Career studio / UX Design
Build evidence for the UX Designer role
A community center’s workshop registration flow loses users when dates are full. Design a low-fidelity then high-fidelity flow that clearly communicates availability and recovery options.
Your outcome: UX case study with task flow, prototype, usability plan and iteration rationale.
Start with the right expectations
Who this is for
Basic visual organization and willingness to iterate on feedback.
This path develops a demonstrable work sample for the named role. It does not replace employer-specific experience, professional qualifications or supervised practice.
Plan your study time
Use a flexible six-week project schedule: one week for each of the first four stages and two weeks for the portfolio and review. Allow roughly 3–5 hours per week for the case work, in addition to course study. This is a planning suggestion, not a measured course duration or a promise of job readiness.
Read the course access notes before starting. Free viewing or reading does not automatically include certificates, graded assessments, software licences or paid cloud resources. Core case work can be documented with a free editor and spreadsheet; optional implementation tools may have additional requirements.
Your course sequence
Start in the order below. Use the course outline to select the sections relevant to the stage tasks, and complete foundation exercises before moving on. Full provider courses can be substantially longer than this project schedule. These are course resources, not a claimed count of individual lessons.
Resource 01 / Google
Free UX Design Course: Research to Prototypes by Google
Purpose: Build the foundations. Connect your notes to the case tasks below rather than only collecting completion marks.
Access: Free Video
Certificate: Free video viewing; a Google certificate is not included
Resource 02 / Google
Free High-Fidelity UX Design Course by Google
Purpose: Develop the role-specific method. Connect your notes to the case tasks below rather than only collecting completion marks.
Access: Free Video
Certificate: Free video viewing; a Google certificate is not included
Resource 03 / Google
Google Learn Accessibility: Free Web Accessibility Course
Purpose: Strengthen practical application. Connect your notes to the case tasks below rather than only collecting completion marks.
- Understand digital accessibility: consider how disability and different interaction needs affect the use of a website.
- Create meaningful structure: explore content organisation, semantic HTML and appropriate use of ARIA.
- Improve interface details: examine keyboard focus, images, colour contrast, motion and typography.
Access: Free public lessons and practice using browser/local code, Chrome DevTools Lighthouse and a free compatible screen reader such as NVDA; no paid toolkit required. No account needed to read; optional standard Google developer profile for badge collection is free.
Certificate: Accessibility developer-profile badge offered through the course quiz. No formal certificate, credit, accreditation or website-compliance certification promised.
Learn, make, check
Keep a decision log as you work. For each stage, capture the assumption, your work product, a check and the change you made after that check. The acceptance criterion is the stopping condition for the stage.
Stage 1 / suggested project week 1
Define the user problem
Understand: A design problem needs a user, task and constraint.
Make: Write a problem statement and assumptions for choosing and booking a workshop.
Check before moving on: Avoid inventing research findings to justify a preferred screen.
Study companion: Free UX Design Course: Research to Prototypes by Google. Use its relevant lessons and examples; the independent WikiFree task is not a provider assessment.
Save as evidence: a dated work product and a short note explaining one choice, one alternative and one remaining uncertainty.
Stage 2 / suggested project week 2
Map the flow
Understand: A journey includes errors and exits as well as success.
Make: Sketch available, full, invalid-input and confirmation states.
Check before moving on: A user can understand what to do after a full-date message.
Study companion: Free High-Fidelity UX Design Course by Google. Use its relevant lessons and examples; the independent WikiFree task is not a provider assessment.
Save as evidence: a dated work product and a short note explaining one choice, one alternative and one remaining uncertainty.
Stage 3 / suggested project week 3
Prototype the interaction
Understand: Visual hierarchy should support the next decision.
Make: Create a clickable or paper prototype with clear labels and visible focus states.
Check before moving on: Use fictional content and do not treat attractive screens as usability evidence.
Study companion: Google Learn Accessibility: Free Web Accessibility Course. Use its relevant lessons and examples; the independent WikiFree task is not a provider assessment.
