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The Best Free UX Design Courses in 2025

by Mads Soegaard | | 48 min read
669 shares

It’s pretty much safe to say there’s never been a better time to be a designer, but that might do a disservice to the realities that seem set to continue unfolding—far into the future—for those who can craft engaging user interfaces to delight users with. If we take the Nielsen Norman Group's projections—which have it that 2050 will witness a surge to a staggering 100 million UX (user experience) professionals worldwide—and look at the existing rate of people creating three websites every second, they’re healthy indicators of the need for skilled UX designers to make seamless user interfaces, or UIs. Numerous institutions—recognizing this demand—have rolled out courses to foster this talent, but there’s even better news: quality education doesn’t aways come at a premium cost—read on and see why, and who’s offering free UX courses that count.

“Design used to be the seasoning you'd sprinkle on for taste; now it's the flour you need at the start of the recipe.”

– John Maeda, Designer and Technologist, Vice President, Design and Artificial Intelligence at Microsoft

Show Hide video transcript
  1. 00:00:00 --> 00:00:31

    We'll first of all look at why it is that user experience has become so important now. Now, anybody who's been around the usability or the human-computer interaction area will be aware that user experience has become perhaps the major buzzword when employing anybody. So, in the past you might have got a job in interaction design or as a usability engineer.

  2. 00:00:31 --> 00:01:01

    Now, what you'll see more than anything is that people ask for *user experience specialist*. Now, very often what they mean by that is exactly the same. They want you to include the same thing. So, in the past, if you were designing interactions, you'd think about user experience. If you were asked to design user experience, you'd think about usability. But the fact that the *name* has become dominant tells you something about a change in emphasis.

  3. 00:01:01 --> 00:01:31

    And so, whereas it perhaps used to be a *minor* aspect of the role of designing interfaces and designing interactions, now it's become perhaps one of the major roles. Experience clearly matters, whether it's iPhones or Facebook. It's now *why* people often go to a computer system. They want it to make them feel things. They want it to be part of excitement or interest

  4. 00:01:31 --> 00:02:01

    or basically emotion in general. You might be talking to a loved one over a video channel or you might be playing a game in Facebook. These are clearly very, very critical. If you think about the phone as an example, if you went back – I was trying to think – 20 years, now even this – and I've got my house phone here, which is a pretty big phone – that would have been little. The first mobile phones were like bricks. It was almost like holding a book to your ear. Now, it's the iPhone.

  5. 00:02:01 --> 00:02:31

    The first mobile phones were about communication, wanting to be connected with people. And, actually, if you see satellite phones today, they're still pretty much like that – chunky things. Whereas the iPhone is very much about being an iPhone user, about the sleekness of it, about the design of it. Interestingly enough, even those early phones – there was a strong set of emotional values attached to them. People would have *fake* phones because they couldn't afford a real phone.

  6. 00:02:31 --> 00:03:00

    This is fake *mobile phones*. So, you have a fake mobile phone. So, you could sort of pull it out on the train and have it sitting there, and people would think, "Oh my goodness! There's an important person, having a mobile phone." So, actually, even those early phones – the actual phone (the real phone) was about utility. However, those fake phones were about the fact that a phone says something about who you are. And – boy – is that true of phones nowadays! Emotion is part of being human.

  7. 00:03:00 --> 00:03:30

    It's not just part of our technological experience of being human; it's part of being human. Without emotion, in many ways we don't exist fully. And that's sort of evident when things go wrong and people have accidents or illnesses which damage their emotional being. However, this isn't a new thing. You know, emotion has *always* been important. This isn't something that's happened in the last five to ten years. In fact, within the user interface community, one of the early standards that mentioned usability

  8. 00:03:30 --> 00:04:01

    was ISO 9241. And it talked about three crucial issues for user interfaces. One of them was *effectiveness*. Does it do the right thing? Does it get things done that are important? The second was *efficiency*. Does it do that with the minimum effort – the minimum mental effort, the minimum physical effort? Or is it taking extraneous effort that's unnecessary?

  9. 00:04:01 --> 00:04:33

    And, very often, people only quote those two because there was a third one, as well, which was *satisfaction*. Does it make you feel good? Do you feel happy having used this system or used this piece of software? And that last one is often missed entirely. And it's all about the emotion – the way you feel. And so, it was often ignored, often missed in the past.

