We build skills through practice, not theory
Started in 2025, XiRdanesk focuses on teaching UI/UX design through workshops where you actually design interfaces, test with users, and iterate based on feedback. Each session centers on completing assignments that mirror real client work — creating wireframes under constraints, conducting usability tests with strangers, redesigning based on analytics data. You learn by doing the exact tasks designers handle daily.
How we got here
We started with a question: why do design courses teach software instead of decision-making? The answer led us to rebuild everything around real projects.
First workshop prototype
Ran our first session with eight participants redesigning an existing mobile checkout flow. No lectures — just constraints, user feedback, and iteration cycles. Half the group shipped improvements their employers actually used.
Expanded to collaborative projects
Introduced team-based challenges where participants tackled client briefs together. Turns out designers struggle more with presenting work and handling feedback than with actual interface decisions. Adjusted curriculum accordingly.
Built the current platform
Launched structured workshop series covering information architecture, interaction patterns, and user testing methods. Each workshop builds on previous skills — you design a product page before learning checkout flows, conduct guerrilla tests before formal usability studies.
What makes this different
Most courses teach tools. We focus on the thinking that happens before you open Figma — how to structure information, when to test ideas, what data actually matters when making interface decisions.
Real constraints
Every assignment includes limitations you'll face in actual work: tight deadlines, conflicting stakeholder input, incomplete user research, technical restrictions. Learning to design within constraints matters more than creating portfolio pieces.
Critique sessions
Weekly reviews where you present work and defend decisions. Other participants ask why you chose that navigation pattern, how you validated button placement, what happens when content doubles. Uncomfortable at first, essential for growth.
Iteration cycles
No assignment is done in one pass. You ship version one, gather feedback from actual users, identify what failed, and redesign. Sometimes three or four rounds before something works. That's how design actually happens.
Practical user testing
Conduct moderated and unmoderated tests with strangers, not classmates. Learn to write screening questions, facilitate sessions without leading participants, and translate observations into actionable changes. Testing skills matter as much as design skills.
Documentation practice
Write design rationales, create handoff specs, document pattern libraries. Half of design work is communicating decisions to developers and stakeholders. We grade documentation as rigorously as visual work.
Cross-functional thinking
Understand engineering constraints, business requirements, content strategy needs. Designers who only consider visual solutions struggle in real teams. Assignments require considering technical feasibility and business impact alongside user needs.
Learn through building
Each workshop runs for three weeks with specific deliverables due weekly. You design something, get feedback from users and peers, redesign based on what you learned. The process mirrors how design teams operate — fast iterations based on real feedback rather than extended research phases.
- Weekly assignments with explicit success criteria and evaluation rubrics
- Peer review sessions where you critique others' work and defend your decisions
- User testing requirements with minimum participant counts and research methods
- Documentation deliverables that explain rationale behind interface choices
- Portfolio-ready case studies that demonstrate process, not just final designs
Start with real projects
Check the workshop schedule to see what's running now. Each session covers different aspects of UI/UX work — information architecture, interaction design, user research methods. Pick one that matches where you want to improve.