User Experience and Interface Design

The Certificate of Achievement in User Experience and Interaction Design is intended to provide the necessary basic,  technical and creative skills for those planning to enter this growing field of user experience, interaction, and/or user interface design. The program will prepare students for positions in web and mobile application and interactive media design fields such as entry level user experience designers, user interface and interaction designers, user researchers, information architects, digital media designers, and content developers. Other examples where students might find employment using their creative problem-solving and UX/IxD design skills might include website design and development, the creation of interactive media such as digital publications, marketing presentation design, interactive learning product design, virtual & augmented reality design, user research and usability testing. By the end of the program students will understand and apply the basic principles of user experience and interaction design as applied to digital media, web and mobile application design.

Program Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to identify, explain, and apply advanced User Experience and Interaction Design principles such as universal design, user research, heuristic analysis, personas, information architecture, storyboarding, user task flows, journey maps, prototyping, principles of interface design, and common UI design patterns.

Students will be able to generate comprehensive documentation related to a UX business strategy and goals, user research, personas, application features and specifications, site and journey maps, storyboards, wireframes and prototypes.

Students will apply the technical concepts and best practices used in user experience design, interaction design, and interface design to develop designs, assets, and functional prototype(s) for web, mobile, and other applications at an intermediate level.

Career/Transfer Opportunities:

Career opportunities include the following: web design, user experience design, interaction design, interface design, information architecture, visual design, content strategy, and mobile design.

2021-2022 - Enroll 15 students - 5- students complete the certificate.

2022-2023 - Enroll  20 students - 10 students complete the certificate.

2023-2024 - Enroll 25 students - 15 students complete the certificate.

The User Experience and Interaction Design Certificate of Achievement is a career pathway designed to help students acquire technical and creative skills used in User Experience and Interaction Design and related fields. These include:

• Web and Mobile Application Designer
• User Experience Designer
• User Interface and Interaction Designer
• User Researcher and Usability Analyst
• Information Architect and Content Manager
• Creative and Digital Media Designer

The User Experience and Interaction Design Certificate of Achievement is an 18 unit Certificate that could be completed in as 2 to 3 semesters.

There are 9 units of  core courses: 

GDS 070 - User Experience, Interface, and Multimedia Design (3 units)

GDS 072 - Digital Imaging and User Interface Design (3 units)

GDS 077 - Interactive Projects & Explorations in UXD  (3 units)

there are 9 units of electives that students may choose from including but not limited to:

GDS 076 - Emerging Trends in Interaction Design (3 units)

GDS 064 - Introduction to Adobe Photoshop (3 units)

GDS 062 - Digital Illustration with Adobe Illustrator (3 units)

GDS 035 - Beginning Graphic Design (3 units)

GDS 047 - Web Animation (3 units)

GDS 065 - Typography (3 units)

GDS 085 - Professional Portfolio and Design Career Preparation (3 units)

 

 

The recommended 2 semester sequence is listed in the table  below. 

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
GDS 070	User Experience, Interface, and Multimedia Design	3	Y1, Fall
GDS 064	Introduction to Adobe Photoshop	3	Y1, Fall
GDS 035	Beginning Graphic Design	3	Y1, Fall
GDS 072	Digital Imaging and User Interface Design	3	Y1, Spring
GDS 077	Interactive Projects & Explorations in UXD	3	Y1, Spring
GDS 047	Web Animation	3	Y1, Spring
GDS 076	Emerging Trends in Interaction Design	3	Y1,Spring or Y2 fall

The following is from the COE: Based on all available data, there appears to be an undersupply of User Experience and Interaction Design workers compared to the demand for this cluster of occupations in the Bay region and in the Silicon Valley sub-region (Santa Clara County). There is a projected annual gap of about 1,926 students in the Bay region and 598 students in the Silicon Valley Sub-Region.

There are no specific programs in Interaction Design offered by other colleges in our Service area. The only other college that has a similar certificate is Diablo Valley College--Interaction Design for Web and Mobile Platforms. However, they are not in our service area.