Designlab Reviews
Page 16
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Julie
It's ok
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Pros:
- Friendly mentors
- Global and remote
- Slack community where students can network with each other
- Work at your own time, 20 hrs/week or 40 hrs/week
- Group crits with other students where you get to do show and tell once every week through Google Hangout
- Assignment submissions online where mentor can give feedback (although it's also public to other students)
- 3 portfolio pieces to complete under the guidance of a mentor
- Can change mentor if doesn't work out
- Design perks which include discounts for selected design tools like Sketch, Flinto, etc.
- 6 months guaranteed a job or a refund (only applicable under certain conditions)
Cons:
- No real clients to work with on portfolio pieces
- Slides, videos, and articles based on linked sources for most lessons (some lengthy reading)
- Lack of job assistance because they will still require students to look for jobs on their own after graduation
I have no working background in design or tech, nor have connections who can offer my a role in the Bay Area. I was in the process of transitioning into the tech field after quitting my last office job. As a rookie who doesn't have exposure working with a team, I think it's difficult to land a role in the Bay Area unless I have extensive experience in graphic design, research, marketing, etc. In the end I've went through about 7 months until I was contacted through Angel List for an internship. What elevated my chances was pushing myself to improve my portfolio over the months.
If anything, I think the bootcamp would be much better if they can pair students up with real clients to work on projects. That way, students who struggle with networking or does not have relevant work experience can at least list these real client projects on their resume.
TL;DR
In the end, I think this bootcamp is great for those who want a certificate or have some exposure in design. Although it's not something students should totally rely on to get a job. If you're unmotivated or needed guidance because you have no idea on how to start, then bootcamp might be good for you.
In all honesty, it really depends on how much much effort you're willing to put into this. As long as you're motivated to succeed, you can find all the sources you need FREE online. Build your portfolio, ask some friends or coworkers to look it over for you, and go to meetups to network.
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Steven
Disappointing. Felt a little like I was being scammed.
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I took the UX Research and Strategy short course which was excellent. The price was good and my mentor was a great resource. Based on this, I enrolled in UX Academy and the experience couldn't have been more different. It was like two different schools.
I've worked in Graphic Design for years, so wasn't sure if the bootcamp was for me. I scheduled a phone call with a Student Advisor. When we spoke he was running late from his last call that went long and had to rush off quickly to make his next call on time. So the difference was being up through my allotted time. Given that I was about to spend thousands of dollars and commit hundreds of hours to this course, barely getting 20 minutes with an advisor should have been a red flag.
I explained that I wasn't sure what I wanted my next career move to be. I work with my own clients and want to offer more services to them, but I also like the idea of working with a design team, and that I was curious about how the career coaching worked for people with design experience. I was told that no matter what stage you're at in your career, the career coaches work with you to find you a suitable role. I could get this much from their landing page, what I was asking for was specifics but I never got them.
Given my initial positive experience I trusted them (another red flag) and enrolled anyway. Almost immediately I regretted it. Buried in the Student Agreement it states that you must apply for a minimum of 5 jobs a week and this includes internships. This seems like important information the advisor could have mentioned. Or information that they could state somewhere on their site. Surely getting a surprise while reading the fine print is the type of user experience we all try to avoid no? I signed up anyway, ignoring yet another red flag, knowing I could get my money back if it wasn't right. I sent off an email for further clarification.
A few days went by and no reply. The course started and I sent off another email. Still no reply. I sent a third. No reply. I sent and a fourth and a fifth email, this time via their website contact form. Still no reply. At this point it was 7 days later, I'd finished the first 40+ hour week, and still hadn't received a reply. Now I was starting to think I'd been scammed.
I DM'd the student liaison on Slack, who told me she would reach out on my behalf (kudos to her for being responsive, while being down with the flu no less, because she was the only one who was). A couple more days passed – 9 days after my initial email – before I finally received a reply from DesignLab asking to arrange another Student Advisor call. They also told me how student focused they are (c'mon, seriously?!).
If it weren't so unnerving handing over thousands of dollars only to have them go dark on me, it would be funny that a company that teaches user experience and empathy could have so little of it. To my huge relief, they processed my refund promptly, but I'd warn potential students to be cautious.
