Design Your First App: Intro to UX and Figma

New
·

2 Weeks

·

Cohort-based Course

This course helps beginners turn an app idea into a real, clickable prototype using Figma and UX fundamentals—no design experience needed.

This course is popular

3 people enrolled last week.

Previously At

Google
Microsoft

Course overview

Design Your First App—Even If You've Never Used Figma

I’ve taught design at the college level for years, and I’ve seen how much momentum students gain when they stop circling ideas and start building real things. There's a special kind of clarity that comes from turning your concept into something you can click through, share, and improve.


This course walks you through the process of designing a simple, functional app—step by step. You’ll learn the basics of UX (user experience) design—how to make your app clear, usable, and focused—and get comfortable using Figma, the free, industry standard design tool used to lay out and prototype digital products.


By the end, you’ll have a working prototype you can show in a portfolio, pitch to investors, or keep building on. If you're ready to mock up an app—without spending months lost in tutorials—this course is for you.

Who is this course for

01

Founders and indie builders who want to visualize their app before hiring a dev.

02

Aspiring designers who want a strong first project to showcase in a portfolio.

03

Career switchers looking to break into UX or product design with hands-on experience.

04

Curious collaborators—PMs, engineers, marketers, or writers—who want to better understand the process.

What you’ll get out of this course

Create a clickable prototype of your app idea using Figma, even with no prior design experience.

You’ll learn how to use Figma’s core tools to build interactive screens that show exactly how your app works. By the end, you’ll have a working prototype you can click through, test, and share.

Learn the core principles of UX and UI design to make your app usable, clear, and intuitive.

We’ll cover layout, hierarchy, accessibility, and common design patterns to help your app make sense to real users. You’ll apply these principles to your own project as you build.

Develop a repeatable process for turning ideas into real, testable designs.

From idea scoping to user flows to visual design and prototyping, you’ll walk through each step of the app design process. You’ll leave with a clear roadmap you can use on future projects.

Build a finished project you can use in a portfolio, pitch deck, or product roadmap.

You’ll leave the course with a polished, professional app prototype tailored to your goals. Whether you're job hunting or launching, you’ll have something real to show.

Get live feedback to improve your design and build confidence in your skills.

You’ll have chances to share your work in a supportive setting, with clear, constructive input from the instructor and peers. Feedback will help you refine your app and level up faster.

Export and share your design with collaborators, developers, or stakeholders.

You’ll learn how to package your prototype for presentation, handoff, or pitching. You’ll also practice explaining your design clearly to people who aren’t designers.

This course includes

7 interactive live sessions

Lifetime access to course materials

4 in-depth lessons

Direct access to instructor

7 projects to apply learnings

Guided feedback & reflection

Private community of peers

Course certificate upon completion

Maven Satisfaction Guarantee

This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.

Course syllabus

Week 1

Apr 28—May 4

    UX Thinking

    • Apr

      29

      Workshop 1: UX Thinking

      Tue 4/2912:30 AM—2:00 AM (UTC)
    • Apr

      29

      Optional: Live Figma Practice

      Tue 4/2911:00 PM—12:00 AM (UTC)
      Optional
    4 more items

    Getting the Big Rocks Into Place

    • May

      2

      Workshop 2: Getting the Big Rocks in Place

      Fri 5/212:30 AM—2:00 AM (UTC)
    • May

      3

      Optional: Feedback on Your Design

      Sat 5/312:30 AM—1:00 AM (UTC)
      Optional
    2 more items

Week 2

May 5—May 9

    Refining the Details

    • May

      6

      Workshop 3: Refining the Details

      Tue 5/612:30 AM—2:00 AM (UTC)
    • May

      6

      Optional: Design Feedback

      Tue 5/611:00 PM—11:45 PM (UTC)
      Optional
    4 more items

    Interaction and Prototypes

    • May

      9

      Workshop 4: Interaction and Prototypes

      Fri 5/912:30 AM—2:00 AM (UTC)
    1 more item

What people are saying

        Tucker is a top-notch designer with a strong grasp of how to put an entire product experience together and make it make sense. 
Andrew Musselman

Andrew Musselman

Director of Engineering
        Tucker is an exceptional product designer and a genuine individual. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to learn from him.
Nathan Dwyer

Nathan Dwyer

QA Lead

Meet your instructor

Tucker Lawrence FitzGerald

Tucker Lawrence FitzGerald

Design department head, UX designer for Google, founding designer at a startup.

Hi, I’m Tucker. I’ve spent over a decade working at the intersection of UX, branding, and product design—helping startups launch, organizations scale, and creative teams do meaningful work. I have a background in visual design and I've also worked on complex technical apps at companies like Microsoft and Google, helping them bring their products to life in an intuitive, clean way. I've spent the last three years building a fintech startup from 0 to 1, leading to us processing billions of dollars in payments.


I’m also a former design instructor at the Art Institute of Seattle and the former chair of the Design department at Trinity Lutheran College, where I saw firsthand how transformative it can be when people stop circling ideas and actually build something real.



This course brings together everything I love about design: clear thinking, visual storytelling, and the thrill of making an idea tangible. Whether you're just starting out or shifting careers, I’m here to help you move from uncertainty to clarity—one screen at a time. You don’t need to be “a designer” to design something great. You just need the right tools, a little structure, and space to learn by doing.

A pattern of wavy dots

Join an upcoming cohort

Design Your First App: Intro to UX and Figma

Cohort 1

$499

Dates

Apr 28—May 9, 2025

Payment Deadline

Apr 28, 2025
Get reimbursed

Course schedule

5-7 hours per week

  • Monday & Thursday Evenings

    5:30pm - 7:00pm PST

    Twice a week, for four sessions, we'll do a live workshop together and go over your questions.

  • Weekly Assignments

    3 hours per week

    You'll need to put in about 3 hours each week to get your app's key screens mocked up.

  • Optional Live Check-ins

    Each week

    One Figma Q+A and two design feedback sessions

Build your project with a cohort

Build your project with a cohort

Active hands-on learning

This course builds on live workshops and hands-on projects

Interactive and project-based

You’ll be interacting with other learners through breakout rooms and project teams

Learn with a cohort of peers

Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you

Frequently Asked Questions

A pattern of wavy dots

Join an upcoming cohort

Design Your First App: Intro to UX and Figma

Cohort 1

$499

Dates

Apr 28—May 9, 2025

Payment Deadline

Apr 28, 2025
Get reimbursed

$499

2 Weeks