UI Designer Course

Lesson 1 • Gestalt Principles in UI

Applies Gestalt psychology—figure-ground, closure, continuity—to interface layout decisions. Students learn to predict how users perceive grouped elements.

Lesson 2 • Typography Fundamentals

Introduces typeface classification, typographic scale, and readability rules for digital screens. Students apply these rules to create legible, hierarchical text layouts.

Lesson 3 • Core Visual Design Principles

Covers contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity as the structural rules of visual composition. These principles underpin every layout decision in later chapters.

Lesson 4 • Color Theory for Interfaces

Teaches hue, saturation, value, and color relationships as applied to screen-based design. Students build palettes that communicate meaning and support usability.

Lesson 1 • Vector Shape and Path Editing

Teaches Bézier curves, boolean operations, and pen tool usage for creating precise UI shapes. These skills enable custom icon and illustration work in later chapters.

Lesson 2 • Auto Layout and Constraints

Covers auto layout rules and responsive constraints for building adaptive UI elements. Students produce frames that resize correctly across multiple screen sizes.

Lesson 3 • Exporting and Handoff Basics

Explains export formats, resolution settings, and developer handoff annotations. Proper handoff reduces miscommunication between designers and engineers.

Lesson 4 • Working with Components

Introduces reusable components, instances, and overrides to build scalable design systems. Component mastery is prerequisite for design system work in Chapter 5.

Lesson 1 • Spacing and Sizing Scales

Introduces 4pt and 8pt spacing systems and proportional sizing scales for consistent UI density. Systematic spacing reduces visual noise and speeds up design decisions.

Lesson 2 • Grid Anatomy and Setup

Defines columns, gutters, margins, and baseline grids and shows how to configure them in design tools. A solid grid foundation ensures visual consistency across all screens.

Lesson 3 • Layout Patterns for Common Screens

Surveys dashboard, list, card, and form layout patterns with real-world application examples. Pattern recognition accelerates design decisions in applied project chapters.

Lesson 4 • Responsive Layout Strategies

Covers fluid grids, fixed breakpoints, and adaptive layout patterns for mobile, tablet, and desktop. Students design a single UI across three breakpoints as a practical exercise.

Lesson 1 • Navigation Components

Builds top navigation bars, side drawers, tabs, and breadcrumbs for wayfinding across screens. Navigation patterns are applied directly in the multi-screen project in Chapter 7.

Lesson 2 • Form Elements and Inputs

Designs text fields, dropdowns, checkboxes, radio buttons, and toggles with full state coverage. Form usability directly impacts task completion rates in real products.

Lesson 3 • Data Display Components

Covers tables, badges, tags, avatars, and progress indicators for presenting structured information. Data display components are essential for dashboard and analytics UI work.

Lesson 4 • Feedback and Overlay Components

Designs modals, toasts, tooltips, and loading indicators that communicate system status. Feedback components close the loop between user action and system response.

Lesson 1 • Design System Architecture

Explains the atomic design model—atoms, molecules, organisms—and how it structures a component library. Understanding architecture prevents duplication and inconsistency at scale.

Lesson 2 • Design System Governance

Establishes contribution models, versioning, and deprecation workflows for maintaining a living system. Governance prevents design drift as teams and products grow over time.

Lesson 3 • Documenting Components

Covers usage guidelines, do/don't examples, and prop documentation for each component. Clear documentation drives consistent adoption by designers and developers alike.

Lesson 4 • Design Tokens Deep Dive

Defines color, typography, spacing, and elevation tokens and shows how they connect design to code. Tokens enable single-source-of-truth updates across platforms.

Lesson 1 • Building Click-Through Prototypes

Connects frames with hotspots, overlays, and scroll behaviors to simulate navigation flows. Click-through prototypes are the primary artifact for usability testing in Chapter 7.

Lesson 2 • Advanced Prototyping Techniques

Uses variables, conditionals, and component interactions to prototype dynamic, stateful behaviors. Advanced prototypes reduce ambiguity in developer handoff for complex features.

Lesson 3 • Micro-Interaction Design

Designs trigger-feedback loops for hover states, button presses, toggles, and form validation. Micro-interactions increase perceived quality and guide user attention effectively.

Lesson 4 • Motion and Animation Principles

Applies easing curves, duration guidelines, and choreography to UI transitions and screen changes. Motion communicates hierarchy and continuity between interface states.

Lesson 1 • Color and Contrast Accessibility

Covers contrast ratio requirements, color-blind-safe palettes, and non-color-dependent information design. Students test and fix contrast failures in their existing component library.

Lesson 2 • Accessible Component Patterns

Applies ARIA roles, labels, and live regions to modals, forms, and dynamic content components. Students update their component library with accessibility annotations for developers.

Lesson 3 • Focus, Keyboard, and Touch Access

Designs visible focus indicators, logical tab order, and adequate touch target sizes for all input methods. These elements ensure operability for keyboard and motor-impaired users.

Lesson 4 • Typography and Readability

Applies minimum font size, line spacing, and text resizing rules to ensure readable interfaces. Readable typography reduces cognitive load for users with visual or cognitive differences.

Lesson 1 • High-Fidelity Screen Design

Applies the design system, typography, color, and components to produce polished, production-ready screens. High-fidelity screens are the primary deliverable reviewed by stakeholders.

Lesson 2 • Information Architecture and Flows

Creates site maps, user flows, and task flows to define navigation structure before visual design begins. Solid IA prevents costly structural revisions during high-fidelity design.

Lesson 3 • Prototype, Test, and Iterate

Builds a navigable prototype, conducts a moderated usability test, and iterates based on findings. This section closes the design loop and demonstrates evidence-based decision-making.

Lesson 4 • Project Brief and Discovery

Analyzes a realistic product brief, defines scope, and identifies user goals and business constraints. Discovery outputs directly shape the information architecture and flow in the next section.

Lesson 5 • Handoff and Case Study Presentation

Prepares developer-ready specs, a redline document, and a structured portfolio case study narrative. A compelling case study is the primary tool for landing a UI design role.