M07-06 · AI + Creative Production & Design

UI/UX Design for Products

Teaches students to design product interfaces grounded in user research and data rather than aesthetic preference alone. Covers product UI auditing, user flow analysis, designing from session recording and analytics data (FullStory, Hotjar), progressive disclosure patterns, building design systems from scratch for product teams, the strategic choice between incremental improvement and full redesign, and conducting usability testing (planning, running 5-user sessions, and synthesizing findings into actionable design changes).

30 Hours

8 Learning objectives

Evaluate Bloom's ceiling (?)

5 Competencies

What You'll Be Able To Do

Learning Objectives

Objectives

Depth

Conduct a product UI audit by screenshotting every page, cataloguing inconsistencies (button styles, font sizes, color values), and prioritizing fixes by user impact Apply
Analyze user session recordings and analytics data (FullStory, Hotjar) to identify friction points, drop-off locations, and user behavior patterns that inform design decisions Analyze
Create wireframes and high-fidelity mockups for product UI improvements using progressive disclosure, clear information hierarchy, and consistent component usage Create
Audit and extend an existing design system for product consistency — identify missing components, add 5-10 new components following established patterns, and update tokens for new use cases Evaluate
Plan, conduct, and synthesize usability testing sessions with 5 users, producing actionable recommendations from observed behavior patterns Apply
Evaluate whether a product interface problem requires incremental improvement (1-2 UX fixes per sprint) or a redesign of the entire flow, articulating the tradeoffs of each approach Evaluate
Apply responsive design principles to ensure product interfaces function correctly across mobile, tablet, and desktop breakpoints Apply
Create annotated design specifications that communicate interaction states (hover, focus, active, error, loading, empty) to developers alongside the visual design Create

Levels: Remember · Understand · Apply · Analyze · Evaluate · Create — highest demands most original thinking.

Core Competencies

What You'll Master

Product UI Auditing

Systematically cataloguing visual and interaction inconsistencies across a product, prioritizing fixes by business impact and user friction.

Data-Informed Design

Using analytics, session recordings, and support ticket patterns to ground design decisions in observed user behavior rather than assumption.

Design System Extension

Auditing existing design systems for gaps and inconsistencies, adding components following established patterns, updating tokens for new contexts.

Usability Testing

Planning test protocols, recruiting participants, conducting sessions, synthesizing patterns, and translating observations into specific design changes.

Interaction Design

Designing for all states (default, hover, active, focus, loading, error, empty, success), progressive disclosure patterns, and responsive behavior across breakpoints.

Portfolio Artifact

What You'll Build

Product UI Improvement Sprint — Student audits an existing product interface (provided or chosen), identifies the highest-friction user flow using session recording data, designs 3 UI improvements in Figma with before/after comparisons, conducts usability testing with 5 users on the redesigned flow, and produces a final recommendation document with data showing predicted impact. Includes a V1 design system (color, type, spacing, 10 components).

Tools You'll Use

Industry Tools, Not Toy Projects

Figma

Design, prototyping, and design system building for product UI improvements and developer handoff.

FullStory / Hotjar

Session recording and analytics platforms for identifying user friction points and behavior patterns.

Maze / UserTesting

Usability testing platforms for planning, conducting, and analyzing user testing sessions.

Adobe Photoshop

Mockup imagery preparation and photo editing for product interface design presentations.