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UI-UX Roadmap

The document outlines a comprehensive roadmap for becoming a professional UI/UX designer, divided into five phases: Foundations, UI Design, UX Design, Advanced Skills, and Job Ready. Each phase includes specific goals, key topics, resources, and practical exercises to enhance learning. Additionally, it provides recommendations for free courses and platforms to support the learning journey.

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Jamiu Musbau
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5 views5 pages

UI-UX Roadmap

The document outlines a comprehensive roadmap for becoming a professional UI/UX designer, divided into five phases: Foundations, UI Design, UX Design, Advanced Skills, and Job Ready. Each phase includes specific goals, key topics, resources, and practical exercises to enhance learning. Additionally, it provides recommendations for free courses and platforms to support the learning journey.

Uploaded by

Jamiu Musbau
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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That’s an awesome goal!

Becoming a professional **UI/UX designer** requires a mix of design


fundamentals, technical skills, and user-centered thinking. Below is a **step-by-step learning
roadmap** tailored for absolute beginners to advanced levels.

---

### **🚀 UI/UX Design Learning Roadmap**


*(From Zero to Professional)*

#### ** 📌 Phase 1: Foundations (0-2 Months)**


**Goal:** Understand core concepts and build a design mindset.

1. **Learn Design Principles**


- UI vs. UX: What’s the difference?
- **Key UX Principles:** Usability, User Research, Wireframing, Prototyping
- **Key UI Principles:** Typography, Color Theory, Layout, Visual Hierarchy

**Resources:**
- *The Design of Everyday Things* – Don Norman (UX classic)
- YouTube: *"What is UI vs. UX?"* (AJ&Smart, Flux Academy)

2. **Get Familiar with Tools**


- **Figma** (Free & industry-standard)
- **Adobe XD** or **Sketch** (Alternative tools)
- **Balsamiq** (for quick wireframing)

**Practice:** Redesign an existing app screen in Figma.

---

#### ** 📌 Phase 2: UI Design (2-4 Months)**


**Goal:** Master visual design and interface creation.

1. **Typography & Color Psychology**


- Learn font pairing, readability, and accessibility.
- Study color palettes (Coolors, Adobe Color).

2. **Grids & Layouts**


- 12-column grids, spacing (8pt system), and alignment.

3. **Icons & Visual Assets**


- Use **Material Icons**, **Font Awesome**, or design custom icons.

4. **Design Systems & Components**


- Learn about **Atomic Design** (Brad Frost).
- Study **Google’s Material Design** & **Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines**.

**Practice:**
- Create a **style guide** for a fake brand.
- Design a **mobile app UI** from scratch.

---

#### **📌 Phase 3: UX Design (4-6 Months)**


**Goal:** Learn user research, wireframing, and usability testing.

1. **User Research**
- Surveys, interviews, personas, and empathy maps.

2. **Wireframing & Prototyping**


- Low-fidelity (paper sketches) → High-fidelity (Figma).
- **User Flows & Information Architecture** (How users navigate).

3. **Usability Testing**
- Conduct **A/B testing**, heuristic evaluations.

**Practice:**
- Pick an app (e.g., Spotify, Instagram) and **improve its UX**.
- Create a **clickable prototype** in Figma.

---

#### **📌 Phase 4: Advanced Skills (6-12 Months)**


**Goal:** Specialize and refine your expertise.

1. **Interaction Design (Micro-interactions, Animations)**


- Use **Figma + ProtoPie** or **After Effects** for animations.

2. **Responsive & Adaptive Design**


- Learn how designs adapt to **mobile, tablet, desktop**.

3. **UX Writing & Accessibility**


- Study **WCAG guidelines** (for inclusive design).

4. **Portfolio Development**
- Showcase **3-5 strong case studies** (explain your process).

**Practice:**
- Redesign a **bad website** and justify your changes.
- Collaborate on a **real project** (volunteer or freelance).