A few final thoughts.
The curriculum is fine. They rely heavily on what is already out there for free though.
If you're new to the industry, blasting your resume to a quote of job postings per week makes sense (we all did when starting out). If you're already in the industry, I can't see the benefit to this approach unless you don't care where you're going.
Make sure you get a good mentor. My first one was excellent. My second one though – I have to qualify this next point with the fact that I withdrew form the course before meeting with him 1-on-1 so am basing this on our written communication only – was very much about his style of teaching, his schedule, and what worked for him. I felt like I didn't factor in to it at all. Had things panned out differently and I'd continued with the program, I'd definitely have asked to change mentors.
So their short course was great. UX Academy was a disaster. And I still have no clue how their career coaching actually works.
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Lexi
Design 101
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I had a great experience with Design101 and Design Lab. So much so that I will be continuing with their UX Academy. I am pretty much brand new to the world of design and tech so it was important that I take this introductory course to learn the basics and now I feel well set up to begin UX Academy. The mentorship piece of Design Lab courses is key. I had an awesome mentor who helped to set me up for success and gave me a lot of feedback and insight to help me grow. I would definitely recommend the program to friends who are interested in UX/UI Design.
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Kiruthika Mani
UX Academy - Theory meets practice
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I joined UX Academy as a Graphic designer hoping to learn UX/UI design. And UX Academy delivered more than I expected!
The curriculum - Well rounded. They covered all stages of the UX design process from User Research and Strategy to Visual Design. The course was structured well, so as to not be overwhelming. Pockets of theory were paired with practical exercises that helped me understand and remember what I'd learnt.
Mentorship - One of the best parts of UX Academy was being paired with a mentor – a veteran UX designer who knew the ins and outs of the UX design industry. He was an indispensable source of guidance, advice and support (especially for a UX newcomer like me)Job Search - Rounding out the course was the 'Portfolio and Job Search' phase. Designlab has created an excellent framework of short exercises and activities for this. They helped me get through the daunting phase of making a portfolio, practicing for interviews and learning to present my work. It definitely helped me get where I am today. :)
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Alexis
UX Academy
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DesignLab UX Academy is a great start to changing your career! I had very little experience going into the program, and was doing a complete career change. The mentorship aspect, and weekly group crits really made the online program feel like a school you attend in person, with a community of design support. The capstone projects could be demanding at times, with such tight deadlines, so I would have liked more time to make these portfolio pieces better, but I was able to clean these up after the program ended. The Academy goes through the full spectrum of UX/UI, but I would have liked a few more courses/focus on UI/visual design mainly because I did not have any graphic design background, and the students that do seem to be a step ahead (I think they may have added more UI courses since I finished). Yet, I learned A LOT from DesignLab, probably just as much, if not more, as other more expensive in-person schools. I landed an internship after the program ended, then a freelance design gig, and shortly after that a full-time position in UX/UI. I'm thrilled to have a new career I love, and have DesignLab UX Academy to thank for that.
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Kelly
Would not be in my new job without this experience
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I had a very positive experience with Designlab's UX Academy. I was switching careers into UX design after a career break, and went from starting UX Academy to having a full time job in less than 6 months. It was helpful to have all coursework and lessons lined up for me (versus trying to figure it out on my own by sorting through tons of good and bad resources on the web). I felt it was a good balance of traditional lectures/readings with hands-on projects. My two favorite parts were the group crits and the mentorship. The group crits were great because I could create relationships with other people out in the world who were going through the same challenges. It made me feel like I wasn't alone in this big, daunting process. Finally, the best part: mentorship. At the end of the day, I feel that the mentors were most worth the money you spend on UXA. Both my UXA and Career Phase mentors were incredibly helpful...I can't say enough amazing things about them. I would 100% recommend UX Academy. It is a lot of work and requires commitment, and everyones experience and outcomes will be slighrly different since everyone enters woth different levels of experience. But if you follow the timeline, leverage the expertise of your mentors, and trust the process, you will definitely be able to reach new design and career goals you've set for yourself. -
Katja
UX Academy gets the job done
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Long story short: I embarked on my UX Academy journey nearly a year ago in full-time track, graduated on mid-February, started my first ever UX designer job in April, and now I'm already at my second designer job.
