Stage 0 · Core · Beginner
Orientation and design foundations
What UI and UX design are, what designers do all day, and how to plan your learning.
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About this stage
Before you open a design tool, you need a map. This stage explains what the words mean, what the job actually involves, and how a design problem travels from a vague complaint to a shipped solution. It also clears away a few myths that make people quit early.
No previous experience is needed. By the end you will have a realistic picture of the field, a learning plan that fits your week, and a tidy place to keep everything you make.
Before this stage Nothing. Start here.
Learning outcomes
- Explain the difference between UI, UX, product, interaction and visual design in your own words.
- Describe what a product designer does across a typical project and week.
- Walk through the design process from problem to solution, and say where design thinking helps and where it falls short.
- Know who you will work with (product managers, engineers, researchers) and what each of them needs from you.
- Have a written learning plan and an organised file system for your design work.
Lessons
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What UI design is and what UX design is
The two terms everyone mixes up, explained with one everyday product.
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UI, UX, product, interaction and visual design
How the five common design titles overlap, and which one describes the job you want.
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What product designers actually do
A realistic week, the artefacts designers produce, and the skills that matter most.
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The design process from problem to solution
Discover, define, develop, deliver: what happens at each step and why the order matters.
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Design thinking and its limitations
A useful framework, its five modes, and the ways it gets misused.
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Common myths about becoming a designer
Talent, drawing skills, degrees, tools and taste: what actually matters when you start.
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Designers, product managers, developers and researchers
Who decides what, who builds what, and how a designer earns trust in a product team.
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Set up a learning plan and organise your design files
A weekly study rhythm, a practice log, and a folder and naming system you will keep using.