  10. 00:04:33 --> 00:05:00

    What's now happened is that's become perhaps in some ways more important than the other two. Emotion is important because it's good to feel emotion. But also, emotion affects the bottom line in business. If your employees are happy, they tend to be more productive. So, if you're designing a production line or an office or wherever the environment, if you can have software and systems that make people feel good,

  11. 00:05:00 --> 00:05:30

    they'll tend to work better. And certainly you want your *customers* to feel happy because they are the people who are usually going to buy your goods. So, if you've not made your customers happy, they don't buy anything. So, emotion is important to us as humans,

  12. 00:05:30 --> 00:05:34

    but it's also important from a business point of view.

What’s so nobly spreading this knowledge to help budding UX designers grow and bloom into flourishing careers are UX courses that are free—yes, you read that right: free. “Free” also translates to freedom and flexibility, since there’s the advantage of self-paced learning—you can set your own schedule and move ahead at your own pace while you’re balancing other commitments, because life can have a habit of getting more than a little busy at times—right?

Whether you're a beginner and you’re eager to break into UX design or you’re an existing professional who’s up for refining your expertise, we’ve got for you a little list of standout free UX design courses in 2025—yes, complete with their pros, cons, and essential details:

Table of contents
  1. 1. Springboard’s Free UX Design Course
    1. Course Structure
    2. Pros  
    3. Cons
    4. Rating
  2. 2. UX Design Institute’s Introduction to UX Design
    1. Course Structure
    2. Pros
    3. Cons
    4. Rating
  3. 3. UX Writing Hub’s A Taste of UX Writing
    1. Course Structure
    2. Pros
    3. Cons
    4. Rating
  4. 4. edX’s Human-Computer Interaction II: Cognition, Context and Culture
    1. Course Structure
    2. Pros
    3. Cons
    4. Rating
  5. 5. Udacity’s Product Design
    1. Course Structure
    2. Pros
    3. Cons
    4. Rating
  6. 6. Gymnasium’s UX Fundamentals
    1. Course Structure
    2. Pros
    3. Cons 
    4. Rating
  7. 7. Future Learn’s Digital Skills: User Experience
    1. Course Structure
    2. Pros
    3. Cons
    4. Rating
  8. Criteria for Selecting the Best Free UX Design Courses
  9. Still Don't Know Where to Start?

1. Springboard’s Free UX Design Course

© Springboard, Fair Use

Springboard's free UX Design Curriculum offers insights into essential UX design techniques—think of user research, prototyping, and wireframing, for instance—and it’s got over 40 resources and 15+ hours of content all just waiting for you. You’ll get to get your mind around vital concepts such as UX design terminology, user-centered design, HTML, creating personas, and how UX design interplays with other disciplines: neat.

Springboard’s well-known in the tech education space, and Julia—the course author—has got a rich background in UX design, both as a senior designer and as an instructor at the reputable General Assembly.

Course Structure

  • Introduction to UX Design

  • UX Design terminology and best practices

  • Fundamental design research methods

  • User-centered design techniques

  • Interviewing users in real-world situations

  • Creating personas

  • Essential deliverables in UX design

  • Relationship of UX design to other disciplines

Pros  

  • The curriculum is aligned for career readiness, and it lets you start your UX career with a competitive edge.

  • There’s a curated collection of top-notch UX design materials, and these include online courses, videos, and tutorials.

  • It caters to a wide range of individuals—from working professionals who are curious about UX design to students seeking to get a new skill set.

Cons

  • The course doesn’t discuss the specifics of various UX design tools, although it does touch upon different software options.

Rating

8.5/10 

2. UX Design Institute’s Introduction to UX Design

Free UX design course titled Introduction to UX Design by UX Design Institute

© UXdesigninstitute, Fair Use

This is a free UI/UX design course for beginners, and "Introduction to UX Design" is a seven-lesson free UI/UX design course where you can grasp the foundational concepts of UX design principles—a suitable starting point for anyone, whether you’re looking for a career shift or are curious about UX and want to see if it’s the way forward for you.

The UX Design Institute is reputable in the UX domain, to be sure, and the course material comes from a university credit-rated study program—the Professional Diploma in UX Design—which has been helping numerous design hopefuls to start their careers in UX.

Course Structure

  • Introduction to UX and its importance

  • In-depth exploration of UX 

  • Creating desirable products 

  • Business benefits of UX 

  • The UX design process

Pros

  • You can digest UX concepts at your leisure with bite-sized lessons to digest, enjoy, and grow with.

  • Apart from the core lessons, it’s got 18 supplementary resources to enrich and expand your understanding further.

  • The content includes insights from their comprehensive "Professional Diploma in UX Design," which ensures that there’s industry relevance on board.

Cons

  • UX Design Institute might contact you for promotions, though you can unsubscribe anytime.

