Compare The 12 Best UI/UX Design Courses Online [2023]
There’s never been a better time to learn product design, and investing in a UI/UX design course is an excellent place to start. The biggest brands in tech have embraced a design-first mentality, and businesses in every industry are scrambling to snatch up talented UI/UX designers to bring their digital products to life.
“These are good times to be a designer. There’s a global recognition of the role and the value that designers bring to the table.” — Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Senior Product Designer @ING
At the center of it all is UI/UX design. UI/UX designers are focused on designing digital products that people genuinely find useful and enjoyable to use. After all, without a user, a product can’t survive.
In this guide, learn how to break into the exciting world of product design with the best online UI/UX design course to enroll in 2023.
Understanding UI vs. UX design
Before you choose a course, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the definitions of UI and UX. You’ll often see these two stapled together, and while both are important phases of the product design process, UI and UX design are distinctly different.
Both UI and UX design are essential phases of the product design process.
User interface designers (UI) focus on building intuitive interfaces that are pleasurable and easy to use as well as aesthetically pleasing. In most cases, UI design applies to digital products, such as websites, apps, and even the operating system you use.
User experience design (UX), on the other hand, focuses on identifying user-facing problems and designing solutions for those problems. It overlaps with UI design in the sense that the goal is to create easy and pleasant interactions, but UX is concerned with the broader experience a user has.
What type of skills should a UI/UX design course teach you?
While it depends on your learning goals, a great UI UX design course should cover foundational principles of product design, the design process, design workflows, and offer career guidance for those looking to start a new career. Generally speaking, a holistic UI UX course syllabus will include content on:
- Design tools: Master industry-standard design tools like Figma or Adobe XD.
- Design thinking: Learn design thinking frameworks and problem-solving techniques
- UX research: Conduct and analyze user research to inform your design decisions
- Wireframes, flow diagrams, and prototypes: Learn how to bring product design projects to life in high-fidelity
- Career prep: Personalized guidance on your resumes, portfolios, cover letters, and navigating design interviews
How to choose the right UI/UX course
When choosing a course, it’s important to think about what you hope to accomplish and how you learn best. If you’re ready to dive into a new career, you’ll want to consider online design courses with more depth. If you’re interested in design but don’t want to commit to a new career, an introductory or general course might be for you. Keep in mind that some advanced courses might require you to take an intro or prerequisite course to master the fundamentals before enrolling.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself that will help you find the course:
- Do you want to be a generalist or a specialist? If your goal is to get hired in a particular area of product design such as UX, you may want to choose a course that specializes in that career track.
- How do you learn best? If you learn better with a group or with hands-on mentorship, self-paced courses might not be your best bet.
- How much time are you willing to invest? Be realistic about how many hours you can spend per week on your design education when choosing a course.
There are options that range from fully structured boot camps with scheduled classes to self-paced learning, and everything in between. The bottom line is, try to find a course that works for your goals and learning style.
Top UI/UX Design Courses to Upskill Online
Discover a list of the best UI/UX design courses to upskill online below. Then keep reading to learn the best ways to develop your UI/UX skills as a budding product design professional.
1. Dribbble’s Product Design Academy
Dribbble’s Product Design Academy is an excellent choice for anyone looking to build a UI/UX design career alongside a mentor while comfortably working a full-time job. The course offers a mix of live and self-paced video lectures so you get the structure and feedback of instructors and classes but without the commitment of a full-time course. Video lectures are taught by Jesse Showalter, a Senior Product Designer with over 16 years of experience creating products for brands like Apple, Nike, Bravo, and many more.
“Right now, I’m living the dream, doing things I love thanks to this course. I think the experience of working in a team and explaining design decisions really helped me land the job.” — Patrycja Bolesta, Dribbble Graduate
Dribbble’s Academy is highly collaborative and career-focused. Students get matched with an expert design mentor who they’ll meet weekly alongside an intimate group of design students for support and feedback on course projects. After just 6 months, students graduate with an interview-ready product design portfolio, a Dribbble Certification, and access to Dribbble’s active network of hiring managers looking for their next product design hire.
For a beginner-friendly design course option, check out Dribbble’s Figma & UI Fundamentals course where you’ll master basic techniques and digital design principles to lay the foundation before jumping into the Product Design Academy.
PROS:
- Learn from the top names working in design today
- Weekly mentorship with senior product design professionals
- Online Slack community to connect with other students
- Peer reviews & 1-1 feedback on course projects
- Industry-Recognized Product Design Certification
- Career Prep & Hiring Network
- 1-Year Free Dribbble Pro Subscription
- Permanent access to course material
CONS:
- A little more structured than a self-paced course
- No free trial
PRICE: $7,999 upfront. Monthly payment plans are available.