If you're looking for a place to kickstart your career in UX design, I can say that this course delivers. UX Academy gives you the tools, the platform and the expertise to help you change your career to UX design. But you need to take the charge and really commit. Otherwise you won't get the full advantage. I really enjoyed the curriculum, got professional feedback from my mentor and my peers. The community is awesome and I learned the most from my fellows there.
Like I said, I'm already at my second work place and not even year has passed from my time at UX Academy. The first job I got was a traineeship, and after that I got a better offer from another company, where I work now. I feel that UX Academy gave me a great starting point and kick-off for my UX designer career. Recommended 100%.
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Blenn Mosher
Design 101
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I absolutely love DesignLab, I just finished my month studying design 101 and already signed up to start the typography class. The interface is great, you are given all the tools you need to do great work, having a mentor who is an actual professional is such a great asset too. I already learned so much in the span of a month and I can't wait to keep going on my design journey with the help of DesignLab.
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Andrew C
Recommended.
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I have taken two courses this year - Design 101 and Branding - and both have been packed with excellent material and attentive mentors. This course in Branding is "short and broad"; a lot of material is covered in just four weeks, but it gives you enough of a foundation to keep going on your own after they are over, and a completed project to put in your portfolio. You will not become an expert overnight, but you will know the process to creating a brand very well by the time it's over.
Regarding the course material itself. I have found the Branding course to be a very big leap in expectation from Design 101 in terms of pre-requisite knowledge and time commitment. I recommend asking someone before taking the course if the brand you want to create matches your current skill and career level, emphasis on the combination of those two together. For example, I discovered that creating my own brand before I had an audience or portfolio to market myself to was not a good grounding for success. The lecture material, at time of writing, is a bit sparse, but my mentor filled in the gaps for me quite well. The focus is very heavily skewed towards understanding marketing, and the actual visual design does not come until after the mid-point of the course. I felt unprepared to tackle this course with my current skill level, and wished I had access to someone to ask questions more frequently than once a week, and for fuller lecture material to fill in those gaps. In the end, however, it still worked out favorably because my mentor was able to teach me during our sessions. Recognizing that no learning path is ever perfectly straight and comfortable, the end result of this course is still a solid grounding in the activities that go into creating a brand, and it definitely delivers well if that is your goal.
Overall this is an excellent value for someone who already knows what branding is and wants to get their first brand portfolio piece, or who does not know what branding is and wants to get a grasp of what goes into creating one.
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Michelle
Great Experience
Really great experience that felt like a jump start on design. My work improved as immediete as the next version of a project. I'm excited to start the UI course next.
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Maria
Design 101 - Great for Web, Not Much Else
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With Design 101 you're paying for the amalgamation of free online resources and time with your mentor, both of which are worth the price. Mentor sessions is where this program really shines because they provide feedback on your work and answer any and all questions you have about how to progress in a design career. However, this course only focuses on web design which is a determinent to individuals (like me) who are just starting out because I wanted a more well-rounded experience. Your mentor does provide outside sources if you ask for them, which are great, and you can take the initiative to find other material, but the course should really be renamed to a Web Design 101 since you don't learn anything about print or mobile design for that matter.
This course is great if you have zero knowledge of design and want to gauge your interest. Other reviews have mentioned the rigorous course structure and it does require a fair amount of time during the week, especially if you're completing iterations of a design. But don't expect to walk away with a portfolio piece. This really is the very first step.
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Jacob
Just what I was looking for
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I am a software engineer and I was wanting to learn to learn the principles of UI design. This course was perfect. They give you good content to read and assign you very helpful projects. The real value is in the advice and feedback you get from your mentor. You are gaurnteed 4 one hour skype session plus they leave you feedback on each version of each project. I couldn's for more at the price of $400.
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Shabeen A Narang
Design 101 feedback
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I took up the course as part business owner and part designer.
My main objectives for joining the course were all met - how to layout sites to make them visually appealing, how to use font and colour to make the UI and UX interesting and engaging
The projects were relevant and flexible allowing me to work on both 'fixed' formats as well as flexible - choose your own subject ones. Its was very useful as this mix ensured learning and relevance.