Rating

8.5/10

3. UX Writing Hub’s A Taste of UX Writing

Free UX design course titled UX writing and content design for FREE by UX Writing Hub

© UXwritinghub, Fair Use

A nice thing about this comprehensive course is how it covers the foundational concepts of UX writing, the psychology that’s behind it, and what the significance of research is. It’s got an emphasis on how important it is to put content at the forefront of design, and it explores the evolution—and relevance—of microcopy. Another nifty point is that this course offers insights on how to create ethical products and guides on how to establish content style parameters—great things to absorb for designers of all types.

The credibility of this course is nice and solid and underscored both by its industry-focused content and by the glowing testimonials from seasoned professionals, and notable figures like Fiona Tinner from Ginetta Web and Yves Van Kerkhove from Colruyt Group laud the course for its insights and actionable techniques.

Course Structure

  • The basics of UX writing & content design

  • The Cost of Poor Design

  • Content First Design

  • Research Methods

  • Intro to Testing

  • Evolution of Microcopy

  • Psychology in UX

  • User Journeys

  • Content Style Guides

Pros

  • It combines the intricacies of design, psychology, and research to give you a nicely well-rounded view of UX writing.

  • Thanks to its exclusive content, quizzes, and a final exercise, the course ensures that hands-on learning empowers students.

  • From understanding the significant part that microcopy plays to create ethical digital products, it covers a wide range of topics that are crucial to mastering UX research and writing.

Cons

  • While a later addition, some purists may feel that the emphasis on AI writing tools detracts from the human aspect of UX writing.

Rating

9/10 

4. edX’s Human-Computer Interaction II: Cognition, Context and Culture

Free UX design course titled Human-Computer Interaction II: Cognition, Context and Culture by Georgia Institute of Technology by edX

© edX, Fair Use

The renowned Georgia Institute of Technology on edX offers this one, which is a course that explores the intricacies of human-computer interaction with focuses on understanding user cognition and how interfaces integrate with the world around us. The course is part of Georgia Tech's Online Master of Science in Computer Science program, and so cements how credible it is in the field.

Author and Expert in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Professor Alan Dix tells you important points about HCI here:

Show Hide video transcript
  1. 00:00:00 --> 00:00:35

    I'm guessing the reason you're watching this video   now at this moment is because you've got  an interest in human-computer interaction.   However, that doesn't perhaps mean  you know exactly what it is. Maybe you   just guessed. Or you just think it sounds like a  good idea. So what is human-computer interaction?   Well, it's got two sides to it. On one side,  there's an academic discipline which is about   studying the way people interact with technology,  and in particular the computer technology.  

  2. 00:00:35 --> 00:01:04

    Nowadays, computers are in virtually everything.  It's quite hard sometimes to tell the difference.   But then there's another side to it, which is the  design discipline and I think probably quite a lot   of you watching this video will be from a design  side – you're interested in user experience design   and interaction design. One side of Human-Computer  Interaction is the academic discipline and the   other is the applied design discipline, which  is about how you create interventions with  

  3. 00:01:04 --> 00:01:31

    technology that make a difference to people. So,  one side is studying that computer technology   and how it has an impact on people  – so the way in which it works.   The other is more about saying that, how do  we practically change that academic study,   that interesting information we have  about the way people work, into action? The two of course interact, so on  one hand the professional experience  

  4. 00:01:31 --> 00:02:01

    informs the academic discipline. And you'll  probably notice that I use lots of examples,   some from my own experience, some from  stories I know about from elsewhere.   I use those from all sorts of times in order  to inform my general understanding. Because it works the other way around. The academic  understanding, that more generic understanding,   feeds back into the design discipline too. So, if  I understand how people interact with individual  

  5. 00:02:01 --> 00:02:34

    computers, how people interact together in a group  when they're using technology, how environments   change the way people are – if those environments  have technology in. Then I'll be in a better   position to be able to design things effectively  for them. So, these two are intermingled. So, if you want to understand Human-Computer  Interaction, if you want to be part of this, what   kind of things would I like you to know about?  What would I hope you would learn from studying HCI?

  6. 00:02:34 --> 00:03:00

    Well, first of all is bare facts. Facts about  the nature of computers. There's facts about the   nature of human psychology, physiology – a whole  range of things – social interactions. There are facts that you can read in a book, and I've got  my own textbook that I produced on this. And there are many, many others. Also on the web there are  vast amounts of material. So, in some sense the  

  7. 00:03:00 --> 00:03:30

    facts are easy to get and then you will get some  of those. Now hopefully when I talk about   HCI you get some of those facts. However, perhaps  there are other things which are more important. The second thing I hope you learn from HCI  is about analysis. It's about looking at a   situation and trying to make sense of it:   what's going on there. Because if you understand   a situation then you can apply the facts to  the situation.