LENGTH OF COURSE: 6 months
2. Designlab
Designlab is a platform that offers a variety of design-centric courses, from basic 4-week courses covering fundamentals to a full- or part-time UX Academy path that covers everything you need to prepare for a career in UX/UI. In addition to live instruction and mentorship, DesignLab provides career support via a personal coach who helps new designers land their first job.
PROS:
- Various options for those who only need specific learning paths
- Fully structured course that dives deep into UX and UI
- Mentorship from leading designers
CONS:
- Higher cost than other offerings
- UX Academy requires a significant time investment, even for part time
PRICE: $7,249 for UX Academy, varies for other courses
LENGTH OF COURSE: 4 to 28 weeks, depending on the course and attendance
3. General Assembly’s User Experience Design Course
General Assembly is an educational institution that offers an extensive array of courses, but they aren’t focused solely on design. That said, they do provide three different UX tracks: a full-time immersive course that spans 12 weeks, a more flexible version spread over 24 weeks, and a part-time UX course.
While it’s one of the more expensive options, the course is extensive and covers everything you need to prepare for a career in UX/UI design, including user research, wireframing, and prototyping. It even covers concepts such as design leadership and services design.
PROS:
- Three different options provide flexibility
- Beginner to advanced curriculum
- Available financing options
CONS:
- The full-time course is one of the more costly
- Part-time course is less extensive
PRICE: $15,950 full-time, $3,950 part-time
LENGTH OF COURSE: 12 to 24 weeks, depending on the course
4. Google’s UX Design Certificate
Google’s UX Design Certificate course is technically hosted on Coursera, but it’s worth mentioning on its own. It’s a comprehensive course developed by Google to introduce beginners to everything UX. It covers ideation, wireframing, prototypes, user research, iteration, and more. And it’s filled with hands-on practice projects. If you’re not sure about UX, and you want a low-cost but thorough introduction, this might be one of the best options around.
PROS:
- Low-cost option for learning UX
- A little more structured than self-paced online learning
- Developed by Google
CONS:
- No mentorship or individual feedback options
- Added structure may not be the best option for organic learners
PRICE: $15,950 full-time, $3,950 part-time
LENGTH OF COURSE: 12 to 24 weeks, depending on the course
5. Springboard UI/UX Bootcamp
The Springboard UI/UX Design Bootcamp is an online course that takes students from beginners to job-ready designers in nine months. The course is primarily self-paced, with some weekly check-ins and deadlines, and offers 1-on-1 mentorship from a professional designer. The curriculum covers everything from design basics to prototyping to user research, and students will work on web and mobile app projects throughout the duration of the course.
PROS:
- 1-on-1 mentorship,
- Comprehensive curriculum
- Job guarantee
CONS:
- You will be required to pass a technical skills evaluation (45 minutes) in order to take this course.
PRICE: $11,900
LENGTH OF COURSE: 9 months (part-time)
6. Flatiron Product Design Course
Flatiron’s Product Design Course offers a flexible, self-paced curriculum for learning product design. Flatiron’s course content includes industry-relevant skills like ethical and inclusive design, HTML and CSS, and more. Post-graduation, students receive up to 180 days of intensive career coaching to help land your first job.
PROS:
- Taught by industry professionals
- Comprehensive curriculum,
- Weekly feedback sessions
CONS:
- You will be required to pass a technical skills evaluation (45 minutes) in order to take this course.
- Expensive
PRICE: $16,900 with a $500 deposit
LENGTH OF COURSE: 15 weeks for part-time course and 40 weeks for full-time course
7. Brainstation
Brainstation offers part-time courses for both UI design and UX design, as well as a number of other digital design disciplines. The online courses are live and expert-led, ideal for new designers looking to upskill and build an interview-ready UI/UX designer portfolio. Learn everything from basic design principles to more advanced topics like prototyping and user research.
PROS:
- Led by industry professionals
- Comprehensive curriculum
- Flexible scheduling options
CONS:
- Part-time courses may not be suitable for those with a full-time job
- No dedicated mentorship.
PRICE: $3,250 to $15,000
LENGTH OF COURSE: 5-10 weeks depending on whether you choose to take courses on weekends or evenings.
8. Interaction Design Foundation
The Interaction Design Foundation is another learning platform that provides video classes across a variety of different design subjects, from usability in web design to creating a UX portfolio. It’s particularly good for self-paced learners who don’t need outside structure to keep them accountable or motivated. And while the classes aren’t live, there are community features and a mentorship option for an added cost.