The mentor was outstanding - he ensured that I not only got the relevant and timely feedback and support, but also explained things that were not very clear due to my non-photoshop background.
Finally, The designlab team's responses were always prompt and holistic - a rarity in today's online world!
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Peter
Learn, practice, create and start over and over again
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Previously I had web design and coding experience as well, these are definitely should be mentioned as triggers.
I'm not a shy person, but I had some concerns before like how I'll get a job (is this really enough as a preparation), how the whole group learning will work out, if I get nice and helpful mentors, and so on. Altogether does this really worth it or am I just wasting my time.
At the beginning it was really shocking amount of hours we put inside the projects and everybody struggled to finish the projects in time. But later we got the rhythm together, and helped each other so we started to enjoy.
Personally I liked every single bit of it, we got an equally balanced knowledge of theoretical and practical part of UX. I think the whole course is a big challenge to tackle in the end, if you are doing it good. I think I was competing with myself along the way to deliver better and better outcomes of each modules so I could proudly present to the others.
At first I was worried about mentorship and group critiques since I've never involved anything like these before, but actually it turned out that these elements in the course helped the lot if not the most. Special thanks for my mentors Chrissy and Vibhas who helped me in the different phases and making my work better.
My favorite part was the group hangout during the weekends (Saturday or Sunday), when everybody prepared his / her work for showcasing and explaining the different design decisions to the others. I think we learnt a lot from each other in many different ways. Sometimes we stayed even after the dedicated time just to finish a story or to share thoughts about a problem we were facing. I would recommend everyone to GO HARD! Approach the units with a never ending willingness to experience something new whether is it a new tool or a tutorial video. I think it's also important to be open-minded and stay active on the slack groups with the others so you always feel you are a part of something evolving. I got the job offer just before I started my second capstone to be a UI designer in Amsterdam for the global team of UX design.
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Lisa PIerson
DesignLab 101
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I took this course thinking I would immediately or almost immediately enroll in the UX Academy. I took the DesignLab over Career Foundry for three reasons. First because it was U.S. based;second, the costs associated with the program; and three both offered abiliity to get a job withiin 6 mos. after enrolling. iI choose DesignLab because I liked what previous enrollees and/or students stated about the 1:1 mentorship and the diversity of the student and their feedback.
I signed up with Desgin101 since any past experience I had was way out of date as far as tools and i needed a refreshers. This course delivered on so many different levels. Rigourous is an understatement but this course was intense and baked a lot of what you read from week to week with projects to reinforce what you read. The feedback from your mentor is key. Your fellow students are too busy doing their own thing to gvive you feedback. i will say the reading reinforces what you learn and it will be up to you to reach out to your friends, family blog following, etc. to provide you key feedback by week 3 & 4. My mentor was great and although we missed in week 3, our time interacting was valuable and timelly and he was willing to have me communicate with me via e-mail or make up with another time/date conference call. I would highly recommend this overview for anyone whose not current with Design 100 concepts or tools (e.g. Sethc, Adobe Illustrator, or Photoshop, etc.). Whatever you do, stay in contact with yourmentor and the students even though they mabe too busy to engage until week 4. It's worth it if it's new to your or you need a refreher.
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Dave S.
Outstanding Intro to Design
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This is a four week class designed to give you an overview of what user experience design can entail. This course was more or less a pre-requisite for me to join Designlab's UX Academy, which I'm now participating. I had an outstanding experience and was thoroughly impressed and satisfied with the structure, content, and support offered. The online interface is easy and fun to use. That might not come as a surprise as a site teaching you UX but I think nailing the delivery of new concepts via remote learning online can still be hard. But Designlab really makes it easy. You are provided a mentor who you'll have up to four virtual sessions with (we had ours via google hangouts) and will guide your progress, give feedback on your work, and offer other thoughts and resources to help you learn. My mentor was terrific. She responded to questions super quickly, was flexible with schedule, was knowledgeable about all the content, and most important, I felt like she really cared about my growth. The curriculum is robust and well planned; the lessons build on one another. One thing to note is that this course focuses more on the implementation side of UX design - layout, visual hierarchy, typography, color, and wireframing. All essential things yes, things like user researching, usability testing, and validation are not covered. I would highly recommend this course! I happened to score some discounted price but even at full price, I feel like I got more than my money's worth!