  8. 00:03:30 --> 00:04:00

    So, it's about analysis, about picking some things apart. Picking the problems  that you're having or picking the opportunities apart. And then of course, once you've done that  analysis, together with the facts and knowledge from that, you can then do a design job. So  you can bring these things together in order   to synthesize them, in order to create something  that will be a solution to somebody's problem. But perhaps more important almost  than all that: obviously you need  

  9. 00:04:00 --> 00:04:34

    the knowledge side and you need the skills to  do it. But perhaps the most important thing   within HCI, particularly if you think of it in  terms of moving on into design, is an attitude   of mind. An attitude that focuses on people that  sees real users, real situations as center place.   That is seeking to understand people  however different they are from you. And to do things which are good for them and  makes sense in their lives. So, that's sort of what  

  10. 00:04:34 --> 00:05:04

    our purpose is in a way, particularly as we move  from just studying people to actually saying, "How do we design something for them?" So, what kinds of things might you want to know about these? And the sort of things I'll often talk about in  this context? One set of things is about the basics of design, you know. So, this goes from sort of the processes that people use when they're doing design and you may be using yourself, to  methods of evaluation to understand the nature  

  11. 00:05:04 --> 00:05:33

    of human experience. However, undergirding that  is fundamental, undeniable, underlying knowledge and theories. Some of those, particularly  about the human, about human perception,   cognition, emotion – that also leaks into how  to understand the way computers work as well,   to the extent that it's important from the  point of view of their interactions with people. And then from a sort of practical point of view,  

  12. 00:05:33 --> 00:06:00

    you also need to think about and  be aware of the issues that happen   when systems are implemented. Again, that's partly  about the way they're implemented in the computer,   but also the way in which they get deployed into  the world. This will vary from place to place,   but some of the general principles of how you make  sure that this wonderful system that you designed   actually gets used by people in the real  world and makes a real difference to people.

Course Structure

  • Role of mental models in guiding user-system interaction

  • Representation's impact on mental model development

  • Decomposition of human-computer interaction into discernible chunks

  • Using GOMS models for system-user interaction

  • Distributed cognition for large system design

  • Situated action's role in anticipating human behavior

  • Understanding society's influence on design and vice versa

Pros

  • This course offers insights into rarely discussed topics like "situated action" and "distributed cognition."

  • It’s part of a Professional Certificate program, a point that makes it all the more useful for progressing in your career with it.

  • It gives you the chance to connect with a global community of learners and professionals through edX's platform.

Cons

  • The course offers limited course material access in the free version.

Rating

9/10

5. Udacity’s Product Design

Free UX design course titled Product Design by Udacity

© Udacity, Fair Use

This course goes beyond the aesthetics “department” and educates learners of design on the complexities of material design, user flows, and personas. There’s a neat, exciting module that focuses on Google's Design Sprint, and it teaches you how to validate your ideas and craft compelling product mockups swiftly—plus, you don't need any prior experience to attend this course.

Instructors like Chris Saden and Amir Shevat, well-established in the industry, contribute to the workshop's credibility.

Course Structure

  • Ideation and validation covering the principles of product ideation

  • Intricacies of UX and UI design

  • Steps required to validate ideas and create product mockups

  • Necessary key metrics

Pros

  • The course has up-to-date content that’s in line with recent developments in the field.

  • There aren’t any prerequisites to access this course, a point that makes it nice and available to anyone who’s got an interest in product design.

  • It emphasizes real-world tools and techniques—and that’s a factor that ensures you get industry-relevant knowledge.

Cons

  • This is an introductory-level course, so advanced professionals might need help finding new insights.

Rating

8/10

6. Gymnasium’s UX Fundamentals

Free UX design course titled UX fundamentals by Aquent Gymnasium

© Thegymnasium, Fair Use

This two-hour session is ideal whether you’re a beginner or you are just curious about UX, and it promises to be engaging and informative—both. A neat point about the course is how it introduces you to the sophisticated decision-making aspects that show the difference between merely good user experiences and those that are exceptional ones. Another big plus is how the interactive learning experience encourages you to get active and participate through real-time Q&A sessions, engaging chatbox interactions, and practical exercises.

What’s more, this workshop is tailor-made for beginners who’ve got no prior knowledge of—or experience in—UX Design, and highly experienced web developer and teacher Jim Webb, who’s got more than 1,800 hours of classroom experience, teaches the course.

