What We Study

The course teaches students to view the interface as an integral part of the product. Participants delve into how products and their business models function, how problems originate, how to frame challenges and hypotheses, how to prioritize, and how to select success metrics. The course also dedicates time to practicing the defense of solutions in front of a team and a client.

Throughout the course, students analyze real-world products and complete one end-to-end case study: from defining the problem and hypothesis to arriving at a well-justified solution. Graduates will leave with a portfolio-ready product case study and the ingrained habit of starting any project by asking, «Why?»

Context

Designers are taught how to build interfaces, but they are less often taught why those interfaces are necessary for the product. In practice, the task almost never arrives fully formed: it must be understood, linked to business goals and user needs, and the resulting decision must be justified.

According to the Burning Glass Institute, product thinking is one of the four fastest-growing skill sets. McKinsey notes that the value of a designer is shifting from execution to problem-solving and the ability to articulate those solutions. A designer who speaks to the team in the language of goals, hypotheses, and outcomes participates in decision-making rather than just receiving completed assignments.

Who Is This For?

— Beginner designers who complete tasks but don’t understand where they originate or how their results are evaluated. — Graphic and communication designers transitioning into digital products. — Interface designers who want to advance to a level where their solutions genuinely influence the product.

Prerequisites

— Knowledge: Basic interface design principles, sufficient for academic projects. — Skills: Basic proficiency in Figma. — Equipment: A laptop with a camera and microphone, and a Figma account. The free tier is sufficient for the course.

Duration and Format

1 module, 6 weeks, fully online.

— Classes: 6 sessions of 2 hours and 6 consultations of 1 hour: 18 astronomical hours, which equals 24 academic hours. — Independent work: approximately 5 hours per week: 30 astronomical hours, which equals 40 academic hours. — Total: Approximately 64 academic hours.

All classes and consultations take place online via video conferencing: sessions involve reviewing projects and discussing participants' solutions. Materials include templates for product briefs and hypotheses, a metrics map, and a decision defense checklist.

Thematic Plan

1. Product and Business: how a product generates revenue, who its users are, and what the team’s objectives are. 2. Where Tasks Originate: roles within the product team, briefs, and problem definition. 3. The User and Their Goals: applying the Jobs to be Done framework, scenarios, and sources of user data. 4. Hypothesis and Prioritization: how to formulate hypotheses and decide what to tackle first. 5. Success Metrics: understanding how to determine if a solution has worked. 6. Solution Defense: how to argue for your decisions before the team and the client. Defending the final case study.

Upon completing this course, students will be able to:

1. Analyze a product’s audience, value proposition, and business model. 2. Formulate a user problem based on data and the creative brief. 3. Describe user tasks and scenarios. 4. Formulate hypotheses and prioritize them. 5. Select success metrics for the solution. 6. Defend the design solution with sound arguments.

Assignments (Assessment Components)

1. Product analysis: audience, value, and business model. 2. Product brief with problem formulation. 3. User task and scenario map. 4. Prioritized list of hypotheses. 5. Metrics map for the proposed solution. 6. Final case presentation.

Final Project

A portfolio-ready product case: outlining the problem, hypothesis, success metrics, and a well-justified design solution presented as a mock-up or prototype. The defense will take place online, lasting 10 minutes.Evaluation Criteria: the problem is substantiated by data; the hypothesis is testable; the metrics are aligned with the product goal; and the solution is thoroughly argued.

Project Example

An example project will be added after the pilot cohort concludes.