In 2023, I participated in an internal internship where I worked closely with our UX department.

The primary project I worked on involved transferring certified instructor, professional association, and skills development modules from our learning management system to the company website while the company re-platformed.

Through this experience, I learned about:

1. **User Research:** Understanding user needs through interviews, surveys, usability testing, and analytics. I learned how to ask non-leading questions to gather the best possible information and to incorporate research into my entire learning design process.

2. **Wireframing and Prototyping:** Creating wireframes and interactive prototypes to visualize and test design ideas using tools like Sketch, Figma, Adobe XD, and InVision.

3. **Design Principles:** Applying principles of design, such as balance, contrast, hierarchy, alignment, and whitespace, to create aesthetically pleasing and functional interfaces.

4. **Information Architecture:** Organizing and structuring content in a way that is logical and user-friendly. I applied information architecture to suggest improvements to the look and feel of the website pages.

5. **User Interface (UI) Design:** Designing the visual aspects of an application or website, including color schemes, typography, and layout. I gained an understanding of the importance of consistency and visual hierarchy and made design suggestions for the website pages.

6. **Usability Testing:** Conducting tests to evaluate the ease of use of a product, gathering feedback, and iterating on designs based on test results. I worked with the user experience research specialist to write questions and analyze the data from usability testing.

7. **Design Thinking:** Applying the design thinking process to solve problems creatively. I participated in planning and conducting two design workshops, understanding the stages of empathy, define, ideate, prototype, and test.

Additionally, I had the opportunity to see tools like Adobe XD, Figma, and Miro in action for user experience, expanding my use of these tools beyond instructional design.