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Nathan Crowther
Excellent Intro-level Course
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My university doesn't facilitate non-graphic design students taking graphic design classes, so I needed to find another way. The small price-point ($300) including course material, projects, and mentor support convinced me that DesignLab would be a great option to at least get my design game off the ground.
The course material wasn't too challenging and the projects were interesting enough that it didn't take over my schedule, but kept me interested.
My mentor was super helpful in helping me to see what I didn't understand and where I needed more practice. I really appreciated her help.
The only downside of this course was it's super fast pace (4 weeks), but hey, it is a bootcamp. The plus side of this is that even after the end of the course my mentor is available to critique future versions of my projects so that I can continue to refine my skills.
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Raghu Vamsi
A great place to learn Interaction Design Online
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I have learned from many different platforms and this is one of the best and here is why
- When you signup, a mentor will be assigned to you
- You will be asked to schedule 4 mentor sessions
- You will be introduced to the course with a nicely planned chapters (from introduction to mental models, content strategy, site maps, user flows, wireframes, design patterns...)
- Then you will be learning the lessons within each chapter
- Then you will be asked to do assignments and submit them
- Your mentor will review the assignment and submit the feedback
- You will either incorporate the feedback and submit the second version or you will discuss it during your weekly mentor session
- By the time all chapters and assignments are complete you will have a feeling that you actually know that you have a command on the subject with practise
This has been a great learning experience. The content is great and easy to learn and remember and my mentor is very nice and very knowledgeable in her field.
Remember - this is not like any other online learning site, you have to pracise and you have to really commit to your learning. Your mentors are very detailed and can point out where you need to improve so this is great.
All the very best and happy learning!
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Rachee
Amazing Course!
I was in the second cohort of the new UX Academy from Designlab.
I had a wonderful experience and learned a lot! The curriculum was good, the mentors were great, and the community of other students was so helpful!
I got a job as a Product Designer just 3 months after I finished the course.
Highly recommended!
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Jason Branch
Worth every penny
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Coming into the second online class I have taken I had some expectations. Design Lab over achieved to say the least. The class structure starts off with the basics then moves deeper into the nuances and nuts and bolts of interaction design. A mentor who is an industry professional is provided to you at the beginging of the course to guide you along the way. It was great to have live feedback during skype sessions and also have the albility to view other classmates work through project submissions. You get to see how other designers think and thier design process. Coming out of the class I've developed a new skill set and a new way to think about design that unbeknowst to me 4 weeks ago was foreign. I am more than pleased with the outcome.
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Dalton
Designlab is Second to None for Learning Design
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I previously had zero design experience. My goal was to become familiar with the tools and concepts used by designers so that I would have a primitive foundation for creating attractive designs for my projects. What I found was that this course was much more than I bargained for. This course, as it turns out, covers almost nothing about using the tools themselves (although, they do provide tutorial resources for you to review independently). Designlab wanted to provide an experience and knowledge-base that couldn't be attained by merely scouring Youtube for a few hours. Their goal in this course is to walk you through true design theory and convey the principles that compose good design. Don't be discouraged if you don't have any technical experience because they structure the projects in a gradual way that's attainable for a design beginner. What ties the Designlab experience together, though, is the mentor system. Being paired with a design professional that has proven track record gives you the confidence to head in the right direction with your design ideas. In the true nature of Designlab philosophy, my mentor, Joe Callahan (VP of Design at Classy), wanted to ensure that I was grasping the higher-level concepts that would help me become a successful designer in the future. He was encouraging of my technical inability, emphasizing that those skills would develop with time, but understanding the principles that make good design would set me apart. Designlab was well worth all time and resources invested. Will be pursuing more of their courses in the near future.
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Leah
Amazing Experience
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I am halfway throught the Design101 DesignLab course and I love it. The framework is practical, the support is fantastic, and I love the way which I can check out what other students are doing along the way. I am doing this course as a ramp up to a uni degree I am beginning in November. I feel like this has given me a great head start.
