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Learning path

UX & Product Design learning path: everything to study, topic by topic

Assesses UX and product design competencies from user research and information architecture to interaction design, visual design systems, product thinking, design leadership, and expert UX strategy.

Short answer

To learn UX & Product Design, work through 7 modules and 20 topics in the order they build on each other. It starts with UX Research, then moves on to Information Architecture and Interaction Design. Use the map as a checklist, or measure your level and study only what is missing.

7
modules
20
topics
45
min to assess

What you will study

Topics are grouped by module. Open one to see its objectives and key concepts.

1 · UX Research3 topics
  • Usability Testing

    Planning and conducting usability tests including task completion rate measurement, think-aloud protocols, SUS score calculation, and cognitive walkthroughs

    Objectives

    • Plan a usability test with clear tasks, success criteria, and participant recruitment strategy
    • Calculate and interpret a System Usability Scale (SUS) score from test results

    Key concepts

    • task completion rate
    • think-aloud protocol
    • SUS score
    • cognitive walkthrough
    • moderated vs unmoderated testing
  • User Interviews

    Conducting qualitative user research through interviews, contextual inquiry, empathy mapping, and affinity diagramming to uncover user needs and pain points

    Objectives

    • Design an interview guide that avoids leading questions and uncovers genuine user needs
    • Synthesize interview data into empathy maps and affinity diagrams

    Key concepts

    • semi-structured interviews
    • contextual inquiry
    • empathy maps
    • affinity diagrams
    • leading questions avoidance
  • Heuristic Evaluation

    Applying Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics and other evaluation frameworks to systematically identify interface problems without user involvement

    Objectives

    • Conduct a heuristic evaluation using Nielsen's 10 heuristics and assign severity ratings
    • Distinguish between heuristic violations and subjective design preferences

    Key concepts

    • Nielsen's heuristics
    • severity ratings
    • visibility of system status
    • error prevention
    • recognition over recall
2 · Information Architecture3 topics
  • Navigation Patterns

    Designing navigation systems including global navigation, breadcrumbs, faceted search, mega menus, and mobile navigation patterns like bottom tabs and hamburger menus

    Objectives

    • Select appropriate navigation patterns based on content depth and user mental models
    • Design mobile navigation that balances discoverability with screen real estate

    Key concepts

    • global navigation
    • breadcrumbs
    • faceted search
    • mega menus
    • bottom tab navigation
  • Content Strategy

    Structuring content through card sorting, tree testing, content audits, and defining content models that scale across products and channels

    Objectives

    • Run a card sorting study and translate results into an information architecture
    • Apply progressive disclosure to reduce cognitive load without hiding critical information

    Key concepts

    • card sorting
    • tree testing
    • content audit
    • content models
    • progressive disclosure
  • Taxonomy & Labeling

    Creating clear, consistent labeling systems and taxonomies that match user mental models, including controlled vocabularies and metadata schemas

    Objectives

    • Design a taxonomy that aligns with user mental models validated through tree testing
    • Create a labeling system with consistent naming conventions across a product

    Key concepts

    • controlled vocabulary
    • metadata schema
    • mental models
    • label testing
    • folksonomy vs taxonomy
3 · Interaction Design3 topics
  • Wireframing & Prototyping

    Creating wireframes from low to high fidelity and interactive prototypes for user testing, stakeholder alignment, and developer handoff

    Objectives

    • Choose the appropriate fidelity level for a prototype based on project phase and audience
    • Create prototypes that effectively simulate the intended user experience for testing

    Key concepts

    • low-fidelity wireframes
    • high-fidelity prototypes
    • clickable prototypes
    • prototype fidelity spectrum
    • Figma prototyping
  • Microinteractions

    Designing feedback loops, state transitions, loading indicators, and subtle animations that communicate system status following Fitts's law and Hick's law

    Objectives

    • Apply Fitts's law to optimize touch target sizes and interactive element placement
    • Design microinteractions that communicate system status without overwhelming the user

    Key concepts

    • Fitts's law
    • Hick's law
    • state transitions
    • loading indicators
    • haptic feedback
  • Responsive & Adaptive Design

    Designing fluid layouts across breakpoints, mobile-first approaches, touch vs pointer interactions, and platform-specific adaptation strategies

    Objectives

    • Design a responsive layout strategy that adapts content priority across breakpoints
    • Define touch target sizes and spacing that meet platform accessibility guidelines

    Key concepts

    • breakpoints
    • mobile-first design
    • fluid grids
    • touch targets
    • content reflow
4 · Visual Design3 topics
  • Design Systems

    Building and maintaining design systems with atomic design methodology, design tokens, component libraries, and governance models for multi-team adoption

    Objectives

    • Structure a design system using atomic design principles from tokens to templates
    • Define a governance model that enables multiple teams to contribute to a shared design system

    Key concepts

    • atomic design
    • design tokens
    • component libraries
    • design system governance
    • Storybook documentation
  • Typography & Color in UI

    Applying typographic hierarchy, scale systems, color palettes, contrast ratios, and Gestalt principles to create visually coherent user interfaces

