Interaction Design for Usability
How This Course Will Help Your Career
What You’ll Learn
- An understanding of the basics of usability, including visual design, navigation and menu design, search engine optimization, and accessibility
- How to design for efficiency and persuasion
- What lean and agile processes are
- How to integrate user-centered design into lean and agile development
- How to make a case for user-centered design
- How to engage the whole team in user-centered design
This course will teach you fundamental usability concepts and methods and will tie them together with interaction and visual design. By completing the course, you will become equipped with the tools required to create products with outstanding user experience and usability. Your newly acquired knowledge will also enable you to reduce the costs, risk, and time required to design and implement such products.
You’ll learn to adopt a user-centered approach to UX design and usability so you can create user-friendly products that people love to use—for example, by allowing for user errors and providing timely feedback messages. More importantly, it is crucial that your entire team—developers, project managers, and product owners alike—adopt this holistic, user-centered mindset. This course therefore aims to provide any team member with just that: it will not only equip you with fundamental usability and design concepts, but also introduce you to lean and agile processes that will allow your whole team to become design-centric.
You should take this course if you belong to a team whose goal is to create a great product—whatever role you play in that. The fact of the matter is that usability experts and UX designers are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the people who influence the design of a product. A sound understanding of user-centered design processes is thus greatly beneficial whether you’re a UX designer, developer, or a newcomer to design who wants to be part of a product team one day.
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Is This Course Right for You?
This is a beginner-level course recommended for anyone involved in building interactive systems:
- UX, UI, and web designers keen on building interactive systems with users in mind
- Project managers interested in keeping their products focused on the user
- Software engineers looking to build upon their understanding of how apps, systems and websites can be built with the user in mind
- Entrepreneurs who want to ensure their entire outlook and team remain focused on user-centered design
- Marketers interested in incorporating a user-centered perspective across all touch-points
- Newcomers to design who are considering making a switch to UX, UI, or web design
Courses in the Interaction Design Foundation are designed to contain comprehensive, evidence-based content, while ensuring that the learning curve is never too steep. All participants will have the opportunity to share ideas, seek help with tests, and enjoy the social aspects afforded by our open and friendly forum.
Learn and Work with a Global Team of Designers
You’ll join a global community and work together to improve your skills and career opportunities. Connect with helpful peers and make friends with like-minded individuals as you push deeper into the exciting and booming industry of design.
This course is taught by William Hudson, a leading expert in user-centered design who consults and teaches internationally. The lessons have a practical focus but also incorporate background and theory to help you understand the more complex issues involved. On top of this, you will be able to enhance your learning through the (optional) related reading—this consisting of over 40 titles across a broad array of subjects.
Lessons in This Course
- Each week, one lesson becomes available.
- There’s no time limit to finish a course. Lessons have no deadlines.
- Estimated learning time: 18 hours 12 mins spread over 16 weeks.
Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction
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0.1: An introduction to courses from the Interaction Design Foundation (37 mins)
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0.2: Let our community help you (1 min)
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0.3: How to Earn Your Course Certificate (15 mins)
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0.4: Meet your peers online in our discussion forums (6 mins)
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0.5: Meet and learn from design professionals in your area (1 min)
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0.6: Gain Timeless Knowledge Through Courses From the Interaction Design Foundation (21 mins)
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0.7: Mandatory vs. Optional Lesson Items (7 mins)
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0.8: A Mix Between Video-Based and Text-Based Lesson Content (8 mins)
Lesson 1: User-Centered Design Boot Camp
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1.1: Introduction (1 hour 31 mins)
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1.2: Mind the Empathy Gap (1 hour 35 mins)
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1.3: The Art/Science of Programming (29 mins)
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1.4: Human Centered Design (25 mins)
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1.5: Discussion Forum (8 mins)
Lesson 2: Visual Design for Usability
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2.1: Visual Design Versus Usability (51 mins)
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2.2: Principles of Visual Perception (35 mins)
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2.3: Layout and Grids (42 mins)
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2.4: Colour, Fonts & Images (1 hour 32 mins)
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2.5: Form Design (58 mins)
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2.6: Discussion Forum (7 mins)
Lesson 3: Navigation & Menu Design
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3.1: Designing for Users' Goals (1 hour 23 mins)
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3.2: The Scent of Information (1 hour 31 mins)
