How to Reach Me

Instructor’s Name – Alexis Puchek

Office Hours – 8:40-9:40pm on Tuesdays (after class)

Office Location and Number – Online (no in-person meetings) 

Phone, Email, Website, etc. – alexis.puchek@austincc.edu, https://www.frogdesign.com

Arranging Conferences/Appointments – by appointment only, contact me via email if you need to arrange a meeting for, or outside of office hours.
 

Course Description

Catalog Description:

Survey of UX Design course offers students the chance to experience the complexity of the UX Design practice through a curated introduction to many disciplines including: storytelling, ideation practices, designing interactions, conducting user research, information architecture, product strategy, history of technology, and presenting.

Credit Hours: 3

●      Hybrid (meet once a week):

○      Classroom Contact Hours per week: .8

○      Laboratory Contact Hours per week: 1.4*
 

All courses offered in the Visual Communication department are workforce courses, and may have some transfer restrictions to other colleges. Students interested in transferring courses to another college should speak with our departmental advisors: Kim Aland or Jennifer Jones, or their Area of Study advisor.”

Course Prerequisites:

None

Grading System

Below is a list of assignments and their grade percentages for this course. If any of these projects or grades change, I will notify you of those changes before we continue with the project. Projects along with attendance, participation and presentation contribute to your final grade for the class.

Sketchnotes x 10 (20% of total grade)

A complete full page sketchnote will receive the full 20 points. As long as it contains all the
big ideas, it can be ugly as sin.

Personal Retrospectives x 6 (20% of total grade)

When assigned, click on the corresponding Retro in the index in your Personal Retrospective document and answer questions by the due date. All questions must be answered to receive credit for completion.

Practices (Mini-Projects) x 5 (20% of total grade)

To receive full credit for Practices, all requirements must be included, deliverables must be turned in to your class folder or MIRO board by the due date, and students must be present to present research or deliverables. If you miss the day it's due, you must receive the OK from your instructor before the due date for an extension.

Projects (Major) x 7 (40% of total grade)

Projects will have an associate rubric on the project brief to define full credit.

Required Texts & Materials

Textbook

●      There is no required textbook

Online Resources

●      All online resources will be shared via Blackboard

●      (not required but available to you as a design student at ACC for $10/semester) An account with Adobe Creative Cloud. You can begin your account ID process here.
 

Tools

●      MIRO app will be used (info in Blackboard orientation)

●      Sketchbook (any kind will do, I recommend a “dot grid” sketchbook though!

●      Dark pen and/or sharpie
 

Course Outline/Calendar

**Calendar subject to change. Your professor will update you via blackboard of any changes or special circumstances. Please refer to Blackboard for more details and information.

Course Rationale/Objectives

This course offers students the chance to experience the complexity of the UX Design practice through a curated introduction to the basics of many disciplines including:

●      storytelling

●      ideation practices

●      history of UX and technology

●      designing interactions

●      conducting user research

●      information architecture

●      product strategy

●      industry networking

●      and presenting

Student Learning Outcomes

What you’ll learn to do by the end of this course:

1. Surveying the cross-functional disciplines that make up the user experience design role;
2. Evaluate interest in various specialties within the field of UX Design;
3. Applying research, interaction, and visual design techniques to create user-centered experiences;
4. Practice presentation skills such as storytelling, critique, and articulating design decisions based on design best practices.

What you’ll learn to do by the end of the program:

●      Produce prototypes for software applications using industry standard methods, tools, and techniques.

●      Apply a user centered design process in the creation of software applications.

●      Design and develop responsive layouts for multi-device, and multi-channel applications.

●      Demonstrate proficiency in team collaboration.

●      Develop proficiency in the presentation, design, and delivery of a UX portfolio to demonstrate professionalism.

What you’ll learn that will help in the workforce [on the job]:

Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS): In 1989, the U.S. Department of Labor education jointly surveyed U.S. employers to find out the most important skills and competencies needed by workers. The results of that survey identified SCANS (Secretaries Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills). These are skills that employers need the most from their workers. SCANS skills are the predictors of success in workplace. The following is a list of SCAN competencies identified in this course. For expanded definitions of the listed SCANS, please go to: www.academicinnovations.com/report.html