What We Study

This course teaches students more than just how to design screens; it guides them through the entire product lifecycle—from identifying a problem to launching a functional solution. Participants learn to trace the origin of a brief, test ideas with real users, develop the solution through to launch, and evaluate its real-world impact.

The course involves two projects. In the first, students refine an existing product using Figma. In the second, they invent and build a product from the ground up with the assistance of AI. Both projects undergo user testing and are added to the student’s portfolio.

Context

Designers are taught how to create mockups, but they are rarely taught how to work with a product. In an academic project, the objective is already set. In real-world work, you must first find it: understand the problem using data, formulate a hypothesis, test the solution, and bring it through to development.

The designer’s role is also evolving. They are increasingly analyzing data themselves, conducting research, testing ideas with AI, and building functional interfaces not only in Figma but also in code.

The market confirms this trend. According to the Burning Glass Institute, product thinking is among the four fastest-growing skills. McKinsey data shows that the demand for using AI development tools has increased sevenfold in two years. In Russia, 41% of designers are already involved in development. However, AI does not replace fundamentals: newcomers working with it are faster but less effective because they cannot validate the results.

At the same time, design courses often end with a mockup, while coding courses lack a design perspective. HSE currently does not offer a complete, end-to-end program that includes its own product development and build-out within a single course.

Who is this for

— Aspiring designers whose work stops at mockups. This course will teach you to take the project further: from concept to final launch. — Beginners with no design experience. The course will provide a strong foundation and allow you to apply it immediately across two projects. — Product managers and marketers. The course will teach you to build and validate products and ideas without having to wait for a designer or developer.

Figma experience is not required: the first few weeks provide foundational knowledge, and students with prior experience will be assigned more complex tasks during this time.

Prerequisites

— Know: basic user interface elements—screen, button, form, menu.— Be able to: confidently use a computer and web services. Design or programming experience is not required.— Have: a laptop, a Figma account, and accounts with 2–3 AI services for building interfaces from descriptions, such as Lovable, Bolt, v0, or Figma Make. An AI assistant is needed for research—a Russian one (GigaChat, YandexGPT) or a foreign one (ChatGPT, Claude). Foreign services can only operate via VPN and accept payment only with an international card. Free tiers will suffice at the start; a paid subscription for one service may be needed in the second module. You need 8–10 hours per week.

Duration and Format

2 modules, 14 weeks, online.— Classes: 14 sessions of 3 hours and 14 consultations of 1 hour. This totals 75 academic hours. — Independent Study: Approximately 9 hours per week. This totals 168 academic hours. — Total: Approximately 243 academic hours.The online format is convenient because tool usage and interface breakdowns are demonstrated on screen. Students receive templates and checklists for every stage.

Curriculum

Module 1 · Sessions 1–7. Improving an existing product in Figma: from research to development mockups.Module 2 · Sessions 8–14. Creating a new product from scratch using AI tools: from concept to launching and defending two projects.

Module 1. Project 1: Improving an Existing Product (Figma)

1. Interface Patterns: navigation, forms, screen states. Analysis of real-world products.
2. Product Challenge: what to improve, hypothesis, and success metrics.
3. Research: data, user interviews, competitor analysis, working with AI.
4. Figma: components and screen assembly.
5. Solution: user flows and clickable prototype.
6. Prototype testing with users and refinement.
7. Handoff to development and Project 1 defense.

Module 2. Project 2: Creating a New Product from Scratch (AI Tools)

8. AI Tools for Interface Construction: comparison and selection.
9. Problem, research, and metrics for the new product.
10. Product structure and defining tasks for AI.
11. Product assembly with AI: the designer’s role and results verification.
12. User testing.
13. Launch, refinement, and result evaluation.
14. Defense of both projects.

Upon completing this course, students will be able to:

1. Analyze interfaces: patterns, navigation, and screen states.
2. Formulate a product brief, hypothesis, and success metrics.
3. Conduct user and competitor research, including utilizing AI.
4. Design user scenarios and assemble a clickable prototype in Figma.
5. Test solutions with users and refine them based on the findings.
6. Prepare mockups and specifications for handoff to development.
7. Assemble a functional product using AI tools and verify the results.
8. Evaluate the outcomes against metrics and present the project as a case study.

Assignments (Assessment Components)

1. Five written interface case studies.
2. A product brief description for each project: problem, hypothesis, and metrics.
3. Research reports for two projects.
4. A clickable prototype in Figma.
5. User testing reports.
6. Development specification document.
7. A comparison of three AI assembly tools and justification of the choice.
8. A functional, published product with a link.
9. Defense of two projects, including metric-based results.

Final Project

Two product case studies for your portfolio.

— Project 1: Improving an existing product feature. This includes research, hypothesis and metrics, a clickable prototype in Figma, user testing, and a development specification. — Project 2: Building a new product from scratch. This includes research, metrics, a functional product built with a chosen tool, testing, a second iteration with outcome measurement, and documentation.

The defense is 20 minutes for both projects. Evaluation criteria: the solution must stem from research, metrics must be measured, the prototype and product must function, the specification must be handed off to a developer, and the student must distinguish their design choices from the tool’s functionality while explaining who on the team is responsible for each stage—from data gathering to release.

Project Example

Two product case studies from the pilot cohort will be added: one improving a feature in Figma and one new product built using a no-code tool.