    Objectives

    • Build a typographic scale system that establishes clear visual hierarchy across a product
    • Apply Gestalt principles of proximity, similarity, and closure to improve interface comprehension

    Key concepts

    • typographic scale
    • modular scale
    • Gestalt principles
    • WCAG contrast ratios
    • color semantics
  • Accessibility Design

    Designing inclusive interfaces following WCAG 2.1 AA/AAA guidelines, ARIA patterns, screen reader compatibility, and inclusive design principles

    Objectives

    • Audit an interface against WCAG 2.1 AA criteria and prioritize remediation
    • Design form interactions that are fully accessible via keyboard and screen reader

    Key concepts

    • WCAG 2.1
    • ARIA landmarks
    • screen reader compatibility
    • focus management
    • inclusive design
5 · Product Thinking3 topics
  • Product Discovery

    Running product discovery through opportunity mapping, assumption testing, jobs-to-be-done frameworks, and rapid experimentation to validate design decisions

    Objectives

    • Map an opportunity solution tree from a business outcome to testable design hypotheses
    • Design a rapid experiment to validate a critical assumption before committing to a full build

    Key concepts

    • opportunity solution tree
    • jobs-to-be-done
    • assumption mapping
    • rapid experimentation
    • dual-track agile
  • UX Metrics & Analytics

    Defining and tracking UX success metrics including HEART framework, task success rate, time on task, error rate, and connecting UX metrics to business KPIs

    Objectives

    • Define a HEART metrics framework for a product feature and connect it to business outcomes
    • Interpret analytics data to identify UX problems and prioritize design improvements

    Key concepts

    • HEART framework
    • task success rate
    • time on task
    • error rate
    • UX-to-business KPI mapping
  • Stakeholder Management

    Communicating design decisions to product, engineering, and executive stakeholders through design critiques, presentations, and building organizational buy-in for UX

    Objectives

    • Facilitate a design critique that elicits constructive feedback and drives alignment
    • Present design decisions to executive stakeholders with business impact framing

    Key concepts

    • design critique facilitation
    • executive design presentation
    • design rationale
    • buy-in strategies
    • cross-functional alignment
6 · Design Leadership2 topics
  • Design Operations

    Establishing DesignOps practices including design tooling, workflow optimization, resource allocation, quality assurance processes, and design-engineering handoff

    Objectives

    • Establish a design-engineering handoff process that minimizes implementation drift
    • Build a DesignOps workflow that reduces design cycle time without sacrificing quality

    Key concepts

    • DesignOps
    • design workflow automation
    • design-dev handoff
    • design QA
    • capacity planning
  • Mentoring & Design Culture

    Building design team culture through mentorship programs, career ladders, skill development frameworks, and fostering a research-driven design practice

    Objectives

    • Design a career ladder for UX designers that supports both IC and management tracks
    • Build a community of practice that elevates design quality across the organization

    Key concepts

    • design career ladder
    • mentorship programs
    • design community of practice
    • skill gap analysis
    • design culture building
7 · Expert UX Strategy3 topics
  • UX Maturity Models

    Assessing and advancing organizational UX maturity through Nielsen Norman Group's UX maturity model, building research repositories, and establishing UX governance

    Objectives

    • Assess an organization's UX maturity level and create a roadmap to advance it
    • Build a research repository that democratizes UX insights across the organization

    Key concepts

    • NNG UX maturity model
    • research repositories
    • UX governance
    • design operations at scale
    • organizational design advocacy
  • Cross-Platform UX Strategy

    Defining coherent user experiences across web, mobile, desktop, and emerging platforms including multi-device journeys, platform conventions, and omnichannel design

    Objectives

    • Design a multi-device journey that maintains context and continuity across platforms
    • Define platform-specific adaptations that respect conventions while preserving brand coherence

    Key concepts

    • multi-device journeys
    • platform conventions
    • omnichannel UX
    • progressive enhancement
    • device-agnostic design
  • Innovation Frameworks

    Driving design innovation through design sprints, speculative design, service design blueprints, and building experimentation culture at the organizational level

    Objectives

    • Facilitate a design sprint that moves from problem framing to validated prototype in five days
    • Build an experimentation culture that balances innovation risk with product reliability

    Key concepts

    • design sprints
    • speculative design
    • service design blueprints
    • experimentation culture
    • futures thinking

Levels: Junior, Mid, Senior, and Expert

Explain it in your own words

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Already studying UX & Product Design?

The assessment measures topic by topic, and your plan skips what you already know.

Measure my level

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Frequently asked questions

Where should I start studying UX & Product Design?

Start with UX Research: Usability Testing, User Interviews, and Heuristic Evaluation. The map orders topics by what they depend on, so each one prepares the next.

How long does a full UX & Product Design assessment take?

A full assessment of this path takes about 45 minutes. Study time depends on where you start; a diagnostic shows which topics you can skip.

Do I need an account to use this page?

No. The map, objectives and key concepts are open. You only need an account to be measured, get your gap by topic and receive a plan.