From e-commerce to higher education, user experience design touches almost every industry. User experience (UX) refers to what individuals encounter while interacting with a company's product or service. As technology continues to evolve, the need for user-friendly and intuitive design only increases.
Creating a good user experience takes time, dedication and knowledge. Designers who specialize in UX make it their mission to understand how users consume information across multiple channels. They analyze behaviors, design new features, conduct research, analyze data and determine the technology needed to implement new strategies.
Meeting a demand
Lynn University's College of Communication and Design now offers an M.S. in user experience design (UXD) that provides students the ability to engage and connect with consumers using a more creative mindset. It teaches students the principles of design thinking to solve problems from a user-first perspective. The concepts are taught with a main goal in mind—to help future UX designers become high-demand leaders who create features and design elements that meet the needs of users and businesses alike.
"As today's businesses move toward a user-first model, it's important to train our students on new standards," said Cesar Santalo, dean of the College of Communication and Design.
The program recruits professionals who want to hone their creative skill sets, while also examining user interface, design thinking and information architecture. Students will utilize information architecture techniques and build user-friendly products for screen-based applications.
"We're not only teaching students to examine usability and how to create adept user-focused interfaces, we're also giving them the skills to boost their careers or start new ones," said Brandan Craft, associate professor.
Lynn's innovative approach to education
The UX design program is just one instance of the institution's consistent goal to create and teach marketable programs in upward-trending fields. In 2018, Lynn expanded its academic catalog and added cybersecurity and data analytics majors to help prepare students for careers that contribute to economic growth in the community.
Lynn also repackaged its MBA programs from the College of Business and Management to provide professional certificates to help students advance their careers quickly and cost-effectively. Additionally, the university launched a 10-month MBA, helping students fast track the traditional MBA curriculum by acknowledging time spent in the workforce.
"Lynn is uniquely positioned to be a pioneer in digital arts due to its culture of innovation," said Santalo. "And we strive to offer students strategic programs that are on the forefront of trends."
Ready for a new journey? Explore Lynn's UX design program and see if it's right for you.