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3.3: Mega Menus & Faceted Search (41 mins)
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3.4: Menu Design for Mobile Devices (28 mins)
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3.5: Discussion Forum (9 mins)
Lesson 4: Designing for SEO & Accessibility
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4.1: Basics of SEO and Accessibility (1 hour 2 mins)
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4.2: Good Page Structure and Markup (1 hour 5 mins)
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4.3: SEO and Accessibility Tools (29 mins)
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4.4: Legal Aspects of Accessibility (28 mins)
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4.5: Completing the Accessibility Puzzle (29 mins)
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4.6: Discussion Forum (9 mins)
Lesson 5: Human Error, Messages & Feedback
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5.1: Human Error (2 hours 8 mins)
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5.2: Planning for Errors (30 mins)
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5.3: Feedback and Flow (33 mins)
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5.4: Attracting Attention (18 mins)
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5.5: Error Messages (1 hour 8 mins)
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5.6: Discussion Forum (8 mins)
Lesson 6: Usability Evaluation
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6.1: Introduction (1 hour 10 mins)
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6.2: Expert/Heuristic Evaluation & Benchmarking (42 mins)
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6.3: Paper Prototyping (13 mins)
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6.4: Usability Testing (47 mins)
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6.5: Eye Tracking (48 mins)
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6.6: A/B & Multivariate Testing (17 mins)
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6.7: Discussion Forum (9 mins)
Lesson 7: User-Centred IA With Card Sorting
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7.1: Basics of Card Sorting (1 hour 22 mins)
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7.2: Terminology (1 hour 16 mins)
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7.3: Cluster Analysis (46 mins)
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7.4: Other Analysis (32 mins)
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7.5: Avoiding Common Pitfalls (21 mins)
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7.6: Discussion Forum (8 mins)
Lesson 8: Dynamic Web Pages: Effective Use of Ajax
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8.1: Basic Principles of Ajax (1 hour 42 mins)
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8.2: Perceptual Issues (46 mins)
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8.3: Ajax Guidelines (58 mins)
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8.4: SEO & Accessibility (27 mins)
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8.5: A Worked Example (35 mins)
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8.6: Discussion Forum (9 mins)
Lesson 9: Writing Effective Web & Intranet Content
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9.1: What Users Want (49 mins)
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9.2: Inverted Pyramid & Visual Structure (16 mins)
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9.3: Readability Versus Legibility (21 mins)
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9.4: Readability Metrics (1 hour 22 mins)
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9.5: Discussion Forum (8 mins)
Lesson 10: Designing for Efficiency
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10.1: Ease of Learning Versus Efficiency of Use (56 mins)
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10.2: Keystroke-Level Model (38 mins)
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10.3: Fitts' Law (17 mins)
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10.4: The Art of Efficient Shortcuts (31 mins)
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10.5: Micro-Usability (28 mins)
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10.6: Discussion Forum (9 mins)
Lesson 11: Persuasion, Trust and Seduction
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11.1: Psychology of Persuasion (1 hour 24 mins)
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11.2: Perceptions of Trust (35 mins)
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11.3: Comparative Web Credibility (47 mins)
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11.4: User Goals & Emotional Journeys (18 mins)
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11.5: Seductive Design & The Halo Effect (48 mins)
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11.6: Discussion Forum (8 mins)
Lesson 12: Making the Case for UCD in Agile
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12.1: 'Optional' User Experience (1 hour 8 mins)
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12.2: Understanding Your Audience (1 hour 10 mins)
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12.3: Making the Most of Metrics (55 mins)
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12.4: Building a Persuasive Case (1 hour 1 min)
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12.5: Discussion Forum (8 mins)
Lesson 13: Integrating UX/UCD & Agile
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13.1: Origins of Agile (44 mins)
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13.2: Tension Between Agile & UCD (1 hour 6 mins)
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13.3: Empathetic Design (23 mins)
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13.4: Parallel Streams Approach (1 hour 2 mins)
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13.5: Focusing on Users (51 mins)
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13.6: Design Maps as a Collaboration Tool (16 mins)
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13.7: Discussion Forum (10 mins)
Lesson 14: Agile UX: Users, Personas & Design Maps
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14.1: Psychology of Personas (1 hour 59 mins)
