Why UX training is necessary

Published on January 18, 2015

If you want to pursue a career in User Experience design, or create successful apps and websites, UX training is necessary and beneficial as it helps improve what you are creating. UX training courses and workshops help you understand the fundamentals of user experience, as you gain an understanding of the core principles for creating useful, functional, and even delightful user experiences.

What will I learn in UX classes?

Attending user experience courses helps you to understand what is needed to provide the best experience for users and customers, as well as all stakeholders in a project. Training helps you to utilize processes that are user-centered and process-driven, making sure that apps and websites you meet the needs of the user. Through coursework, participants gain an understanding of the entire design process.

Even if you have been designing sites or apps, there is always room to learn something new from a skilled UX practitioner. A UX workshop may teach you how to streamline your processes, or demonstrate new ways for research, wireframing, and prototyping. Participants in UX courses learn to create user experiences that are consistent and engaging across all pages and screens. Training allows you to work through the process of creating a site or an app, applying principles that you’ll learn, while receiving feedback and input from the instructor and fellow professionals in the course.

How UX training improves your career

While UX training helps you to create designs that will get your work noticed, the training can also improve your career as well. If you work at an organization or company, they are likely to value that you have invested time in your own professional development. It shows that you care about improving your UX skills. Increasing your skills as a UX designer improves your productivity, and allows projects to be completed more efficiently with fewer revisions. This type of improvement is yet another way in which your work will stand-out based upon the UX training you have received. If you work independently, the training shows your clients or prospective clients that you are serious about the UX work you deliver, letting them know that they are working with a trusted professional. Improving your skills as a UX designer benefits both you and your work.

About the author

Jennifer Smith is a user experience designer, Photoshop expert, educator and author based in Boston. She is the author of more than 20 books on design tools and processes, including Adobe Creative Cloud for Dummies, Adobe Creative Cloud Digital Classroom, and Photoshop Digital Classroom. She has been awarded a Microsoft MVP three times for her work with user experience design in creating apps for touch, desktop, and mobile devices. Jennifer holds the CPUX-F credential from the UXQB.

Jennifer delivers UX training and UX consulting for large Fortune 100 companies, small start-ups, and independent software vendors. She has been hired by Adobe and Microsoft to deliver training workshops to their staff, and has traveled to Asia, Europe, India, the Middle East, and across the U.S. to deliver courses and assist on UX design projects. She has extensive knowledge of modern UX Design, and worked closely with the Microsoft Windows team to create educational material and deliver UX workshops to key partners globally on behalf of Microsoft. Jennifer works with a wide range of prototyping tools including XD, Sketch, Balsamiq, Fireworks, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Blend for Visual Studio. She also works extensively in the fields of presentation design and visual design.