---

#### ** 📌 Phase 5: Job Ready (12+ Months)**


**Goal:** Land your first UI/UX job.

✅ **Build a Portfolio** (Use **Behance, Dribbble, personal website**)


✅ **Network** (Join **LinkedIn, UX communities, Discord groups**)
✅ **Freelance or Internship** (Try **Upwork, Fiverr, or local startups**)
✅ **Prepare for Interviews** (Know UX processes, case studies)
---

### **🔥 Bonus Tips for Success**


- **Follow Designers:** *Mobbin, Awwwards, NNGroup*
- **Daily Practice:** Redesign **1 thing/day** (e.g., a login screen).
- **Stay Updated:** Follow **UX Collective, Smashing Magazine**.

---

### **🎯 Final Advice**


- **Start small**, focus on **one skill at a time**.
- **Copy good designs** first → then innovate.
- **Get feedback** early (use **Reddit’s r/UI_Design** or **UX forums**).

Would you like recommendations for **free courses** or **project ideas** to start with? 😊
Let me know if you want me to adjust this plan based on your learning speed! 🚀

That’s great! Here’s a **curated list of free courses** to help you learn **UI/UX design** from
scratch, covering fundamentals, tools, and advanced concepts.

---

### **🎓 Best Free UI/UX Design Courses**


#### **1️⃣ Introduction to UI/UX Design**

🔗
- **Google UX Design Professional Certificate (Coursera - Free Audit)**

✅
[Link](https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-ux-design)
*Best for absolute beginners, covers UX research, wireframing, prototyping.*
⏳ *~6 months (Free to audit, pay for certificate).*
🔗
- **Introduction to User Experience Design (Georgia Tech - Coursera)**

✅
[Link](https://www.coursera.org/learn/user-experience-design)
*Short and practical intro to UX principles.*

#### **2️⃣ UI Design (Visual & Interaction)**

🔗
- **Figma UI UX Design Essentials (YouTube - Free)**

✅
[Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMCX56SIKqk)
*Hands-on Figma tutorial for beginners.*

🔗
- **UI Design Fundamentals (Adobe XD - YouTube)**

✅
[Link](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW-zSkCnZ-gCq0D83zQgP3m0w7nMPYw3_)
*Great for learning Adobe XD (alternative to Figma).*

#### **3️⃣ UX Research & Usability**

🔗
- **User Experience: Research & Prototyping (Coursera - Free Audit)**

✅
[Link](https://www.coursera.org/learn/user-research)
*Covers user interviews, personas, and usability testing.*

🔗
- **UX Design Basics (Interaction Design Foundation - Free Trial)**

✅
[Link](https://www.interaction-design.org/courses/ux-design-for-beginners)
*High-quality content (7-day free trial, then paid).*

#### **4️⃣ Advanced UI/UX (Portfolio-Worthy Skills)**

🔗
- **Design Systems (Figma - YouTube Playlist)**

✅
[Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El0ZXGq0vQ4)
*Learn how to build scalable design systems.*

🔗
- **Micro-interactions & Animations (UX in Motion)**

✅
[Link](https://www.uxinmotion.com/)
*Free guides on UI motion design.*

#### **5️⃣ Practical Projects & Case Studies**

🔗
- **Daily UI Challenge (Free Prompt List)**

✅
[Link](https://www.dailyui.co/)
*Get 100 days of UI prompts to practice.*

🔗
- **Figma Academy (Free Hands-On Tutorials)**

✅
[Link](https://www.figma.com/resources/learn-design/)
*Official Figma tutorials for beginners.*

---
### **🚀 Free Learning Platforms**
- **YouTube Channels:**
- **AJ&Smart** (UX processes)
- **Flux Academy** (UI/UX & Freelancing)
- **The Futur** (Design business skills)

- **Websites:**
- **Smashing Magazine** (Free UX articles)
- **NNGroup** (Nielsen Norman Group – UX research)

---

### **💡 Pro Tip:**


- **Start with Google’s UX Course** → Then do **Daily UI Challenges** → Build **3 case
studies** for your portfolio.
- **Join free UI/UX communities** (e.g., *Design Buddies on Discord*) for feedback.

Would you like a **project-based learning plan** next? Let me know! 😊

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