Design for the 21st Century with Don Norman

Suited For: All Levels
G2 Logo 5 Stars Google Logo 5 Stars
Closes in
2
3
22
25
79 % booked

In This Course, You'll

  • Get excited as world-renowned designer Don Norman teaches you to design a better world. You'll learn to apply human-centered design, systems thinking, incremental modular design, and design thinking to tackle real-world challenges. Whether you want to help families save money while reducing their carbon footprint, redesign how cities manage waste, or improve public health systems, this course will show you how. You don't need to be a designer. You just need the desire to make things better. And if you are a designer, these same skills make you better at the work you do every day, from apps and websites to products and services. Don Norman argues these are the skills every designer and professional needs to succeed in the 21st century.

  • Make yourself invaluable when you build timeless human-centered design skills. This course builds on and expands your human skills like empathy, critical thinking, problem-solving, and root cause analysis. These are the skills designers, and people in any role, need more than ever. Why? Because the ability to find the right problem, understand real people's complex contexts, and think in systems should guide us in everything we design. You'll learn to apply your skills to drive innovation at work, lead meaningful projects, communicate your ideas clearly, and capture people's attention. This course helps you grow your impact, salary potential, and confidence.

  • According to McKinsey, design-driven companies grow revenue at nearly twice the rate of their industry peers. This course teaches you why and how: go beyond surface-level symptoms, find the real problems, and integrate solutions into real people's lives. You'll get the ability to design lasting change and learn how to work effectively with stakeholders to make it happen. You'll also discover how to move up in your company and take on bigger challenges.

  • Gain confidence and credibility as you apply your new skills from day one with ready-to-use templates such as the 5 Whys method. Create an optional case study aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals to add to your portfolio. By the end of this course, you'll have the skills and mindset to make a real difference, whether that's in your job, your community, or the world.

Learn From Industry Leaders

Master complex skills with proven best practices and toolkits directly from industry leaders. Meet your expert for this course:

  • Don Norman: Father of User Experience (UX) Design, author of the legendary book "The Design of Everyday Things," and co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group.

Explore Course Content

Earn Industry-Recognized Certificates

Industry giants trust our courses to train their teams, and prestigious universities integrate our content into their curricula. Add your certificates to your LinkedIn profile, résumé, and job applications.

Our clients: IBM, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, NASA, Adobe, Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, LinkedIn
Course Certificate Example

Is This Course Right for You?

  • You want an evidence-based curriculum taught by industry leaders.
  • You want real-world design skills that translate directly into professional practice.
  • You want to earn industry-recognized credentials.
  • Your time is too valuable for scattered free content with no structure.
  • You want learning that leads to better roles and stronger earning potential over time.
Explore Course Content

Loved by People Around the World

View full testimonial from Milena Valcheva
Milena Valcheva
Milena Valcheva
UI/UX Designer and Frontend Developer

Don Norman speaks extremely convincingly and with emotion, with which he manages to captivate the listener. This course changed my way of th...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Milena Valcheva for completing the "Design for the 21st Century with Don Norman" course
View full testimonial from Halima BRIK
Halima BRIK
Halima BRIK
Industrial Engineer

The course was incredibly insightful, and I gained so much from Don Norman's teachings. His deep knowledge of design and the real-world appl...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Halima BRIK for completing the "Design for the 21st Century with Don Norman" course
View full testimonial from Pablo Carbonari
Pablo Carbonari
Pablo Carbonari
Product Design Lead

This course is a must for students and practitioners of design. Sometimes, we ignore the world-changing potential that our profession has. T...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Pablo Carbonari for completing the "Design for the 21st Century with Don Norman" course
View full testimonial from Vishal Vasan
Vishal Vasan
Vishal Vasan
Enterprise Architect

The major strengths is to raise topics for enabling critical thinking. There is no straight forward solution to any of the topics from the m...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Vishal Vasan for completing the "Design for the 21st Century with Don Norman" course
View full testimonial from Devin Henkel-Legare
Devin Henkel-Legare
Devin Henkel-Legare
Director of Product Experience

Conceptually, the content was great and provided plenty of food for thought. I thought it did a good job of re-contextualizing the role of t...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Devin Henkel-Legare for completing the "Design for the 21st Century with Don Norman" course
View full testimonial from Anthony Saba
Anthony Saba
Anthony Saba
Clinical Assistant Professor/Director of UXD Certificate

It was a very inspiring course and is helpful for young and new designers to think about how they can be more successful in their careers an...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Anthony Saba for completing the "Design for the 21st Century with Don Norman" course

How It Works

  1. Build High-Impact AI and Design Skills

    Industry leaders from companies like Adobe, Google, and NASA teach you real-world skills grounded in industry practice and research.

  2. Combine AI and Timeless Design Skills

    Learn both AI and the human-centered design skills that AI can't replace.