Save as evidence: a dated work product and a short note explaining one choice, one alternative and one remaining uncertainty.
Stage 4 / suggested project week 4
Evaluate and iterate
Understand: A test plan needs tasks and observation criteria.
Make: Run a self-walkthrough, then prepare tasks for future consenting participants. Record only tests actually performed.
Check before moving on: Explain each revision using an observation or a stated hypothesis.
Study companion: Google Learn Accessibility: Free Web Accessibility Course. Use its relevant lessons and examples; the independent WikiFree task is not a provider assessment.
Save as evidence: a dated work product and a short note explaining one choice, one alternative and one remaining uncertainty.
Stage 5 / suggested project weeks 5–6
Present your portfolio
Assemble the four work products into UX case study with task flow, prototype, usability plan and iteration rationale. Write a README explaining the problem, your assumptions, the decisions you made, tests actually performed and what remains incomplete.
Give a five-minute walkthrough: one minute for the problem, two for the work and evidence, one for trade-offs and one for the next improvement. If you have not implemented a proposed system, label it a design or prototype rather than a deployed solution.
Acceptance: a reviewer can locate each work product, reproduce the key reasoning and identify the limits without a private explanation from you.
The portfolio brief
A community center’s workshop registration flow loses users when dates are full. Design a low-fidelity then high-fidelity flow that clearly communicates availability and recovery options.
Deliver: UX case study with task flow, prototype, usability plan and iteration rationale.
| workshop | date | availability |
|---|---|---|
| SQL Basics | 2026-11-10 | Available |
| Project Planning | 2026-11-12 | Full |
| UX Practice | 2026-11-14 | Available |
Use these small inputs to make the reasoning visible. They are not a representative dataset, a real client engagement or evidence of production performance. Where the brief requires additional sample records, create them yourself, label them synthetic and explain why you added them.
The ZIP includes the case CSV, four stage worksheets, course sequence, decision log, test log, portfolio README template, review rubric and reference reasoning. It is a starter kit for your work, not a completed application, professional report or proprietary project file.
Check your reasoning
A prototype looks polished but no one has tried the full booking task. Can you claim it is easy to use?
Write your answer and assumptions before opening the reference.
Read the reference reasoning
No. Describe the design intent and what has been reviewed; usability claims require task-based evidence from actual evaluation.
Portfolio review rubric
| Criterion | Points | Evidence required |
|---|---|---|
| Problem and scope | 4 | A clear user, need, boundary and assumptions |
| Role-specific work | 8 | 2 points for each of the four stage acceptance checks |
| Reasoning and validation | 4 | Independent checks, actual results and uncertainty |
| Communication and reproducibility | 4 | A usable README, source links and reviewable work products |
Aim for at least 16/20 as a self-review target, with no missing stage acceptance check. This is a WikiFree practice rubric, not an industry credential or a hiring assessment.
Interview practice
Which design decision changed after you considered an error state?
Answer using the case: context, your action, evidence and limitation. Describe this honestly as a self-directed project. Do not present fictional organizations, invented interviews or practice results as paid work experience.
Your progress
Use this checklist as a personal study aid. Progress is stored in this browser when local storage is available; it is not an account record or a certificate.
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Questions before you start
Will this path qualify me for a job?
It helps you study relevant foundations and produce a work sample. Employers may require additional skills, qualifications and experience. Review actual role requirements before applying; no job or certification is guaranteed.
Are all tools and certificates free?
The linked learning routes were selected for free viewing or reading. Follow the separate access and certificate notes on each course. Paid tools and cloud deployment are optional; document a local design when implementation resources are unavailable.
Can I follow this on a phone?
You can read the path and many learning resources on a phone. Coding, detailed spreadsheet work, design tools and mobile-app development are easier or require a suitable computer. The page is designed to reflow; that is not a claim that every physical device has been tested.
Questions & discussion
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