Track 06 — The Studio Floor
UI/UX & Graphic Designing
Good design is not a talent you either have or lack — it is a set of decisions you can learn to make deliberately. This track builds the craft: fundamentals, research, Figma to a professional standard, and a portfolio of case studies that explain your thinking.
( What you'll learn )
Design fundamentals
Composition, hierarchy, spacing, alignment, contrast and colour — the grammar behind every layout that feels right.
Typography
Choosing and pairing typefaces, setting a scale, managing rhythm and line length. The single fastest way to look professional.
Colour & contrast
Building a palette that works in light and dark, carries meaning, and passes accessibility contrast requirements.
UX research
Interviews, surveys, personas and journey maps — and framing the actual problem before designing a solution to the wrong one.
Information architecture
Structuring content and navigation so people find things without being taught how.
Wireframing & flows
Low-fidelity thinking: user flows, sketches and testing structure before spending time on visuals.
Figma end to end
Auto-layout, components, variants, styles, constraints and prototyping — Figma the way a working product team uses it.
Design systems
Tokens, component libraries, documentation and handoff — designing for scale rather than one screen at a time.
Interaction & motion
Transitions, micro-interactions, easing and timing. When motion helps comprehension and when it is decoration.
Accessibility
Contrast, focus order, target sizes, semantics and inclusive patterns — the difference between usable and merely pretty.
Brand identity & graphic design
Logo systems, brand guidelines, print and social creatives — including the vector craft in Illustrator.
Portfolio & case studies
Writing up your work as a narrative: problem, process, decisions, outcome. This is what actually gets you interviews.
( Curriculum — 17 weeks )
Fundamentals
The grammar of visual design, plus enough Figma to start building.
- Composition and hierarchy
- Grids, spacing and alignment
- Typography and type scales
- Colour theory and palettes
- Contrast and accessibility basics
- Figma interface and shortcuts
- Frames, layers, auto-layout
- Redrawing existing designs to learn
UX & Figma
Designing from a real problem, and building interfaces the way a product team does.
- Research methods and interviews
- Personas and journey maps
- Information architecture
- User flows and wireframes
- Components and variants
- Prototyping and interactions
- Usability testing
- Iterating on real feedback
Systems & brand
Designing for scale, then the graphic design and identity side of the craft.
- Design tokens and libraries
- Documenting a design system
- Responsive and adaptive layouts
- Motion and micro-interactions
- Logo and identity systems
- Brand guidelines
- Illustrator and vector craft
- Social and marketing creatives
Handoff & portfolio
Working with developers, and packaging your work so it gets replies.
- Developer handoff and specs
- Design QA on a built interface
- Writing case studies
- Portfolio structure and curation
- Building your portfolio site
- Presenting your work out loud
- Freelance rates and briefs
- Final portfolio review
( Tools you'll master )
( Projects you'll build )
Mobile app redesign
Pick a real app with real problems, research them, redesign the core flows, and prove the improvement with usability testing.
Design system
A documented component library with tokens, states and usage guidance — the artefact product teams interview for.
Brand identity
A complete identity for a real or invented business: mark, type, colour, applications and a written guideline document.
Portfolio site & case studies
Your own portfolio, built and live, with three case studies that explain decisions rather than just showing screens.
( Where this leads )
( Is this you? )
A good fit if
- You notice when things look wrong, even if you cannot yet say why
- You are willing to redo work after feedback, repeatedly
- You want a career where craft and thinking both matter
- You are prepared to defend your decisions rather than say 'it felt right'
Probably not yet if
- You want to avoid research and go straight to visuals
- You take critique personally — this track runs on critique
- You are looking for templates rather than a skill
- You cannot spend time on your portfolio outside class
Portfolio over certificate.
No design employer has ever hired someone for a certificate. They hire for the portfolio, and specifically for what your case studies reveal about how you think. So the last month of this track is spent almost entirely on writing your work up properly — the problem, the constraints, what you tried, what you rejected, and what actually happened.
You will leave with a live portfolio site and three written case studies, reviewed by a mentor before you send it anywhere.
( Reading on this track )
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