Human-Centered Design: an Introduction from Coursera

In this course, you will learn how to design technologies that bring people joy, rather than frustration. You'll learn several techniques for rapidly prototyping (such as Wizard of Oz Prototyping) and evaluating multiple interface alternatives -- and why rapid prototyping and comparative evaluation are essential to excellent interaction design. You'll learn how to conduct fieldwork with people to help you get design ideas. How to make paper prototypes and low-fidelity mock-ups that are interactive -- and how to use these designs to get feedback from other stakeholders like your teammates, clients, and users. Armed with these design-thinking strategies, you’ll be able to do more creative human-centered design in any domain.

This is the first course offered in the interaction design specialization series. Browse through previous capstone projects for some inspiration here: https://medium.com/capstone-projects/capstone-projects-2019-abc67d3f6f26

What's inside

Syllabus

Introduction

A brief introduction to the topics and goals of this Interaction Design Specialization

Needfinding

This module’s videos and assignment cover a really important topic: where can you get good design ideas from? Ideas that help you create meaningful designs that have a real impact on real people’s lives. Of course, good ideas come from lots of places. And wherever they come from, great. There are a few strategies I’ve found that are especially valuable, and that’s what we cover in this module’s videos. Given our focus on *real* people, we focus on going out, watching what people do, and talking to them. Check out the first video, describing participant observation. Combining observation with interviewing (the second video) provides a powerful foundation for needfinding and brainstorming.So what happens after you’ve observed a lot of stuff -- how do you connect the high-level needs to concrete design ideas? To help you bridge this gap, this module closes with a video on Creating Design Goals.

Rapid Prototyping: Wizard of Oz Prototyping

This module's lectures introduce storyboarding and several strategies and media for rapid prototyping, including paper, Wizard of Oz Prototyping, and video. An important part of the creativity of a designer is to think about how you can rapidly prototype and get feedback on your ideas. Because it's almost never the case that the first idea you have will be the best. As a designer, you can learn the most when you're creating and getting feedback on multiple alternatives. Your work will nearly always benefit from thinking broadly to find the right design, and then from lots of polish to get the design right. Prototyping is also a great way to achieve common ground across the design team and other stakeholders. We begin with storyboards, paper prototyping and mockups. Students often ask about the relationship between needfinding and prototyping: how closely does one flow into the other? Ultimately the quality of your final design is the real measure and there are lots of ways to get there. While most design work benefits from prototypes directly informed by the needfinding process, it's not required. This module seeks to introduce you to doing human-centered design, and walk you through one path that such an approach could take. In both this Specialization and in real life, you are welcome to revise your ideas as much as you like.

Heuristic Evaluation

With this module's videos, we turn our focus from brainstorming and prototyping to the concrete elements of interaction design. We introduce ten key principles of good design -- like the importance of feedback and helping people recover from errors. We call these heuristics -- watch the first video here. I hope you'll find these heuristics practical and applicable to your work both inside and outside class. The lectures discuss these heuristics with a bunch of examples drawn from real-world designs. The goal is to illustrate the many ways that designs can be successful or run into trouble. While heuristic evaluations (HEs) focus on issues that lead to improvement they can also identify areas we think show successful compliance with a heuristic

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Teaches methods and ideas for creating technologies that incite joy in users

Emphasizes the significance of conducting actual user research and fieldwork

Introduces diverse rapid prototyping techniques, including Wizard of Oz Prototyping

Instructs on building interactive paper prototypes and low-fidelity mock-ups

Provides strategies for validating and evaluating designs through comparative analysis

Employs a human-centered design approach that focuses on creating meaningful and impactful technologies

Reviews summary

Human-centered design: a comprehensive introduction

Learners say that this highly-rated course provides a thorough introduction and overview of Human-Centered Design (HCD). It covers the core principles and processes of HCD, including interviewing users, storyboarding, and heuristic evaluation. The course includes engaging assignments that allow learners to apply their knowledge and receive feedback from their peers. The course is well-structured and presented in short, digestible videos by Professor Scott Klemmer, who is described as a knowledgeable and engaging instructor.

Clear and engaging instructor

"The course is well-structured and presented in short, digestible videos by Professor Scott Klemmer, who is described as a knowledgeable and engaging instructor"

Hands-on and graded by peers

"The course includes engaging assignments that allow learners to apply their knowledge and receive feedback from their peers"

Covers foundational HCD concepts

"learners say that this highly-rated course provides a thorough introduction and overview of Human-Centered Design (HCD)"

"It covers the core principles and processes of HCD, including interviewing users, storyboarding, and heuristic evaluation"

Can be unreliable

"I am not a fan of peer grading as most of those i encountered are really taking this course seriously"

Content may need to be refreshed

"It's really thorough! I liked the details and depth of the course (: I suggest updating some classes, since I feel there's new tools for prototyping that this course don't address –it feels out of date"

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Human-Centered Design: an Introduction with these activities:

Review the basics of information architecture

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Ensure a strong foundation in organizing and structuring content for effective user experiences.

Browse courses on Information Architecture

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Review your notes from previous courses or online resources on information architecture
Complete a few practice exercises in organizing and structuring content

Review: Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Third Edition

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Build a solid foundation in user experience and interaction design principles.

View Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense... on Amazon

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Read Chapter 1: Introduction
Read Chapter 2: The Basics of Usability
Complete the exercises at the end of each chapter

Attend a UX meetup

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Connect with other professionals in the field and learn about the latest trends.

Browse courses on User Experience

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Find a UX meetup in your area
Attend the meetup and introduce yourself to others
Participate in discussions and share your own insights

Five other activities

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Show all eight activities

Attend a UX design workshop

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Learn from experts in the field and network with other designers.

Browse courses on User Experience

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Research and find a UX design workshop that aligns with your interests
Register for the workshop and attend all sessions
Participate actively in discussions and exercises

Form a study group with other students

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Share knowledge and collaborate with others to enhance your learning.

Browse courses on Interaction Design

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Find other students in the course who are interested in forming a study group
Meet regularly to discuss course material, complete assignments, and prepare for exams
Take turns leading discussions and sharing your insights

Design critique exercises

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Develop your skills in identifying and addressing common usability issues.

Browse courses on Usability Testing

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Find an existing website or app
Conduct a heuristic evaluation using the 10 usability heuristics
Write a report summarizing your findings and recommendations

Design prototype for a new feature

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Gain hands-on experience in designing and prototyping user interfaces.

Browse courses on Prototyping

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Identify a problem or opportunity for a new feature
Sketch out a few different design concepts
Create a digital prototype using a tool like Figma or Adobe XD
Get feedback from users on your prototype

Create a design portfolio

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Showcase your skills and experience in interaction design to potential employers or clients.

Browse courses on Portfolio

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Gather your best design work, including prototypes, case studies, and sketches
Create a website or online portfolio to showcase your work
Get feedback on your portfolio from peers or mentors

Career center

Learners who complete Human-Centered Design: an Introduction will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Interaction Designer

Interaction designers are those that focus on the interaction between users and products at the interface level. Human-Centered Design takes a user-focused approach to design, ensuring that the user experience is positive. By taking this course, you will learn how to navigate this user experience, and make it joyful. This will make you a more competitive candidate for this role.

See salaries and explore the career path for Interaction Designer

User Experience Designer

User Experience Designers optimize the experience users have with a product. Human-Centered Design courses focus on developing designs that center around the user, and what their experience should and will be like. This course will give you the foundation you need to enter this role, and excel within it.

See salaries and explore the career path for User Experience Designer

User Researcher

User Researchers analyze the actions and behaviors of users to better understand their needs, and develop personas. The Human-Centered Design course will teach you how to conduct fieldwork and create design goals based on the behaviors and needs of users. This will give you the necessary skills to excel at User Research.

See salaries and explore the career path for User Researcher

Information Architect

Information architects are responsible for structuring and organizing information to make it accessible and useful. Human-Centered Design courses focus on organizing content and structure to best fit the needs of the user, making this a useful course for those looking to become information architects.

See salaries and explore the career path for Information Architect

Product Manager

Product managers oversee the development and launch of new products. Human-Centered Design can help provide a deep understanding of the user and their needs, which can help with the development of products that solve those needs.

See salaries and explore the career path for Product Manager

Graphic designer

Graphic designers create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. Human-Centered Design courses can teach the importance of user interaction and experience, which can be useful in the role of Graphic Designer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Graphic designer

Industrial Designer

Industrial designers develop the concepts for manufactured products, with a focus on aesthetics as well as functionality. Human-Centered Design courses can teach the importance of user-focused design, which can be useful in the role of Industrial Designer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Industrial Designer

Web Designer

Web designers are responsible for the visual appearance and functionality of websites. Human-Centered Design courses teach the importance of considering the user's needs and experiences, which is essential for creating effective and user-friendly websites.

See salaries and explore the career path for Web Designer

Game Designer

Game designers are responsible for the design and development of video games. Human-Centered Design courses teach the importance of understanding the user experience and creating games that are fun and engaging.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Designer

Architect

Architects design buildings and other structures. Human-Centered Design courses teach the importance of considering the needs of the people who will use the building, which is essential for creating functional and sustainable buildings.

See salaries and explore the career path for Architect

Interior designer

Interior designers create the interior spaces of buildings. Human-Centered Design courses teach the importance of considering the needs of the people who will use the space, which is essential for creating functional and comfortable interiors.

See salaries and explore the career path for Interior designer

Landscape Architect

Landscape architects design outdoor spaces, such as parks and gardens. Human-Centered Design courses teach the importance of considering the needs of the people who will use the space, which is essential for creating functional and enjoyable landscapes.

See salaries and explore the career path for Landscape Architect

Ergonomist

Ergonomists design products and work environments to make them more comfortable and efficient for people to use. Human-Centered Design courses teach the importance of considering the physical and cognitive needs of people, which is essential for creating ergonomic products and environments.

See salaries and explore the career path for Ergonomist

Human Factors Engineer

Human factors engineers design products and systems to make them safer and more efficient for people to use. Human-Centered Design courses teach the importance of considering the human factors of design, which is essential for creating safe and effective products and systems.

See salaries and explore the career path for Human Factors Engineer

Researcher

Researchers conduct studies to collect data and information. Human-Centered Design courses teach the importance of conducting user research to understand the needs of the people you are designing for, which is essential for creating products and services that meet their needs.

See salaries and explore the career path for Researcher