success or failure of a user interface. As a result they will develop skills such as communication literacy, design thinking, team working, critical thinking, analysis, reasoning and interpretation, computer software literacy which are crucial for gaining employment and developing academic competence.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course a student will be able to:

1. Research what aspects of User Experience and Interface Design are necessary and appropriate to satisfy end user emotions, desires and attitudes when using a user interface concept.

2. Plan an appropriate User Experience map and Interface Design for a User Interface concept with a specific target end user in mind and also outline the tests you mean to conduct.

3. Build a User Interface concept and test it with users to see if it satisfies their emotions, desires and attitudes as planned.

4. Evaluate user feedback, test results and insights gained from end users interacting with your User Interface concept to determine success or failure and steps to improve in future versions.