  3. Earn Industry-Recognized Certificates

    Add IxDF Course Certificates to your LinkedIn profile and résumé to show you've completed an evidence-based curriculum taught by industry leaders.

  4. Turn Your Skills Into Career Opportunities

    Use your new skills to take on higher-value work, qualify for promotions or find a role that fits you better.

  5. Build a Network That Supports Your Career

    Connect with designers in 496 cities across 107 countries. Learn together, get mentored, and build relationships that open doors.

Course Overview

  • Each week, one lesson becomes available.
  • Study flexibly. Take as much time as you want.
  • 11.75 hours / 43 lesson items in 5 lessons.

Lesson 3: What Are the Design Skills You Will Need to Make a Difference in the 21st Century?

Available anytime after Oct 3rd, 2026. Estimated time to complete: 5 hours, 27 mins.

Preview the Course

Transcript
Transcript
Transcript

What's Inside IxDF Membership?

  • High-impact design and AI skills

  • Learn from 209 industry leaders

  • 42 evidence-based courses

  • 161 one-hour Master Classes

  • Industry-recognized certificates

  • $2,189 worth of toolkits

  • 11,053 active design jobs

  • 10 structured career programs

  • Global community in 496 cities

  • $6,649 worth of premium tools

  • 276 ready-made templates

  • and much more

Start Today

Risk-free: 14-day money-back guarantee

Suited For: All Levels
G2 Logo 5 Stars Google Logo 5 Stars
Closes in
2
3
22
25
79 % booked

Privacy Settings

By using this site, you accept our Cookie Policy and Terms of Use.
Customize
Accept all
Nicholas J Schroeder
Nicholas J Schroeder
experience designer

It was a marvelous course that challenged me to think about my career and how to define myself in a rapidly changing and complex socio-technical environment.

Susan Winer
Susan Winer

Mr. Norman draws on great breadth and depth of knowledge and experience, and although he's describing Big Ideas, he breaks them down in a straightforward, common-sense approach. The material is organized progressively, each lesson building on the previous. His video presentation feels very human and accessible as if we were conversing over dinner.

Milena Valcheva
Milena Valcheva
UI/UX Designer and Frontend Developer

Don Norman speaks extremely convincingly and with emotion, with which he manages to captivate the listener. This course changed my way of thinking, not just from a design perspective, but completely.

Jorge Ignacio Figueroa Sarcos
Jorge Ignacio Figueroa Sarcos
Senior UX/UI Designer

Its Don Norman himself, we are learning from the best!

Halima BRIK
Halima BRIK
Industrial Engineer

The course was incredibly insightful, and I gained so much from Don Norman's teachings. His deep knowledge of design and the real-world applications of his principles were eye-opening. I particularly loved how he shared his personal success story, which added a personal touch and made the learning experience even more inspiring. As someone who cares deeply about the Earth, people—especially older individuals—and nature, I found myself resonating with the course's focus on empathy. It's refreshing to learn how to incorporate empathy for people, the environment, and societal challenges into design projects. This course not only enriched my understanding of UX-design but also inspired me to apply these principles to real-world issues in a way that makes a difference.

Pablo Carbonari
Pablo Carbonari
Product Design Lead

This course is a must for students and practitioners of design. Sometimes, we ignore the world-changing potential that our profession has. This course has brought light and life into that feeling every day hustle came to wear off.

Simindokht Tajikghanbari
Simindokht Tajikghanbari

The videos and examples Don Norman mentioned are helpful for grasping the central concept of each course and expanding the insight into various fields of issues.

Daniel Vilaplana
Daniel Vilaplana
Founder

Design Thinkin in a sustainable, human way, makes you think and revaluate your purpose in life way beyond just a UX designer, loved this.

Nicholas J Schroeder
Nicholas J Schroeder
experience designer

It stresses a necessary and crucial framing of the skills and competencies we designers must develop to survive in the 21st century.

Vishal Vasan
Vishal Vasan
Enterprise Architect

The major strengths is to raise topics for enabling critical thinking. There is no straight forward solution to any of the topics from the meeting. However the awareness raised in this topic will enable the prospective designers to start thinking bigger picture.

Devin Henkel-Legare
Devin Henkel-Legare
Director of Product Experience

Conceptually, the content was great and provided plenty of food for thought. I thought it did a good job of re-contextualizing the role of the designer.

Anthony Saba
Anthony Saba
Clinical Assistant Professor/Director of UXD Certificate

It was a very inspiring course and is helpful for young and new designers to think about how they can be more successful in their careers and how they can find more meaning in their work. I like that there is the case study project at the end. We plan on using it with our students in their course.

Giovanni Mercadante
Giovanni Mercadante
UX/UI Designer & iOS Developer

Don Norman is a certainty. I loved the short/medium length videos supplemented with text introductions/endings.