Learn How to Build an Interactive Prototype with Dave Martin’s Free JavaScript for Designers Course

Product designer Dave Martin has published a free video course called JavaScript for Designers. The course is made up of 46 bite-sized videos that walk students through the basics via a hands-on tutorial for building an interactive HTML prototype.

Martin said he created the course specifically for designers who have been putting off learning how to code with JavaScript. He focused on concepts that are applicable to designers in their jobs, teaching skills that help them communicate to developers exactly how they want an app to behave.

Coming from a designer’s perspective, Martin said most JavaScript tutorials are “dry and boring,” because they are written by developers. Ordinarily, these types of courses begin with JavaScript’s historical roots and progress from variables to arrays to objects, losing many learners along the way. Martin’s course is built more like a tutorial. Students will replicate some of the functionality found in a site like Dribbble. At the end, students should have a sufficient foundation of JavaScript that enables them to build an interactive HTML prototype.

One of the other important ways this course is different is that the giant “Get Started” button on the page doesn’t take you to a registration form or make you sign up for dripped emails. It simply scrolls down the page so you can dive into the videos. Participants can download the code and follow along with the tutorial.

Today’s announcement from WooSesh that WooCommerce is testing its new Javascript-driven interface is just another reminder that JavaScript is overtaking modern UI design and architecture. JavaScript knowledge is going to become increasingly in demand, and designers who have a decent grasp of it will land themselves higher paying positions. Even if you’re not a designer, Martin’s course may hold your interest better than traditional JavaScript beginners’ courses. Check out the videos at jsfordesigners.davemart.in.