Is the Interaction Design Foundation a Good Place to Learn UX Design? — a Review
I have been using the Interaction Design Foundation as one way for me to supplement UX design learning for a year now, and I will share with you my experiences.
PROS
Useful content
I actually really enjoy the content, and there is quite a lot of industry knowledge which I wish I knew when I first started from scratch. To have a place where the content is organised also helps me to save time search for the best course for the use of your time. I also find there aren’t that many online learning platforms with a focus on UX design, within my budget at least.
Good value for money
Thinking about how much usually can one UX course cost, £12 per month paid yearly (£144 in total) or £30 per month paid monthly. Isn’t really that much of a deal. Also, they often offer free monthly trial for signing up if you’re new to the community, which will bring the cost down a little bit.
Quality tutors
Personally, I enjoyed most of the courses I took and the tutors are professional within the field that shares real-world experiences. I also really enjoy UX Master Classes, which are webinars (usually an hour-long) with many respectful speakers. It is only $1 for members and you’ll be able to watch recording afterwards. You can also purchase a webinar happened in the past. With it being paid, I find myself more engage to show up and make sure I watch the recording. Which goes to my next point.
Accountability
A lot of people might be thinking, there are so many free courses out there, why do I have to pay. For me, it really helps me to keep myself accountable for spending time and make sure I complete as many courses as I can. Obviously, I could still do more but I am happy with the amount of knowledge I gain through their services and it’s definitely not a waste of money.
These being said, IDF isn’t all perfect and there are the few things I noticed.
CONS
Not every course focus on videos
There are some text-heavy courses and require a lot of reading, however, I prefer to learn from videos and I am not very good with reading lengthy articles on the computer. Usually, I’d skip a course if there is too much reading because I know it will be hard for me to stick to it. So if you’re a visual learner like me, you might want to preview the course structure before you start one.
Be self-disciplined
You will have to be self-disciplined for any all-you-can-learn type of subscriptions online. It is too easy to start many courses but never finishes them. That’s why I try to limit myself to one course at a time, but it depends on your learning styles.
It shouldn’t be your only source of learning
UX design requires practices, case study, and side projects. And a lot of reading, not just books but also online articles from Medium for the latest trends, etc.
Here are some courses/ webinars I enjoyed.
UX Courses I recommend:
UX Management: Strategy and Tactics
Human-Computer Interaction — HCI
Master Classes I recommend:
Going from UX to Service Design
Finally, if you have the budget and you are keen to learn up-to-date information about UX design, UX research, visual design, usability testing, and more. I would definitely recommend you to sign up, especially if you are beginners it definitely is the right place to get your set up for success.
There are other benefits such as being a part of the community and you’ll also earn course certificate when you complete with pass rate.
Thank you for reading.
If you think this is what you are looking for and are interested to sign up, IDF is giving away 2 months of free membership. You can join through the link here.
Happy learning 🙌
