Google UX Design study guide
Google UX Design · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Google UX Design Certificate is a fully online, self-paced professional certificate developed by Google and delivered on Coursera. It is aimed at people with no prior design experience or degree who want the job-ready skills for an entry-level user experience role, and it also suits career changers and self-taught designers who want a structured portfolio. The Google UX Design study guide has 7 sections and about 2,927 words.
01Foundations of User Experience (UX) Design
This domain tests the vocabulary and frameworks that underpin every later course: the difference between UX, UI, and product design; the product development lifecycle; design thinking and design sprints; user-centered, equity-focused, and universal design; accessibility; and the biases that distort design decisions. UX design is about the experience of using a product - how it feels and whether it solves the user’s problem.
494 words, about 2 min02Start the UX Design Process: Empathize, Define, and Ideate
This domain tests how to build empathy through research, turn findings into a defensible problem statement and hypothesis, and run ideation that produces genuinely different options rather than variations on the first idea. Primary research is data you collect yourself - interviews, surveys, observation, diary studies.
457 words, about 2 min03Build Wireframes and Low-Fidelity Prototypes
This domain tests turning ideas into structure: information architecture, storyboards, wireframes at three fidelities, prototypes, the interaction principles used to judge them, and the deceptive patterns to avoid. IA is the organization, labeling, navigation, and search of content.
399 words, about 2 min04Conduct UX Research and Test Early Concepts
This domain tests planning and running usability studies and turning raw observations into insights that stakeholders can act on - without contaminating the data through leading questions or bias. A research plan states project background, research goals, research questions, KPIs, methodology, participant criteria, a moderator script, and a timeline.
400 words, about 2 min05Create High-Fidelity Designs and Prototypes in Figma
This domain tests visual design fundamentals, accessible high-fidelity execution, design systems, and the Figma mechanics that turn static mockups into interactive prototypes ready for developer handoff. Typography: serif, sans-serif, display, and script typefaces; build hierarchy with size and weight; 1.4–1.6 line height for body text; limit to two or three typefaces.
373 words, about 2 min06Responsive Web Design in Adobe XD
This domain tests responsive layout thinking - fluid grids, flexible images, media queries, content-driven breakpoints - plus the Adobe XD tooling used to build and prototype those layouts. Responsive design combines fluid grids, flexible images, and media queries.
374 words, about 2 min07Design for Social Good and Prepare for Jobs
This domain tests applying UX to social impact problems - with the community rather than for it - and the practical toolkit for a UX job search: portfolio, personal brand, interviews, and freelance basics. Social good design applies UX to problems affecting underserved and low-income communities, accessibility, sustainability, and ethical data use.
430 words, about 2 min