I had issues with billing on my end, and the guys at DesignLab were fantastic and understanding. I would highly recommend Designlab to anyone looking to get a crash course or a touch up on their existing skills.
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Alissa C.
Loved it!!
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I took DesignLab just to get more learning experience in designing and this course did just that! They give you so many resources and different articles to read from real life designers and you get a peak into their world. I loved that this course was totally self-paced and it was great that your mentor works with your schedule. My mentor experience was awesome, she was so knowledgeable in designing and she truly helped me on all of my projects. I plan on taking more courses from DesignLab in the future! Highly recommend!!
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Curtis Lee
Amazing experience!
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I remember when I just stumbled upon Design Lab, not thinking it would be that good, or similar to other online classes. But for some reason I had a feeling I should look into this. After doing some research I decided to try out the Design 101 class of which I am so glad I did! I would highly recommend it!! The platform is easy to understand, the readings are great, and the mentors are wonderful! I have learned a lot and I am thinking about taking more classes from them in the future.
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Rhoda I.
Totally worth it!
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I would like to begin by saying that the cost of this course is phenomenal vis a vis to what I've learned and covered in just four weeks. Designlab takes you by the hand from the early definition of UX strategy and research, how to do proper UX research, methodologies, concepts, all up to the landing page of your potential project. I couldn't thank the team that put this together enough. The course was really well thought out, very organized, and systematic with never a dull moment! My mentor was excellent. Karin Schmidlin taught me in such a short span of time how to ask the proper questions and seek the proper research method. She also helped me in creating my UX portfolio, which I am very grateful for that. If I were to suggest something, it would be that Designlab students get the opportunity to collaborate on projects and maybe work together on assignments, surveys, or general questions and opinions. I really have no negative comments for this course, I should say that maybe I was a bit skeptical at first given the great price vs other courses out there. But Designlab, you outdid yourself! Now I am ready to soar in the UX industry in NYC. Thank you, DL :-)
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Anonymous
UX Research and Strategy
As an experienced researcher interested in UX research, I wanted to immerse myself in UX vernacular and practices. The DesignLab curriculum delivered both in an easy to digest format and the weekly mentor sessions were great for questions along the way.
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Claire
I'm satisfied with the UX: Interaction Course
For the price I paid, I say I'm very satisfied with the course. Designlab was able to open a door to interaction design that I perviously knew nothing of and can now take into my job as a Web Designer.
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Anonymous
Customized mentorship from powerhouse designers
The design mentorship and hands on curriculum at Designlab are fantastic. I've never found such a perfectly customized way to work with powerhouse designers from a variety of industries than at Designlab. The design connections, terminology, and knowledge gained from the curriculum itself are huge steps forward in my own design career.
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Mike
Top notch teaching
Great experience with design lab.
Awesome materials, and a fantastic mentor.
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Barry Mattern
A great introduction to UX research
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I took this course because I was curious about a closer look at UX design. After having completed the course I can honestly say that it was a great introduction to the research methods that are employed in the beginning processes of UX. The course workflow is set up in a way that is easy to follow and easy to track–its very clear where you're at regarding course progress.
The lectures are intuitive and set up in a way that lets you take on little bits of information at a time, often times with additional resources and sites included at the end of each so you can study more on each subject in your own time. I really enjoyed the projects that were provided as well. It was nice to be able to put the lectures to use through hands-on assignments that gave you a good idea of what kind of work is involved.
One of the most helpful parts of the course were the 1-on-1 mentor sessions that were held each week. I learned so much through being able to talk directly to my mentor about what I learned, and in turn he was able to give me real world examples of how the things I was learning were applied on the job, showed me examples of his work, and also gave me additional resources to study more on subjects. Because of my mentor I was also able to learn more and push farther into the assignments due to his detailed feedback and critiques on the key areas of each assignment.
I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to gain a good understanding of what is involved in the initial stages of UX design.
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Anonymous
Learn by doing with the help of a mentor
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Pros:
- The best part of this course was the mentor. He was very supportive and encouraging.
- Reading books and going to conferences is great, but actually doing the work, and creating UX artifacts is a far better way to learn.
