2026-2027 Yavapai College Catalog 
    
    Aug 06, 2026  
2026-2027 Yavapai College Catalog

DES 306 - Use Experience Design


Description: Planning and execution of UX research, user flows, journeys, and information architecture to design interfaces under stated constraints. Usability evaluation, WCAG-aligned accessibility, and annotated documentation support a case-study narrative.

Prerequisites: DES 204

Credits: 3
Lecture: 1
Lab: 6

Course Content:
  1. User-centered design foundations
  2. Empathy as a design tool
  3. Research strategies and synthesis (personas, journeys)
  4. Information architecture and content hierarchy for usability
  5. Wireframes and screen flows
  6. Interaction patterns
  7. Usability testing fundamentals and interpretation
  8. Accessibility in interaction design
  9. Design systems basics (components, tokens, standards)
  10. Handoff and collaboration practices
  11. Historical and contemporary references
  12. Project documentation and rationale
  13. Critique

Learning Outcomes:
  1. Plan UX research to define project requirements. (1,2,3,9,11)
  2. Construct user flows. (2,3,5,6)
  3. Construct user journey maps. (2,3)
  4. Plan information architecture. (4)
  5. Design interfaces according to stated constraints. (4,5,9,11)
  6. Develop design deliverables through iterative refinement. (5,6,9,12,13)
  7. Apply WCAG-aligned accessibility standards. (8)
  8. Evaluate interface usability with heuristics. (5,7,11)
  9. Evaluate interface usability with documented evidence of testing. (2,5,7)
  10. Synthesize findings into prioritized next steps. (3,10,12)
  11. Substantiate decisions with annotated wireframes. (5,12)
  12. Curate a case-study narrative with process and outcome documentation. (3,10,12)
  13. Critique peer work using discipline-specific terminology to propose revisions. (13)