Designlab

The course was a great way to get a first look at UI/UX. The course is broken down into bite-sized units that are easy to follow, and the videos are helpful for following along with the concepts. The program went beyond just teaching UI/UX principles;... Read More it also provided additional resources and helped me sharpen my overall design skills, including how to give and receive effective critique.
The best part was having a one-on-one mentor. My mentor was very inspiring and helpful. She gave me great feedback and provided me with additional resources that helped me understand everything better.
I'd highly recommend this course to anyone curious about UI/UX!

The UX Foundations Program was very well structured and provided plenty of additional resources throughout the course. With an available online community, mentorship, and weekly office hours/seminars, I felt supported and encouraged with each step of... Read More the way! Learning about principle design concepts and getting hands-on practice, I was able to see my growth from start to finish! The one-on-one mentorship also gave me the reassurance and confidence with each portion of the project!

Designlab exceeded my expectations! The live mentor sessions with experienced designers from big tech were the highlight. I learned something new every time. Feedback was timely and thoughtful, and the Discord workshops kept me engaged and connected.... Read More I also appreciated the inclusion of AI-related content and well-structured materials. The program was intensive, but it really helped me grow quickly as a designer. I’m excited to continue into the UX Academy!

I took DesignLab’s UX Academy Foundations as a beginner, and it gave me exactly the structure and accountability I needed. The mentor sessions were the best part—getting detailed feedback on my projects helped me improve quickly and feel more confident... Read More in my work. I also liked the community and peer critiques, which kept me motivated. That said, most of the learning is self-paced reading, so if you prefer live classes or video lectures, this may not feel as engaging. The weekly workload can get heavy if you’re working full-time, but I found the projects practical and portfolio ready. Overall, it felt worth the cost, especially since the tuition rolls into the full UX Academy.

Pros:
- I enjoyed working on the projects assigned for this course, especially as this is an intro with Foundations, you do not need to have a lot of design knowledge to get started.
- Mentorship and connections I built through this community is also incredible,... Read More it's always good to have a direct line with someone who is well versed in the career and can help you succeed with your hands on projects.
- Feedback and criticism sessions are also really important and help designers learn, having this was a main factor for me.
- Having a mentor and deadlines helped keep me accountable.
- Formal learning plans and structure is helpful when there's a lot of material already on the internet so having it formulated in one space is useful for those that do not know where to start.

Cons:
- Hard to motivate yourself when the courses are online and self paced, you can slip behind if you do not have the willpower to complete.
- Some of the material was referenced outside of Designlab and can seem like I can do a lot of the teaching on my own without the bootcamp.
- Can be hit or miss with the mentor you are assigned with, sometimes you just do not connect with your mentor, whether it's personality or design styles. Nothing wrong with that but it can add additional stress when you are unable to connect/ understand your mentor's point of view.

I loved the relevant and hands-on learning style offered in UX Foundations. The lessons were straightforward, easy to understand, and also practical for your ongoing assignments and projects. They're incredibly supportive and attentive to any concerns... Read More you have as the course goes on, anything from curriculum questions to checking in on how you're doing with your mentor. I was able to express a desire to swap mentors early on in the course, and they were so helpful in matching me with someone who had the exact coaching approach that was more compatible with my goals and learning style.

I have been learning UI/UX design for around a year, mainly from YouTube videos and other free resources. Then I decided to invest in my education and bought this course (I got it with a discount for $399). Looking back, I regret not doing this earlier—it... Read More gave me structure, and I learned the creative flow I wouldn’t have learned from randomly reading posts and watching videos. It wasn’t free, and you need to work on it, but even with some previous experience in web design, this was a huge leap for me.

I recently finished the design lab ux foundations course which was for 8 weeks. Everyone gets assigned with a mentor based on your time zone and teaching methods which is a big plus. We need to complete 1 unit per week which was very easy to manage even... Read More with a full time job. I really liked how the units were , very detailed and self explanatory

The Foundation course offers a well-rounded and holistic structure that has significantly contributed to my growth and confidence as a learner. Each component of the curriculum is thoughtfully designed to build a strong foundation in UX design, from understanding... Read More basic principles to applying them in real-world scenarios. The progression of topics is smooth and logical, allowing me to absorb concepts at a comfortable pace while gradually increasing in complexity.

I took this class to discern whether or not to pursue a career change into Product Design. This class definitely helped me make a decision! It is a very intense course for an intro or foundations class; I didn't expect it to be so detailed! The class... Read More goes deep enough to help you decide whether or not you want to continue on to the longer, more rigorous Academy or not without making too much of a financial investment. I thought the class was well worth the money, and the staff were very supportive and encouraging.
One thing to be aware of is that there is a lot of online reading; I expected there to be more videos and fewer articles (although there are videos, too). Also, this class is — perhaps like most things in life — entirely what you make of it. There are opportunities to get extra help with Office Hours, and to get your work reviewed by peers, but they are all optional. It's up to you to decide if you will take advantage of these opportunities or not.
Even though I ultimately decided not to continue on to Academy, I'm still really glad I took this class. I have much more empathy for the designers on my team at work now, and I learned A TON! I hope to still incorporate what I learned into my daily work life in a less formal way. I'd recommend this class to anyone interested in the topic.