- The course is very inexpensive, especially when you consider the four hours of one-on-one time you get with your mentor.
Cons:
- Don't fall behind in your coursework. Do a little each day (or follow the suggested time line they provide), and you'll do fine!
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Christine
Design 101
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This program is great for people who are looking to switch careers and may not be able to afford going back to get another degree in design, or even students just starting out who want to see if they'd be interested in a career in design. I haven't found any other program like DesignLab that offers courses in visual design - and they do an excellent job! The course contained great articles and videos to help us learn typography, layout, color theory, etc. My favorite parts of the course are that you work on several projects, receive feedback from your mentor and peers, and you receive a certificate that displays all of your projects to keep with you as a portfolio. The DesignLab team is very friendly and helpful! Excellent course - I highly recommend it! I hope to take more courses through DesignLab soon!
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Rob
Great UX Research class!
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This was my first mentor-driven online learning class. Man, I lucked out. The coursework is direct, clear and gives an awesome framework for approaching UX research. The key is they don't overwhelm with every strategy known to man. They tell you the core of what you need to know. Great basic framework and real projects to solidify the content. The mentor was great. This was critical to my learning as I got stuck on a couple of concepts that the mentor cleared up. For $299 this is well well worth it, especially if you feel overwhelmed with info and asking yourself what the most important stuff is to know in this field.
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Chris Chilcoat
Awesome Class!
Awesome class for designers trying to get into a ux role. I would recommend to anyone try to make a career move. -
Laurel Natale
Learned and sharpened skills at the same time while understanding process
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This course was seriously worth it. Although it is a bit condensed, perhaps a little too condensed, it delivers nonetheless. I learned about the process of UX, and then was able to apply the new knowledge to techniques for projects throughout the course. In the end, I had new skillsets, a deeper understanding of UX and the process, and really wonderful advice from my mentor. I am definately signing up for more courses.
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Anonymous
Great intro to design
The mentor sessions are by far the best part. My mentor kept me motivated and always gave me thoughtful feedback. I loved working on the projects. I also enjoyed being able to peruse other people's projects and read their mentor feedback.
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Steve Oliver
UX Research & Strategy Course Review
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I was looking for a course that could provide some credibility of Design skills and practical tools that I could have confidence applying in the real world. I feel Designlab's course delivers on my goals. I like the fact it is aligned to and references the Standford D-school principles and practices. It is also an extremely accessible course. Having everything on-line helps tremendously, as does the layout and functionality of its site, and the punchy, to the point nature of its lectures. The coup de grace though is probably the way they make you put it in to practice, so that all the learnings make sense. The mentor approach means you have someone to turn to to make sense of things. I found they can also point out aspects you'd never of thought of and would have completely missed without their expertise to show you. Mine did that quickly and succinctly. No overanalysing or missing the point.
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Anonymous
Really great experience!
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I am looking to switch careers from technical project manager at a software company to being a web/UX designer. I had looked at doing bootcamps but didn't have the time or money for most of them. DesignLab's course was perfect. The feedback my mentor had for me was great because he's currently working in the field and he wasn't shy about always pushing me to do better. I loved the projects and all the resources provided as well!
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Anonymous
From not knowing anything about design, to grasping the fundamentals and feeling more confident in six weeks.
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I want to be able to freelance at some point in my career and, while I know how to manage a server and develop everything through the JavaScript and HTML on the front end of the website, it is difficult to get clients when they have to come to you with a design in hand. Most of my attempts at web design in particular had gone poorly in the past, but, through the curriculum and meetings with my mentor, I feel confident that I can actually work with a client to come up with a design now.
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Brendon
An engaging and well-paced overview of interaction design
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I was very impressed with Designlab's Interaction Design course in that in a short 4-week period, I came out of it feeling better equipped to develop a more proper process in my work prior to delivering high-fidelity mocks. The lecture material took wide-reaching topics and condensed them into easy-to-understand chunks each week. The accompanying activities for each of the course's units were engaging and relevant to the lecture material. The weekly scheduled chat sessions with my mentor proved to be very beneficial to get professional feedback on my course work. He was very patient and happy to provide help when needed. He always helped me to see my project from a different perspective and challenged me to think about problems that I would overlook.