Choosing Your Path

The Course Structure

This course is designed as a "Choose Your Own Adventure" rather than a single linear path. You'll begin by selecting between the Design Track for engineers or the Engineering Track for designers, followed by your preferred platform of Web, iOS, or Android. Finally, you can choose to merge these abilities in the advanced Convergence track.

Let's figure out what's right for you.

Self-Assessment: Where Are You Starting?

Before choosing a path, honestly assess your current skills. Rate each skill from 0-3 using the descriptions below, and we'll recommend the best track for you.

Understanding the Levels

Level 0: No Experience You have little to no experience with this skill. You've perhaps heard of it but haven't practised it.

Example (CSS): "I've never written CSS. I don't know the difference between margin and padding."

Level 1: Basic Understanding You understand the fundamentals but need guidance for most tasks. You can follow tutorials or instructions but struggle with independent problem-solving.

Example (CSS): "I can change colours and fonts. I understand the box model, but I struggle with layout. I need tutorials to build responsive designs."

Level 2: Comfortable Independence You can work independently on straightforward tasks. You know when to ask for help and can research solutions to unfamiliar problems.

Example (CSS): "I can build responsive layouts with Flexbox and Grid. I understand cascade and specificity. I can debug basic layout issues."

Level 3: Confident and Complex You're confident with complex scenarios. You can mentor others, debug tricky problems, and make informed trade-offs without guidance.

Example (CSS): "I can build design systems, debug specificity issues, optimise performance, and teach CSS to others. I understand CSS architecture and can think strategically about layout."

Interpreting Your Scores

After completing the assessment, add up your scores within each category:

Design scores: 0-6 (Low), 7-12 (Medium), 13-18 (High) Engineering scores: 0-6 (Low), 7-12 (Medium), 13-18 (High) Bridge scores: 0-4 (Low), 5-8 (Medium), 9-12 (High)

Recommended Starting Points

If design is mostly 0-1 and engineering is 2-3: Start with the Design Track. You already have strong engineering fundamentals; now develop the design sensibility to match.

If engineering is mostly 0-1 and design is 2-3: Start with the Engineering Track. You have design taste; now learn to implement it.

If both are mostly 0-1: Start with whichever excites you more. Neither is harder; pick based on interest or your desired role. If truly uncertain, engineering skills are faster to validate.

If both are mostly 2-3: You're ready for Convergence. You could skip straight to it or do one track first to deepen your fundamentals before tackling the bridge work.

If scores are mixed across both areas: Look at which areas feel most inconsistent. If you score high (2-3) on many design skills but low (0-1) on colour and typography, the Design Track will shore up those gaps. Similarly for engineering, spotting weak areas (like state management) tells you where focused learning will help most.

Choosing Your Track

Take the Design Track If...

The Design Track is perfect for those who can build functional products but find them lacking in aesthetic quality or struggle to make confident visual decisions. If your engineering skills are stronger than your design skills, use this track to understand the reasoning behind designer requests and develop a genuine taste for beautiful, polished interfaces.

Develop design taste that AI can't replicate. You already know how to code—now learn to make confident visual decisions. This track gives you fundamentals that compound: skills that make your work beautiful, not just functional.

The Design Track provides a deep dive into visual fundamentals, including typography, colour, and spacing. You will master professional design tools and workflows whilst learning to build robust design systems and applying core UX principles to your work.

Take the Engineering Track If...

You should opt for the Engineering Track if you are already comfortable with design tools but find yourself unable to code your ideas effectively. If your design skills outweigh your engineering capabilities, this track will provide the real foundations needed to ship your own side projects with total intention, preventing designs from getting "lost in translation".

Go beyond Vibe Coding. AI can generate code, but it can't teach you to build with intention. This track gives you fundamentals that compound: skills that let you own the entire build process, not just prompt and hope.

The Engineering Track covers everything from terminal and environment setup to mastery of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for the web. You'll learn to build complex UI components, manage state effectively, and translate your design systems into robust production code.

What If You're Balanced?

If your scores are similar:

1. Pick based on interest. Which excites you more: learning to see like a designer or learning to build like an engineer?

2. Pick based on role. What does your job (or desired job) need more?

3. Start with Engineering. If truly undecided, engineering skills are faster to validate—you either built it or you didn't. Design skills can feel more subjective when learning.

Choosing Your Platform

Web

Choose Web if you seek the broadest platform applicability. It works across all devices and has the lowest barrier to entry, making it particularly well-suited for those who are new to both design and development.

The Web Track focuses on mastering HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create responsive designs. You will also explore modern framework concepts and the specific design considerations unique to the web ecosystem.

iOS (SwiftUI)

Choose iOS if you are specifically interested in Apple's ecosystem and want to build apps for the iPhone, iPad, or Mac. This platform is perfect for those who appreciate Apple's distinct design philosophy and materials.

The iOS Track covers the Swift programming language and the SwiftUI framework in depth. You'll learn to apply the Human Interface Guidelines and master the design patterns specific to the iOS platform.

Android (Jetpack Compose)

Choose Android if you want to build for the world's largest mobile platform and have an appreciation for Google's Material Design system. It's ideally suited for those who are already integrated into the Android ecosystem.

The Android Track focuses on the Kotlin programming language and the Jetpack Compose framework. You will master the principles of Material Design and the varied layout and navigation patterns unique to Android.

Can I Do Multiple Platforms?

Yes, but master one first. The concepts transfer—visual hierarchy helps on any platform, and component thinking works everywhere.

Once you're comfortable on one platform, picking up another is faster. The fundamentals are portable; only the syntax changes.

The Convergence Track

The Convergence track is where Design Engineering comes together. It's designed for those who have completed both the Design and Engineering tracks—or already possess strong skills in both areas—and want to focus specifically on the bridge between them.

Convergence covers motion and animation, advanced prototyping workflows, and a deep dive into accessibility. You'll also focus on implementation performance and polish, while learning how to build a professional design engineering portfolio.

You don't have to complete both tracks before starting Convergence, but you should be comfortable with the fundamentals of both design and engineering for your platform.

Recommended Paths

Based on common scenarios:

"I'm a designer who wants to go beyond Vibe Coding"

1. Start with Engineering Track (Web)—learn to build properly, not just prompt
2. Move to Convergence when comfortable
3. Optional: Add iOS or Android later

"I'm an engineer who wants to ship beautiful, polished UIs"

1. Start with Design Track (Web)—develop real design taste
2. Move to Convergence when comfortable
3. Apply learnings to your existing platform expertise

"I want to build iOS apps from scratch"

1. Start with Design Track (iOS) if design is weaker
2. Or Engineering Track (iOS) if engineering is weaker
3. Complete the other track
4. Finish with Convergence (iOS)

"I want to be a well-rounded web Design Engineer"

1. Start with your weaker track
2. Complete the other track
3. Complete Convergence (Web)

"I'm starting from zero"

1. Start with Engineering Track (Web)—it's the most accessible entry point
2. Move to Design Track (Web) when you can build basic pages
3. Finish with Convergence (Web)

Test Your Understanding

Next Steps

Continue to How This Course Works →