Top Picks for Starting Your UX Design Journey with No Costs Involved
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, user experience (UX) design has become a crucial skill for those aiming to make their mark. For beginners eager to dive into this exciting field, a wealth of resources is available to help kickstart their journey.
Free Courses
For absolute beginners and career switchers, the IBM Free UX Design Course offers a comprehensive exploration of UX fundamentals, human-centered design, user research, wireframing & prototyping, usability testing, and portfolio development. Upon completion, learners can earn certification [3].
Dan Scott's Figma UX Design UI Essentials Course provides an introduction to UX basics using Figma, including UI components, wireframing, prototyping, style guides, animations, and collaboration. This course comes with exercise files and portfolio-building assignments [1].
CareerFoundry offers free introductory UX courses, with an option to progress to premium specialized programs. They also provide free ebooks and webinars on UI/UX design from UXPin’s platform [2]. The Gymnasium by Aquent offers focused, industry-expert courses on UX fundamentals, coding for designers, and accessibility that fit busy schedules [4]. Scrimba UI Design Fundamentals is an interactive free course emphasizing layout, color theory, and practical UI principles useful for UX designers [4].
Free Books and eBooks
UXPin offers free UX design ebooks, such as UX Design: The Definitive Beginner’s Guide, Web UI Design Best Practices, and Responsive Web Design Best Practices [2].
Design Tools with Learning Resources
Figma and Adobe XD are popular UI/UX design tools that offer free versions for beginners. Figma features an official Learn Design section, including 12 short lessons and 5 exercises covering interaction design basics [2][1]. Adobe XD is integrated into courses like Dan Scott’s and IBM’s UX courses for prototyping and wireframing [1][3].
Blogs and Tutorials
The AJ&Smart YouTube Channel delivers practical UX tutorials focused on design sprints, product strategy, usability testing, user research, and communication within product teams, making advanced concepts accessible to beginners [5]. Octet Design Journal offers curated UX design tutorials from beginner to advanced levels, highlighting theory, tools, workflows, and portfolio development opportunities [5].
Communities
The Bring Your Own Laptop (BYOL) Facebook Group, linked with Dan Scott’s Figma course, provides peer support and networking opportunities [1]. LinkedIn and other social media groups linked to free courses like BYOL offer collaboration and feedback opportunities [1].
Design Challenges and Portfolio Building
Many free courses (IBM, Dan Scott’s) incorporate portfolio-building projects and real-world UX assignments to practice skills, prepare professional portfolios, and build job-ready credentials [1][3].
Additional Resources
UX Stack Exchange is a platform to ask UX-related questions and learn from experienced designers. UX Mastery Community is a forum where UX learners can ask questions, share ideas, and get career advice. Sharpen.Design is a tool that generates UX challenges to help improve skills through critical thinking [6].
With this comprehensive guide, beginners can embark on their UX design journey, learning from experienced professionals, engaging with community feedback, and developing a strong portfolio. Happy designing!
[1] Dan Scott's Figma UX Design UI Essentials Course (2025): https://www.figma.com/community/dan-scott/
[2] UXPin: https://www.uxpin.com/
[3] IBM Free UX Design Course (2025): https://www.coursera.org/specializations/ux-design
[4] The Gymnasium by Aquent: https://thegymnasium.com/
[5] AJ&Smart YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ajsmart
[6] UX Stack Exchange: https://ux.stackexchange.com/
[6] UX Mastery Community: https://uxmastery.com/
[6] Sharpen.Design: https://sharpen.design/
By exploring free resources, anyone passionate about UX design can enhance their education and self-development. Online-learning options, such as the IBM Free UX Design Course, Dan Scott's Figma UX Design UI Essentials Course, and CareerFoundry's offerings, provide beginners with a solid foundation in UX design principles. Additionally, platforms like UXPin offer free ebooks dedicated to UX design best practices for continuous learning.
