Welcome to our free UX course!

In this course, you'll do research and start to build a real solution to a user and business problem for a company called REI.

Here's the course in a nutshell:

1. 22+ lessons and hours of content that teach you the UX fundamentals. If you continue to apply these learnings and add a few other key skills to your repertoire, we’re confident you’ll have what it takes to have a solid foundation.
2. You learn by doing! This isn’t just a course where you sit back and do your best to absorb the information. Instead, you’ll do research and start to build a real solution to a user and business problem. You’ll go through the first two phases of the UX process, which are the most fundamental for getting started in UX.
3. We specifically designed a Figma workbook for this course to guide you through the UX process. We’ve taken the guesswork out of it. By following these steps, you'll move through the first phases of the UX process with confidence. To snag the Figma workbook and course slides, download the course materials at the top of this free UX course page by entering your email address. We’ll show you how to download, import, and use the workbook in an upcoming video.
4. Compare your work to ours to see how you’re doing! Within the  Figma workbook, there are transparent screens that show our answers. So when you’re done with an exercise, make the transparent frames visible and see how you did. 
5. You don’t have to take notes! Below each video, you'll find a “Key takeaways” section.

Welcome to our free UX course.

This course is meant to help you kickstart your UX journey so you can learn the fundamentals. 

At this point, you may be asking yourself, "why did you create this?" 

Well, we did a ton of research on UX courses, mostly free and some paid, and what we found wasn't that impressive or that helpful.   

Which is why we decided to create this kick ass free UX course. 

Here are five things that you're going to get from this course. 

First, there are over 20 lessons and hours of content that teach you the fundamentals. 

If you continue to apply these learnings and add a few other key skills to your tool belt, we're confident that you'll have what it takes to successfully kickstart your UX journey. 

Second, you learn UX by actually doing. 

This isn't a course where you just sit back and you do your best to absorb the information. 

Instead, you'll do research and start to build a real solution to a user and business problem for REI. 

If you're unfamiliar with REI, they're a camping company. You can check them out at rei.com. 

And no, by the way, this is not a promotion and we're not sponsored by them. 

By the end of the course, you'll have gone through the first two phases of the UX process, which are the most fundamental for getting started in UX. 

Third, we specifically designed a Figma workbook for this course to help guide you through the process. 

We've taken the guesswork out of it. By following these steps, you'll move through the phases of a UX process with confidence. 

The fourth thing is really special.

Within the Figma workbook, you can actually compare your work to ours. We added screens that show our answers. So when you're done with a particular exercise, you can make it visible and see how you did. 

Also, alongside our Figma workbook, you can get additional course material like the course slides and a low-fi wireframing kit. 

Get those resources at kickassux.com under the free UX course page. 

The final thing, you don't have to take notes. Below each video, we added a main points and takeaway section. 

Plus, if you download the course material, you'll have all the slides too. 

Because it took a few months for us to put this free course together, once you're done with the course, we'd deeply appreciate hearing how your experience was. 

Also, we'd be incredibly grateful if you'd be willing to give us a testimonial to let other designers know how it went. 

But before getting into the weeds, we just want to be 100% clear. 

We don't recommend you use the work from this course in your portfolio. There's two reasons for this. 

First you won't have completed a full case study. 

And second, everyone who goes through this course will be working on the exact same problem and solution. 

If everyone uses this as a case study in their portfolios, it will be evident that it came from a course, which is not what you want. 

And this course is just the first step on your journey into UX. It's meant to help you start learning the UX process and begin practicing it for yourself. 

If you have your sights set higher and want to land a job in UX, there'll be many more steps you have to take to get there. 

If a UX job is your destination, you'll have to produce at least two of your own unique case studies that prove you know how to follow the UX process and highlight your skillset. 

You can learn the necessary skills to land a job on your own, by going to a university, or by going through a program or bootcamp. 

That's actually why we built our other program, UX/UI Expert. That's our flagship program and it's meant to help you fully transition to UX. 

By the end of UX/UI Expert, you'll walk away with two unique case studies that are wholly your own. You'll also have a portfolio that stands out and you'll possess the knowledge on how to land a job in the field. 

The program is highly personalized to your needs. We provide one-on-one mentorship and career guidance to every single student. 

Anyway, let's get back on track. 

We'll start this free course, the same way we do in our other programs. 

We want you to take a moment and reflect on why you're here. We believe that knowing your, why will make you more successful in this course. 

So why are you doing this? Why do you want to learn UX? 

Everybody in life has deep motivations. 

You need to know what yours are, because they're going to keep you going long after your surface level motivations have run out. 

So why? Why are you here? 

What do you hope to get out of all of this? 

Maybe you're tired of dealing with client and stakeholder subjectivity on a daily basis. 

Or maybe you feel like you've hit an artificial ceiling and there's no upward mobility in your career. 

Or maybe you want a career that pays you well. 

Or it could be that you want to have a positive impact on other people's lives and you can't do that in your current role. 

Maybe it's all of them. Maybe it's none of them. 

Whatever your why is, just know that we have your back and are excited to see you succeed. 

One last reminder before signing off. 

Don't forget to get the free course materials. 

Head over to the free UX course page on kickassux.com and sign up to receive the free resources in your inbox. 

Well, that's it for the introduction. We are super psyched to be part of our UX journey. We'll see you in the next lesson.