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CreativeLive

Think Like a Visual Designer

via CreativeLive

Overview

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AFTER THIS CLASS YOU’LL BE ABLE TO:

  • Consider your audience and content first in the design thinking process
  • Understand universal design principles including information hierarchy, typography, alignment and more.
  • Apply design principles to practical project examples including resumes, presentations, spreadsheets, social media posts, and email signatures.
  • Approach problem-solving with the appropriate principles and vocabulary, whether as a designer, team member, or client.

ABOUT SARAH’S CLASS:

Great design is invisible.

Design is not about what a product looks like; it’s about understanding and outcomes. It has the power to communicate ideas, influence people, and impact your business. But too often, we put too much emphasis on how something looks. We let the message get stifled by colors, fonts, and layouts.

As attention spans shrink and increased screen time changes how we consume information, a design thinking approach has the potential to help us get customers, colleagues, and clients to understand our message and take action.

You don’t need to work at IDEO or Apple to design innovative solutions to complex problems. Nor do you need to go to MIT or Stanford’s d.school to learn design methodology. In this class, Sarah Doody leverages her 15-year background in user experience design to teach you how to go beyond aesthetic and truly think like a designer.

WHO THIS CLASS IS FOR:

This class is for creatives of all levels: visual designers, entrepreneurs, those considering a career change to the design field, design team members, clients working with designers, and professionals looking to apply design thinking to yield standout work.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR:

Sarah Doody is a User Experience Design Consultant based in NYC. She helps companies and entrepreneurs assess product ideas, understand their customers, and design and launch products. For companies already in the market, she guides businesses to reach their goals through optimizing their User Experience (UX).

She’s the creator of The UX Notebook, an education company that helps you learn how to think like a UX designer though a popular weekly newsletter, online UX courses, and in person workshops and talks worldwide. Sarah’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Net Magazine, and UX Magazine. Some of her clients include WeWork, Domino Magazine, General Assembly, Government of Pennsylvania, TicTail, Blue Apron, and Vice.

Additional links: 

LinkedIn | UX Notebook

Syllabus

  • Class Introduction
  • Why Design Matters
  • Design vs. Aesthetic
  • Impact of Design
  • The Design Process: Understand Your Audience
  • The Design Process: Understand Your Content
  • Design Principle: Alignment, Grids, and Spacing
  • Design Principles: Contrast
  • Design Principles: Repetition
  • Design Principle: Hierarchy & Proximity
  • Principle Scale and Balance
  • Design Principles: Typography
  • Design Principles: White Space
  • Design Principles: Color
  • Design Principles: Graphics, Icons, and Photos
  • Design Principles: Layouts and Focal Points
  • Design Principles: Color-Blind Accessibility in Design
  • Example: Resume Design
  • Example: Social Media Post Design
  • Example: Presentation Design
  • Example: Charts and Spreadsheets Design
  • Example: Email Signature Design

Taught by

Sarah Doody

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