Course Structure

  • Introduction to UX Design and its importance

  • Distinguishing factors between good and great user experiences

  • Hands-on sketching exercises for ideation and communication

  • Interactive Q&A and chatbox interactions

Pros

  • The course covers each topic in detail, and it includes ways for you to identify user needs to specify the path of your website.

  • You don’t need prior coding knowledge.

  • You can learn UX design free, and get insights from someone with extensive field experience.

Cons 

  • Being only two hours in length, it offers an introductory glimpse into the design world.

Rating

8/10

7. Future Learn’s Digital Skills: User Experience

Free UX design course titled Digital Skills: User Experience by Future Learn

© Futurelearn, Fair Use

This one is a two-hour livestream workshop, it gears you towards decision-making, and it aims to show you differences between an ordinary user experience and one that’s exceptional. An industry professional is there to guide you through essential foundational knowledge, and the workshop covers UX tools and practices to provide that neat and all-important ingredient: a hands-on learning experience.

Accenture, a global leader in digital, cloud, and security services, developed this workshop, and the course offers superb value for everyone—whether you’re totally new to UX or are looking to enhance your UX design skills—and this workshop is just the ticket and has got solid relevance and credibility in the industry.

Course Structure

  • Introduction to the world of UX design and its significance

  • Discovering the attributes that make a product delightful or otherwise

  • Emphasis on sketching as an effective medium to conceive and convey ideas

Pros

  • In spite of the point it’s a short course, it does cover essential UX concepts.

  • It uses videos, quizzes, discussions, and peer reviews for engaging learning experiences.

  • The CPD certification service certifies this course, and it makes sure of adherence to professional development standards and enhances how credible it is for graduates.

Cons

  • Connectivity issues may disrupt real-time streaming.

  • Because they’re live sessions, they may not be on at convenient times.

  • Long-term access, tests and certificates require an upgrade (not free)

Rating

7/10

Criteria for Selecting the Best Free UX Design Courses

Criteria to select the best free UX design courses

© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0

Whenever you’re choosing the best mobile UX design course, you’ve got to evaluate several key factors, and these include:

  1. Course content: Make sure there’s a well-rounded curriculum that covers essential UX principles.

  2. Instructor credibility: Aim for experienced instructors who’ve got a notable background in UX.

  3. Past reviews: Seek feedback from previous students to see what the course quality and relevance are like.

  4. Accessibility: The course should be accessible—as in, it should be device-friendly and offer functionality options like subtitles for wider accessibility.

  5. Practical application: Get “real” and go for courses with hands-on projects or real-world examples—these factors are things that will give you an edge.

  6. Duration: Consider the length of the course in relation to the depth of content that’s provided—is time spent covering some things enough to give you what you need?

  7. Certification: A free UI/UX design course with a certification upon completion can add value, so don’t underestimate how precious credentials like this can be for you.

  8. Update frequency: Check if the creators update the course content regularly—and appropriately—with current UX trends and technologies; for example, with AI becoming mainstream, it’s pretty much vital to understand how to design using AI.

Still Don't Know Where to Start?

It might well feel like a massive task to take the very first step on your UX design journey, but remember something here: that every expert began as a beginner—and they had to start somewhere. The best UX design courses offer that precious blend of theoretical knowledge and practical experience—which include modules on design thinking, mobile app design, and more, even how to incorporate CSS into your prototypes—and it’s a mix that can pay big dividends for you later.

These courses offer a comprehensive intro—from understanding the intricacies of user experience to the practicalities of visual design implementation—and if you ever find yourself getting overwhelmed, it might help narrow down your choice to check back in here to revisit our criteria for selection.

While we're on the topic, have you thought about how beneficial it might be for you to explore the plethora of UX design courses which we offer at the IxDF? Our 14-day money-back guarantee is an excellent way to get a taste of our comprehensive online courses—and start building a firm foundation to build on. With expert master classes, exclusive UX meet-ups for networking, and a wide, wide range of design tools and literature, it's no wonder platforms like Forbes compare our approach to an "Ivy League level education in UX."

No matter where you start—whether it’s free online courses or our very own esteemed courses at the IxDF—you're sure to get a truly holistic understanding of user experience from what you find, right down to the juicy details of design implementation. And remember: if decisions about this get too much for you to make clearly, just circle back to our criteria for how to pick and it’ll be able to offer you clarity.

Looking to explore more? Our FAQ page can provide further insights—so, do keep exploring, and—of course—keep learning!

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