If the entire circuit is about just an LED and two tact switches, one marked UP and one marked DOWN, then an MCU is the overwhelmingly right answer to the problem. If you are far behind on the learning curve, then the best answer is to "get started soon." Because, sooner or later, you will need to do something like this again. You may as well pay the piper now and get it over with. I have a complete tutorial (12 lessons, MSP430) that get you up to the point where an LED varies in brightness according to how people perceive it (geometric changes in duty.) I could post a link.
↧