User Interface Design (UI)

Course

An interface is a touch point or intermediation between two entities, be them systems, things or people, and allows interaction between them.

Designing a user interface (abbr. UI) can be considered a strictly digital concept. A user interface is the point of interaction between the user and a digital device or product such as the touchscreen of a smartphone or the touchpad to select the type of coffee at a vending machine.

In relation to websites and apps, the design of the user interface considers the appearance, feel and interactivity of the artifact. It is necessary to design the user interface of a product to be as intuitive as possible, which means carefully considering every single visual and interactive element that the user may encounter. A UI designer thinks of multiple aspects: icons, buttons, typographic systems, color schemes, spacing, images, diagrams and in general all those aspects that affect the quality of interaction with a digital artifact.

Like user experience design (abbr. UX), user interface design is also a multifaceted and inspiring role. It is responsible for transferring the study, research, content, and layout of a product into an attractive experience, capable of effectively guiding users in a cognitive process. While the UX designer maps the journey, the UI designer focuses on all the details that make this journey possible. This doesn’t mean that UI design is just a matter of appearance; UI designers have a huge impact on whether a product is accessible and inclusive, in summary if it works.

The software used

The software used for the design will be Miro and Figma: each student will have free access to the programs for the duration of the course.

Educational organization

The course includes 11 teaching modules of 8 hours for a total of 11 days.
To allow attendance to workers, the chosen formula provides lessons and exercises on Fridays and Saturdays. Mixing frontal teaching and exercise modules are, the exercises will be managed on real cases with the involvement of companies and professionals who will guide the participants in a context as close as possible to the working and professional reality.
The presentation of the final works is scheduled for Saturday December 16, 2023

The course aims to train professionals who are autonomously able to design the interface of new digital services starting from the requirements provided by the Client and making use of the specific methodologies and tools of the discipline, working both in teams and individually within a company context or self-employment. Profiles of interest: Graphic Designer, Front-end Developers, Web and Mobile, Art Director, Web designer, Digital Project Manager.

Gallery

Some numbers

Didactics

Attendance

80% of the course attendance is mandatory.

Calendar

Training objectives

The Advanced Training Course in UI Design aims to:

• provide the theoretical foundations and good practices to make the best choices in the design phase;
• equip students with practical tools, introducing them to the most used software on a professional level;
• transfer a polytechnic methodology with which to deal with the design of the User Interface in its entirety, from problem setting to the execution.

Didactic Plan

The course lasts 88 hours, for a total of 11 days. Closing and final presentation of the works: April 29, 2023.

Lessons will take place on Friday and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The course is in blended mode and includes 6 in-person days (3rd, 4th and 6th weekends) and 5 distance learning days (1st, 2nd and 5th weekends). The course will take place in- presence except for the following days: 17, 18, 24, 25 March 2023 and 21 April 2023.

Didactic Modules

Module 1 – UI Values
Introduction to the discipline
Basic design principles
The technological context: formats and devices

Module 2 – UI Branding
Brand design overview
Building the concept: corporate identity, moodboard, visual elements
Project Work – 1st part

Module 3 – UI Output
Accessibility: principles and good practices
Atomic Design & Design System: why to use them and how to build them
Complementary skills: conversational UI, motion, illustration
Project Work – 2nd part

Module 4 – UI Follow-up
A / B Test
Prototype refinement
Project Work – 3rd part

Final exam
Presentation of the results of the Project Work

Title Released

At the end of the course, a certificate of participation in the UI Design Course will be issued by POLI.design.

Employment Opportunities

The UI Designer is one of the most requested professionals in the digital sector, so far facing the provision of basic skills at university level that didn’t transfer the specialized training required by the market, up to now.

The UI can work for agencies, start-ups, companies or as a freelancer.
The professional may work in multiple areas, the UI being potentially applicable to all product sectors (financial, editorial, sports, fashion …), digital formats (community, e-commerce, configurators, corporate sites …) and sectors in further expansion, thanks to the increase in formats and devices.

Admission

Requirements

The course is intended for:

• recent graduates with a high school diploma or degree in Design, Architecture or Engineering, or in humanities, such as Economics and Communication Sciences, to whom it intends to provide a significant polytechnic integration to previous professional training;
• agency, company, or freelance professionals such as Client, Project Manager, Digital Strategist, Account and Art Director who intend to acquire more vertical skills with respect to the User Interface issues;

It is preferable that candidates are already familiar with the main issues related to the Internet (navigation browser, open-source tools, use of social media) and with word processing, calculation and / or production of vector and raster images.

Admission to the course is subject to a prior selection which includes a cognitive interview with the Course Direction.

Candidates must send the selection documents by connecting to the following LINK:

• application for admission to the Course;
• copy of the Codice fiscale (Tax Identity Code) and identity document;
• curriculum that briefly describes their academic and / or professional profile.

Apply now

More info

Deadlines

Deadline to participate in the 1st edition: October 25, 2023.

Price

The total cost of the course is € 2,500.00 + VAT 22% for each student. This sum will be paid in a lump sum upon signing the agreement.

For those who enroll in both the Advanced Training Course in User Experience Design (14th edition) and the Advanced Training Course in UI Design (1st edition) the total cost is € 4,000.00 + VAT 22%.

Concessions to attendance
Partial exemptions of 20% are provided for the second employee who enrolls in the same course.
Requirements for submitting the request: sending a self-certification certifying that the employees are hired by the same company together with the documentation required for the selection.

To take advantage of the partial exemptions, the registration must be formalized, paying the participation fees, no later than 20 January 2023 at 18.00 (Italian time). Partial exemptions cannot be combined with other reductions, scholarships or other benefits granted by the Consortium or by other bodies for the same course.

POLI.design offers the community of Politecnico di Milano a 50% discount to be applied to the participation fee for a I and II level Specializing Master or Higher Education Course / Post Graduate Program / Continuing Education Course which POLI.design manages and provides. The discount is for internal staff (i.e., structured teachers and technical and administrative staff) with active contracts at Politecnico di Milano and members of their household.

HOW IT WORKS:

To benefit from the discount you will need to:

• send the selection application to the chosen course with the relevant required documents;
• successfully pass the selections;
• send a copy of the applicant’s family status.

Faculty

Mattia Reali
Co-founder & Digital Creative Director
MOST

Riccardo Volpato
Co-founder & Digital Creative Director
MOST

Ilaria Vitali
User Researcher & Conversational Designer
Habits

Marco Livi
UX/UI Designer
Tangible

Luciano Baresi
Full Professor
Dip. DEIB Politecnico di Milano

Partners

Past editions