COCalifornia Institute of the Arts · on Coursera

UI / UX Design Specialization

4.7(6,800)·240K enrolled

Beginner 140 hours English Professional CertificateFREE

About this course

This specialization is CalArts' UI/UX-focused counterpart to their Graphic Design Specialization, covering the full digital product design process: user research and personas, information architecture, wireframing, interactive prototyping, and visual UI design. It's built around real tools (including Figma) and culminates in a complete app or website design case study suitable for a design portfolio.

Where Google's UX Design Certificate is built explicitly for job-readiness with a heavy emphasis on the job-search process itself, CalArts' specialization leans more into design craft and visual polish — useful for learners who already have the Google certificate's process knowledge and want to strengthen visual design skills, or for learners who want an academically-grounded alternative from the start.

What you'll learn

Conduct user research and build user personas

Design information architecture and user flows

Create low and high-fidelity wireframes

Build interactive prototypes (including Figma)

Apply visual design principles to digital interfaces

Produce a complete UX case study for a design portfolio

This course includes

140h

On-demand video

Yes

Certificate

Yes

Mobile access

English

Language

Comparison · LBS

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Instructor

CalArts Faculty

Coursera instructor

240K+ learners6 courses4.7 instructor rating

Taught by California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) faculty, one of the most respected art and design schools in the United States, extending their design pedagogy into UI/UX-specific coursework.

Requirements

No prior UX or coding experience required
Figma (free) for prototyping exercises

Who this course is for

Designers wanting to add visual polish and craft to a UX process foundation
Career changers seeking an academically-grounded UX education
Graphic designers transitioning into digital product design

About this provider

Coursera

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Frequently asked questions

Google's certificate is built for job-readiness with heavy emphasis on the job search process and portfolio for hiring. CalArts' specialization leans more into design craft, visual polish, and academic design theory — complementary rather than identical.

No — the specialization introduces Figma and other tools as part of the curriculum. No prior software experience is assumed.

Yes, the specialization culminates in a complete UX case study (typically an app or website redesign) suitable for inclusion in a UX portfolio.