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14.2: User Research (43 mins)
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14.3: Roles and Personas (1 hour 8 mins)
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14.4: Feature & Dependency Matrices (34 mins)
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14.5: Design Maps (23 mins)
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14.6: Discussion Forum (8 mins)
Lesson 15: Agile UX: Use Cases, Stories & Scenarios
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15.1: Brief Introduction to Requirements (1 hour 0 mins)
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15.2: Use Cases & Use Case Diagrams (1 hour 4 mins)
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15.3: Scenarios & Story-Telling (31 mins)
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15.4: Sketches, Storyboards & Wireframes (29 mins)
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15.5: Discussion Forum (10 mins)
Lesson 16: Agile UX: Conceptual Models
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16.1: Conceptual Models & Their Benefits (34 mins)
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16.2: User Versus Domain Models (1 hour 13 mins)
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16.3: Appropriate Levels of Detail (32 mins)
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16.4: Conceptual Models & Design Maps (25 mins)
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16.5: Discussion Forum (10 mins)
Lesson 17: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up
Learning Paths
This course is part of 4 learning paths:
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Interaction Designer Learning PathBecome a Interaction Designer through 10 courses in 4 parts
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Usability Expert Learning PathBecome a Usability Expert through 9 courses in 4 parts
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UI Designer Learning PathBecome a UI Designer through 10 courses in 4 parts
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Front-End Developer Learning PathBecome a Front-End Developer through 8 courses in 4 parts
How It Works
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Take lessons by industry experts
Lessons are self-paced so you’ll never be late for class or miss a deadline.
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Get a Course Certificate
Your answers are graded by experts, not machines. Get an industry-recognized Course Certificate to prove your skills.
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Advance your career
Use your new skills in your existing job or to get a new job in UX design. Tap into our community to help you.
Start Advancing Your Career Now
Join us to take “Interaction Design for Usability”. Take other courses at no additional cost. Make a concrete step forward in your career path today.
Advance my career nowFrequently Asked Questions
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When I finish the course, do I have to pay extra to get the certificate?No. When you pay for a membership you get access to all of the courses, with no extra charges or limits. That also means that you will get a certificate for every successfully finished course, at no extra cost.
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Can I take more than one course at a time?Yes, you can take as many courses as you would like. For example, if there are 30 active courses, you can enroll in all 30 courses at the same time and move from one to the other as you please.There are no further charges once you have paid for your membership.
Please note: If you have a student membership, you can take a maximum of two courses at the same time. As a student, you can thus still take as many courses as you would like – free of extra charges – just as long as you finish them (or drop them) so that you don’t have more than two ongoing courses at the same time. Please note that if you drop a course, progress is not transferable between cycles. So, you'll have to redo the lessons and answers you already completed in the current cycle. -
I missed the enrollment date and now the course is closed. Will I have any opportunity to take the course in the future?
Don't worry if you missed the course. We will re-run it shortly. One of the reasons we continually open and close courses is to be able to control the classroom size.
Networking is a large part of our value proposition, so we want just the right number of people inside the courses. That is also why we display the "XX % percent booked" on our course icons.
We’ll re-schedule the course and make it available for sign-up on https://www.interaction-design.org/courses in only about a week (or perhaps a little bit longer). The actual start date of the course will be a few weeks after sign-ups begin too. We’ve found that this is the best way to maximize flexibility and convenience for everyone, especially you as you put your course program together.
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Do I have to be online at an exact time to study?
No. You can set your own study schedule. There are no "live sessions" or "webinars" since our members are from all timezones around the world. We are a truly global community – with members in every single corner of the world.
Thus, once you are enrolled, you can take all the time you want to complete a given course. Every "classroom" in each course will never close, so you’ll have permanent access to your classmates and your course material (as well as your own answers).
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Will I receive a Course Certificate?
Yes. You will get a digital industry-recognized Course Certificate every time you complete a course. Certificates never expire and can be saved as a .jpg file so that you can easily share your accomplishment. In addition, certificates can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn directly from from our site.
Also, there is no limit to how many Course Certificates you can earn during your membership. We will also make sure you receive a 3-step guide on how to include your Course Certificate on LinkedIn and in your résumé/CV.
You can see an example of a Course Certificate at the bottom of the Course Catalogue.
