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California Institute of the Arts · on Coursera

UI / UX Design Specialization

4.7(6,800) on Coursera·240K enrolled
Beginner 140 hours English SpecializationFREE
SkillsUI designUX designFigmaWireframingPrototypingVisual design

Is this course right for you?

Our take
A design-school grounding in UI/UX — research through visual design — with a portfolio project at the end. It is free to audit, and the CalArts name carries weight.

Good for: beginners who want a design-school grounding in UI/UX with a portfolio.

Skip if: you want a fast, job-focused certificate, or you already work in UX.

It covers the full digital-product process: user research and personas, information architecture, wireframing, interactive prototyping in tools like Figma, and visual UI design, ending in a complete app or website case study. It leans into design craft and visual polish more than job-search mechanics.

What it does not do is optimise for fast job-readiness the way Google's UX certificate does — it is craft-first and academically grounded — so if you want a quick job-focused route, or you already work in UX, that fits better instead. The certificate needs a paid Coursera subscription; the free audit covers the learning, and the fundamentals stay relevant.

Comparison · LBS

Compare alternatives for UI / UX Design Specialization

Same topic, different options. We surface the trade-offs others hide so you can pick the course that actually fits your time, budget, and goals.
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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.

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Instructor

CF
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.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Figma is the primary production tool across the specialization, which is exactly the industry-standard interface design tool you would want to learn. That said, the courses lead with design thinking and principles rather than tool tutorials, so you learn Figma in the service of good design decisions rather than as a button-by-button software course — the tool is the means, not the focus.

Five courses building from user research through wireframing and prototyping, visual design principles, interface testing, and a capstone project. The emphasis throughout is on the 'why' behind design decisions — aesthetic judgement, hierarchy, and visual communication — reflecting CalArts' art-school background. You come away with both a process and a trained eye, rather than only the mechanics of assembling screens.

They suit different starting points. Google's is the more structured, beginner-friendly path with the strongest brand recognition for general UX roles, and heavy support for total newcomers. CalArts leans harder into visual design and aesthetic principles, producing stronger design judgement, and suits people who already have some footing or specifically want that visual depth. Google for a broad, supported entry; CalArts for sharper visual-design sensibility.

Yes, but with a note. It assumes no formal design background and starts from fundamentals, so beginners can take it — but it carries genuine art-school rigour and demands real effort on projects and self-critique rather than passive watching. Complete beginners who engage seriously do well; those wanting the most hand-holding, community, and structure may find Google's certificate an easier on-ramp before or instead of this.

Yes, you can audit the courses on Coursera and watch the lectures at no cost. The graded assignments, peer critique, and the certificate need a subscription, with financial aid available. Because so much of the value here is in doing the design projects and receiving feedback, auditing gives you the teaching but misses the practice-and-critique loop where design skills actually sharpen.
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