Junior to Mid-Level Track

The curriculum

What each
session builds.

Every session applies to your own real work project. You bring the work-in-progress, and the session is coaching and direction.

Understand

Design Thinking for UX

Learn to run the design process yourself, not just follow one.

Learning objective

Map the design process end to end, from discovery to delivery
Learn when to apply Design Thinking versus other frameworks
Identify which phase your current project is actually in

What you'll achieve

A clear map of your project against a structured process
Your own point of view on what phase comes next, and why
Confidence to explain the process to stakeholders, not just follow it

Customer Understanding

Ground every decision in real user friction and evidence, not assumption.

Learning objective

Learn interview techniques that surface real friction, not opinions
Practice separating what users say from what they actually need
Build a repeatable way to capture and organise evidence

What you'll achieve

Real interview notes from your own project, not hypothetical ones
A clear picture of your users' actual pain points
Evidence you can point to when a decision gets challenged

Define & design

Synthesis & Problem Definition

Turn raw research into a problem statement worth solving.

Learning objective

Learn affinity mapping to turn scattered notes into clear themes
Practice writing a problem statement that's specific and testable
Learn to tell the difference between symptoms and the real problem

What you'll achieve

A clustered set of research themes from your own project
One sharp, testable problem statement
Language you can use to get your team aligned on it

Develop Solutions & Ideate

Generate and validate real options before committing to one.

Learning objective

Learn structured ideation techniques to generate real options
Practice evaluating solutions against the problem, not against taste
Learn how to pressure-test an idea before committing to it

What you'll achieve

Multiple validated directions, not just your first instinct
A clear rationale for the direction you choose
Practice defending a design decision with evidence

Information Architecture

Structure the product around how users actually think.

Learning objective

Learn core IA methods: card sorting, sitemaps, and taxonomy
Practice structuring content around user mental models, not org charts
Learn to test an IA before it's built

What you'll achieve

An IA for your own project grounded in real user input
A structure that holds up under usability testing
The vocabulary to defend structural decisions to your team

Interaction Design & User Flows

Design the full journey, not just the happy-path screen.

Learning objective

Learn to map full user flows, not just individual screens
Practice designing for edge cases and error states, not just the happy path
Learn interaction patterns that scale across a product

What you'll achieve

A complete, edge-case-aware flow for your own feature
A stronger eye for when a pattern is the right choice
A flow you can walk stakeholders through end to end

Validate & deliver

AI Prototyping

Move from concept to interactive prototype fast, using AI as your co-pilot.

Learning objective

Learn to use AI tools to generate and iterate on prototype concepts
Practice going from rough idea to interactive prototype fast
Learn where AI speeds you up, and where it still needs your judgment

What you'll achieve

A working, testable prototype built in a fraction of the usual time
A repeatable AI-assisted prototyping workflow you can reuse
Confidence knowing when to trust AI output and when to override it

Solution Validation & User Testing

Know your design works before it ships.

Learning objective

Learn to design a usability test that answers a real question
Practice moderating sessions and capturing unbiased findings
Learn to separate real signal from noise in test feedback

What you'll achieve

Real usability test results from your own prototype
Evidence-backed answers on what to fix before shipping
A clear, defensible go or no-go recommendation

Anchored to your own real project throughout. The coaching output is the deliverable, not a separate exercise.

In the room

Moments from past sessions

Workshops, talks, and classes I've run over the years, remote and in person.

winwinnie2910

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winwinnie2910Everyone holding up their sketches at once on a remote workshop night.

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winwinnie2910Running a user persona exercise with a small design team.

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winwinnie2910Talking through where tech, business, and user needs actually meet.

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winwinnie2910Speaking at Coder School about guiding designers, not just instructing them.

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winwinnie2910Wrapping up the UI/UX Hackathon warmup with this year's cohort.

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winwinnie2910A working session at FabLab with a few of the mentees.

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winwinnie2910Behind the scenes on Hackathon warmup day.

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winwinnie2910Still a student myself. Practicing grammar in an English class.

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winwinnie2910Walking a team through what design thinking actually means.

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winwinnie2910Team photo after wrapping a workshop.

Learn as a Junior, act like a Senior.

Training that sticks.

What each
session builds.

Design Thinking for UX

Customer Understanding

Synthesis & Problem Definition

Develop Solutions & Ideate

Information Architecture

Interaction Design & User Flows

AI Prototyping

Solution Validation & User Testing

Ready to stop executing.
Start shaping.

Moments from past sessions

Training that sticks.

What eachsession builds.

Design Thinking for UX

Customer Understanding

Synthesis & Problem Definition

Develop Solutions & Ideate

Information Architecture

Interaction Design & User Flows

AI Prototyping

Solution Validation & User Testing

Ready to stop executing.Start shaping.

Moments from past sessions

What each
session builds.

Ready to stop executing.
Start shaping.