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I have answered questions in a lesson; when will they be marked/graded?We do the marking/grading in so-called "sprints" – where we sit down and do all the marking/grading in one go. Your answers will be graded approximately two weeks after you submit your work.We do this because it is much more efficient than doing one little step every day. It's part of our lean/agile work philosophy, and that approach to efficiency is one of the factors that keeps our membership prices so incredibly low.We are doing it to save you money and as part of our mission to lower the cost of high-quality design education.
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I have updated my name, but my course certificate is not updated — how can I change it?Once you change your name, the certificate will be updated automatically in the next hour.
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I have started the course/lesson later than the specified date, are my answers still going to be marked?
We will be marking answers for as long as there are active members. Therefore, even if you are the only person taking a lesson at that particular time, your answers will still be marked.
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How are courses graded?Open-ended questions are graded by our experts and course instructors – not by machines.That's one of the reasons that our Course Certificates are credible and recognized by industry leaders.
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I started a course after the official start date; for how long will I have access to the course materials?
Regardless of when you have enrolled on a course, you will have access to the course materials for the entire duration of your membership. So, if you pay for a one-year membership, you will have access for one year, renewing your membership for a second year means you will have access for two years, and so on.
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New lessons are starting before I have had the chance to complete all aspects of the previous lesson(s); am I going to be locked out of these unfinished lessons?
No, you will not be locked out of any lesson or course. You will have access to all course materials throughout your membership, so there is no pressure to keep at the same pace as the specified lesson release dates.
All we recommend is that you try to stick to the same schedule as other participants. The reason is they may have moved on to other lessons, thereby meaning you could miss out on the social aspects of the course(s). However, we anticipate that there will be a constant flow of participants working through different lessons and courses, so overall you are unlikely to miss out. We will also be running all courses again — so there really is no rush.
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Are course certificates awarded on a specific date?
No; you can generate your certificate as soon as you attain at least 70% of the total course points.
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When will I receive my Course Certificate?
Course certificates will be given to participants when they have scored more than 70% or more of the total course points. For example, if a course contains ten lessons each with ten questions, you will receive a course certificate when the instructor has awarded you at least 70 points (70% of the total course points).
There is no specified time that certificates will be awarded — instead, they are given to participants as and when they have answered all questions, even if this is long after the official end date.
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How do I add my Certificate to my LinkedIn profile?Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add your Interaction Design Foundation certificate(s) to your LinkedIn profile:
- Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
- On the right, in the Add profile section dropdown, choose Background and then select the + next to Licenses & Certifications.
3. In the following fields add:- Name – Course name
- Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
- Check the field “This credential does not expire”
- Issue date - Input the date written on your certificate (e.g., May 2021)
- Credential ID – Your membership ID number (it's written on your certificate)
- Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your course page
4. Click the Save button.
Congratulate yourself!
Earning the certificate is a great accomplishment and now you can share it with the world! -
How do I add the Interaction Design Foundation Membership Certificate to my LinkedIn Profile?Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add your Interaction Design Foundation course(s) to your LinkedIn profile:
- Log in to your LinkedIn account, then navigate to your profile.
- On the right, in the Add profile section dropdown, choose Background and then select the + next to Licenses & Certifications.
3. In the following fields add:- Name – Membership Certificate
- Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
- Check the field “This credential does not expire”
- Issue date - Input the date when you joined our community (e.g., May 2019)
- Credential ID – Your membership ID number (it's written on your certificate)
- Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your profile page
4. Click the Save button.
It is as simple as that. Now, anyone who visits your profile can see your certificate! -
How much will I have to pay for the courses?
As a member, you can take as many courses as you want with no additional costs. This means you only have to pay our membership fee to take an unlimited number of courses. There will be no further charges on top of the membership fee, no matter how many courses you decide to take.
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Do you provide mostly beginners' or more advanced courses?We provide courses for all levels of mastery and across the full spectrum. If you’re new to design, you can start from our beginner courses and progress all the way up to our advanced ones. If you’re an established designer, on the other hand, you will find some of our lower-level courses provide a good refresher—and the advanced ones, a bit of a challenge.
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How long does it take to complete a course?
You will need approximately 5-8 hours to complete one lesson. Each course has between 3 and 16 lessons.
Once enrolled in a course, you will gain access to a new lesson each week, which you are free to complete without any deadlines and no end date, either.