Modern Product Design
From ambiguous brief to defensible interface.
A working course in product design for people who have to ship. It begins where most briefs begin — vague, over-scoped and politically loaded — and works through discovery, structure, interface and the argument you make when someone senior disagrees with you.
7h
Study time
20
Lessons
5
Modules
4.8
Rating
412 reviews
Enrolled
13 of 20 lessons complete
Next up — Defaults Are Decisions (18 min)
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Subjects covered
6 topics
Knowledge map
What you will be able to do
- Turn an ambiguous brief into a scoped, defensible design problem
- Structure an interface around the decisions a person is actually making
- Design and run a discovery cycle that produces evidence rather than opinion
- Present design work so that its trade-offs are legible to non-designers
- Recognise and repair the common failure patterns of product interfaces
Curriculum
5 modules · 20 lessons
- 01What a Brief Is Actually AskingMaking discovery explicit enough that somebody else could repeat it.18m
- 02Separating the Symptom from the ProblemThe working method for information architecture, reduced to what actually matters.22m
- 03Constraints Worth KeepingThe judgement calls behind interface structure, and what each of them costs.16m
- 04Writing the Problem StatementA close look at critique and the failures it is meant to prevent.24m
- 01Five Conversations Beat One SurveyWhere scoping usually goes wrong, and how to notice it early.20m
- 02Watching People WorkThe judgement calls behind evidence, and what each of them costs.26m
- 03Reading the System You InheritedA close look at discovery and the failures it is meant to prevent.22m
- 04Turning Notes into ClaimsHow information architecture works in practice, once the deadline is real.18m
- 01The Decisions Behind the ScreenMaking interface structure explicit enough that somebody else could repeat it.24m
- 02Naming Things People Already Have Words ForWhere critique usually goes wrong, and how to notice it early.20m
- 03Flow, State and the Cost of a Wrong TurnThe judgement calls behind scoping, and what each of them costs.26m
- 04Sketching the SkeletonThe working method for evidence, reduced to what actually matters.18m
- 01Density, Rhythm and Reading OrderWhere discovery usually goes wrong, and how to notice it early.22m
- 02Defaults Are DecisionsThe judgement calls behind information architecture, and what each of them costs.18m
- 03Designing the Unhappy PathThe working method for interface structure, reduced to what actually matters.24m
- 04Editing an Interface DownMaking critique explicit enough that somebody else could repeat it.20m
- 01Making Trade-offs VisibleHow scoping works in practice, once the deadline is real.20m
- 02Presenting to People Who Will DisagreeA close look at evidence and the failures it is meant to prevent.22m
- 03What to Do with Bad FeedbackThe judgement calls behind discovery, and what each of them costs.18m
- 04Scoping the First ReleaseThe working method for information architecture, reduced to what actually matters.24m
Assessment
Written assignments assessed against the brief, with short retryable quizzes between modules.
Quizzes
- Framing the Problem6 questions · pass 70%
- Structure and Interface5 questions · pass 70%
Assignments
- The Problem Statement20 points
- A Four-Day Discovery Plan25 points
- Interface Skeleton25 points
What students say
- 5 out of 5Ravi Menon — Design lead
Not a beginner course despite the label, and better for it. Expect to reread the middle module.
- 4 out of 5Priya Nair — Founder
Demanding in a useful way. The assignment came back with three specific criticisms, all correct, none of which I had thought about.
- 4 out of 5Ndidi Eze — Consultant
Well paced. Nothing padded, and the instructor answers discussion threads properly rather than pointing you back at the material.
Fictional reviews — demonstration content only
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