Fraunhofer Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions – AICOS
Learn to design with people, not just for them.
Most digital products fail for a simple reason: they are designed around assumptions, not people. Designing With Users is a hands-on training course by Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS that changes that mindset.
Built from years of participatory and co-design research with diverse and underrepresented communities, this course places users at the centre of the entire design process as active partners from the start.
This course is focused on building design skills that are foundational and will stay relevant in the upcoming years as they focus on human connection, critical thinking and contextual problem solving.
Build real design skills beyond tools mastery.
Across 12 practical sessions, you’ll step through the full human-centred design journey, working with real methods, realistic constraints, and case studies from real Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS research projects.
You’ll learn how to:
- Turn research into clear, actionable design direction
- Co-create ideas and solutions with users and stakeholders
- Explore critical and speculative design approaches
- Structure information and flows collaboratively
- Build interactive prototypes in Figma
- Test and refine ideas with real users
- Design for accessibility and inclusion from the ground up
- Prepare design work for smooth development handover
Designed for early-career designers ready to level up
This course is for you if you are:
- Starting out in UI/UX or interaction design
- Coming from fields like communication, psychology, computer science, health sciences, or similar areas
- Working in product, research, or innovation roles
- Self-taught, but ready for a more structured, grounded approach
No formal design training is required: just curiosity, motivation, and a desire to design better digital experiences with real people in mind.
What you’ll be able to do
By the end of the course, you will have a better understanding of user-centred design and be equipped to confidently practice it in real project.
You will be able to:
- Apply a complete user-centred design process from start to finish
- Facilitate co-design, ideation, and participatory workshops
- Translate insights into prototypes and design decisions
- Design inclusive, accessible digital experiences
- Evaluate designs with users and act on evidence
- Communicate and deliver design work in a structured, professional way.
- Apply current design tools and workflows to real-world design challenges.
Schedule
| Date | time | TOPIC |
|---|---|---|
| 2 November 2026 | 17:00 — 20:00 | Introduction to the course. Design Methodology and Basics of Interface Design |
| 4 November 2026 | 17:00 — 20:00 |
Defining Design Requirements |
| 6 November 2026 | 17:00 — 20:00 | Ideation and Co-Design |
| 9 November 2026 | 17:00 — 20:00 | Critical and Speculative Design. Prototypes |
| 11 November 2026 | 17:00 — 20:00 | Accessibility and Inclusive Design |
| 13 November 2026 | 17:00 — 20:00 | Information Architecture I |
| 16 November 2026 | 17:00 — 20:00 | Information Architecture II |
| 18 November 2026 | 17:00 — 20:00 | Digital Prototyping |
| 20 November 2026 | 17:00 — 20:00 | Design Systems |
| 23 November 2026 | 17:00 — 20:00 | Evaluation and Iteration |
| 25 November 2026 | 17:00 — 20:00 | Hand-over to Development |
| 27 November 2026 | 17:00 — 20:00 | Closing, Q&A and Mentoring |