PROS:
- A vast number of courses to choose from
- Less structured approach for self-learners
- Non-coaching option is affordable
CONS:
- Coaching options are costly
- Less structure for those who need accountability
PRICE: $11 per month, paid yearly or $200 per month for the coaching option
LENGTH OF COURSE: Varies, depending on the course
9. Coursera
Coursera offers courses developed independently from one another created by educational institutions. You can access UX courses from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the California Institute of the Arts, for example. The best part is that most of Coursera’s courses are free, but you have the option to pay for the professional certificate program.
PROS:
- High-quality courses from educational institutions
- Low or no cost for those on a budget
CONS:
- No accountability and little feedback
PRICE: Free to audit, options to purchase certificates
LENGTH OF COURSE: Varies, depending on the course
10. Career Foundry’s UX Design Program
The Career Foundry UX Design program is an online, self-paced course that takes an average of six months to complete. The course is divided into three sections: the first covers design basics, the second covers user experience design, and the third covers user interface design. Upon completion of the course, students will have a portfolio of projects to show potential employers.
PROS:
- Flexible schedule
- Mentorship program
- Job guarantee
CONS:
- Best for those seeking a UX specialist role
- Expensive
PRICE: $7,505
LENGTH OF COURSE: 10 months or less
11. UX Design Institute
The UX Design Institute’s Professional Diploma in UX Design course is a 6-month, online course that helps students develop job-ready UX design skills. The course is divided into ten modules, each covering a different aspect of UX design. The first module is an intro to UX design, the second module covers user research, all the way to module ten which covers prototyping and handovers.
PROS:
- University-accredited curriculum
- Self-paced
- No job-guarantee
CONS:
- Best for those seeking a UX specialist role
PRICE: $5,400
LENGTH OF COURSE: 6 months
12. SuperHi’s Introduction to User Experience Design
SuperHi is a platform offering both technical and design courses. Its Introduction to User Experience Design course is a good introduction aimed at beginners that covers the practical foundations of UX. It hits the basics on everything from wireframing, prototyping, UI design and user research and personas, and testing.
PROS:
- Solid introduction for beginners
- Good for people in other professions needing a basic understanding of UX
- More affordable compared to other options
CONS:
- Entirely self-paced, so less structure than a formal course
- Less community-oriented than other courses
- Less career-focused compared to other courses
PRICE: $149 for full access to the individual course
LENGTH OF COURSE: Self-paced
How to develop your UI/UX skills
It seems like learning UI/UX design is a lofty endeavor. Make no mistake, there is certainly a lot to learn. But these days, there are countless avenues for developing your skills and starting a career in this rewarding field. You don’t even need a formal education — there are plenty of amazing self-taught UI/UX designers.
Regardless of your learning path, a strong foundation in the fundamentals serves you well.
✔️ Immerse yourself in design daily
Some argue that design requires innate talent. But good design can be learned by anyone willing to put in the time and work. If you really want to move from a beginner to an intermediate designer, you need to strengthen your eye for design.
Start by studying the apps and websites you use. Pay attention to small details, like animations and interactions. Take note of how the interfaces are built and information is organized. If you notice something that’s particularly pleasant about a digital product you’re using, think critically about why that is.
When you start looking closely and thinking critically about design choices on a daily basis, you’ll notice design everywhere you go. It’s in the places you visit, in your car, in the appliances and tools you use and even in the place you live. Design is everywhere. You just have to train your eye for it.
✔️ Find a design mentor
As a whole, designers are helpful and community-oriented. And there are more than a few that are more than happy to give guidance, feedback and career advice to up-and-coming designers. One of the best things you can do for your UI/UX journey is to find a design mentor you click with to help guide you on your journey.
✔️ Practice solving real-world design problems
The best way to improve your UX design skills is to practice UX design. But that doesn’t mean re-creating your favorite music service. Instead, focus on solving real-world design problems. This is especially important for self-taught designers who may not have encountered real business problems yet.
There are a few ways to go about this.
One way is to tackle real-world problems in bite-sized chunks. The site UXtools has some great hands-on challenges to help up your UX game. They won’t necessarily provide you with the breadth of a full project, but the problems themselves are definitely real-world, and they’ll sharpen your analytical skills.
That said, it’s important to remember the important part of UX: the user. All too often, young designers spend their time learning theory or tools without engaging with actual users. And if you aren’t engaging in user research, you’re performing UX theater.
Launch your UI/UX design career
From a wealth of free, self-paced learning options to design-centric online schools that breach the depths of design theory, there are countless options for every learning style and budget. You’ll need a good amount of passion and dedication, but there’s never been a better time to break into the world of UI and UX design.