“Design is really an act of communication, which means having a deep understanding of the person with whom the designer is communicating.

~ Donald A. Norman, The Design of Everyday Things

Designing Experience

In an era of data science, visual communication, and information technology, our students learn how to make different forms of specialized and technical information accessible to a wide variety of audiences. We have particular strengths in preparing students for writing and design careers in user experience and interaction design. These areas of design help users effectively navigate websites and social media platforms by learning how to test user behavior and compose informative recommendations for improvement. The BA in Writing, Design, and Technical Communication features courses taught in our cutting-edge user experience (UX) research lab and by faculty with experience in UX design and research. In our program, you'll learn the same type of UX research and testing techniques that major technology companies like Apple and Amazon employ to improve their products to create a super user experience.

Our program includes a strong focus on visual and graphic communication for the web and mobile devices through document design and user experience courses. We offer courses with hands-on training in the Adobe Creative suite and other software to help our students learn critical document design skills for a broad array of technical and professional design contexts. Consider these design career examples that would be open to you as a graduate of our program:

• • You might work as a content designer for Google, where you research user behaviors, define user needs, and design content solutions that address those needs. You would be the go-to expert for writing and designing microcopies for interfaces such as the YouTube search returns, Chrome user settings, or Google Maps voice feedback.
  • You could be working at a large regional hospital like the University Medical Center in Lubbock or the Northwest Texas Healthcare System in Amarillo as a web manager and information designer who helps the hospital maintain a well-designed website that enables users to easily locate important information about their well-being and thereby boosting their satisfaction with using UMC's website.

Meet Our Students and Their Design Projects