designlab
About
About
Designlab teaches in-demand UX/UI design skills online through 4-week short courses and a 15 to 28-week UX Academy. Designlab courses consist primarily of hands-on projects and 1-on-1 mentorship from expert designers so that students can master the techniques needed to design stunning web and mobile products. The Designlab community of mentors gives students timely feedback on work and Skype with students regularly to help them improve. Mentors include top industry professionals from companies like Twitter, Airbnb, Dropbox, and more. Courses are self-paced, which means students can complete the readings/projects whenever their schedules permit. Designlab is ideal for a developer, product manager, entrepreneur, marketer, aspiring designer, or anyone working on web/mobile products.
To apply for the UX Academy, applicants need to fill out an online application, and schedule a call with a Designlab representative. Applicants should have a love of good design, a grounding in design fundamentals, and commitment and resilience.
Graduates of the UX Academy work with a career coach to get help with their portfolios, job applications, and interview technique. Top graduates also get access to Designlab's hiring partners and exclusive job opportunities. Designlab offers a 6-month tuition-reimbursement guarantee for graduates of the UX Academy who are job hunting.
Recent Designlab Reviews: Rating 4.77
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Courses
Courses
1. UX Academy Foundations
ApplyStart Date July 11, 2022 Cost $499 Class size N/A Location Online Looking to transition your career into the world of UX/UI design? Learning visual and UI design is a great place to start. Through our flexible, 4-8 week UX Academy Foundations course, you'll work 1-on-1 with an expert mentor to learn key visual design concepts and practical skills. Your mentor will give you written feedback on all your work and also meet with you for 8 personalized sessions to further discuss concepts, project work, and the UX/UI industry in general. By the end, you'll have completed a final design challenge which you can use in your application for UX Academy to showcase your newfound knowledge and skills. What's good to note is you'll receive a $500 credit on UX Academy tuition afterwards, so taking UX Academy Foundations is technically free!Financing
Deposit $0 — course fees are taken on the start date, regardless of when you sign up Tuition Plans 2-part payment plan — 50% on the start date, 50% on the end date: https://help.trydesignlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/216992247-Do-you-offer-payment-plans-on-short-courses- Refund / Guarantee $500 credit on UX Academy tuition after completion of UX Academy Foundations. Pro-rated refund given: https://help.trydesignlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/360058755134-What-is-your-refund-policy-for-UX-Academy-Foundations- Getting in
Minimum Skill Level Beginner UI/UX course, no previous experience is required. Prep Work If you'd like to get a head-start, you could take one of our free email courses on Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD: https://trydesignlab.com/resources/ Placement Test No Interview No More Start Dates
July 11, 2022 - OnlineAugust 08, 2022 - Online Apply by August 07, 2022September 12, 2022 - Online Apply by September 11, 2022
2. UX Academy (Part-time)
ApplyStart Date July 25, 2022 Cost $7,749 Class size N/A Location Online UX Academy is a rigorous online program that has helped thousands of people land a job in UI/UX/product design since 2015. You'll work with an experienced mentor 1-on-1 to complete over 480 hours of coursework (majority produced in-house and updated in 2022) in topics that cover the full breadth of UI/UX design, including UX research, information architecture, interaction design, UI design, prototyping, testing, and handoff. Upon completion, you'll not only have a certificate of completion but also, more importantly, a professional UI/UX portfolio containing 4 in-depth projects to showcase your skills and share with future employers. Along the way, you'll participate in weekly Group Critiques where you'll share, discuss, and analyze design work live with a group of students and an experienced facilitator. The support will continue into the Career Services phase of the program, where we'll pair you with a Career Coach who will guide you through interview practice, networking, salary negotiation, and other elements of the recruitment process until you find a job in the industry. If you'd like to learn more, you can chat to one of our friendly Admissions team (https://calendly.com/designlab-admissions/schedule-call) or attend a free Admissions Open House webinar (https://designlab.com/webinars/).Financing
Deposit $399 Financing Financing available via Climb CreditTuition Plans Upfront, 6-month internal payment plan, and extended plans financed by Climb Credit: https://help.designlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000101533-How-do-your-payment-plans-work-for-UX-Academy- Refund / Guarantee Pro-rated refund: https://help.designlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015817174-What-is-your-refund-policy-for-UX-Academy- Tuition reimbursement policy: https://designlab.com/ux-academy/policies/#tuition Scholarship Diversify Design scholarship where recipients receive either a $1000, 50%, or full scholarship on UX Academy tuition: https://help.designlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/360052837753-Do-you-offer-scholarships-for-UX-Academy- Getting in
Minimum Skill Level Completion of UX Academy Foundations (included in overall tuition), or foundational skills in visual/UI design, demonstrated through samples of your work. Knowledge of 1 relevant tool (Figma/Sketch/Adobe XD) is also beneficial. Prep Work Application pre-requisites: https://help.designlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/218228487-How-do-I-apply-to-UX-Academy-Are-there-any-prerequisites-for-the-program- Placement Test No Interview No More Start Dates
July 25, 2022 - Online Apply by July 15, 2022August 22, 2022 - Online Apply by August 12, 2022September 19, 2022 - Online Apply by September 09, 2022
3. UX Academy (Full-time)
ApplyStart Date July 25, 2022 Cost $7,749 Class size N/A Location Online UX Academy is a rigorous online program that has helped hundreds of people land a job in UI/UX/product design since 2015. You'll work with an experienced mentor 1-on-1 to complete over 480 hours of coursework (majority produced in-house and updated in 2022) in topics that cover the full breadth of UI/UX design, including: UX research, information architecture, interaction design, UI design, prototyping, testing, and handoff. Upon completion, you'll not only have a certificate of completion but also, more importantly, a professional UI/UX portfolio containing 4 in-depth projects to showcase your skills and share with future employers. Along the way, you'll participate in weekly Group Critiques where you'll share, discuss, and analyze design work live with a group of students and experienced facilitator. The support will continue into the Career Services phase of the program, where we'll pair you with a Career Coach who will guide you through interview practice, networking, salary negotiation, and other elements of the recruitment process until you find a job in the industry. If you'd like to learn more, you can chat to one of our friendly Admissions team (https://calendly.com/designlab-admissions/schedule-call) or attend a free Admissions Open House webinar (https://designlab.com/webinars/).Financing
Deposit $399 Financing Financing available via Climb CreditTuition Plans Upfront, 6-month internal payment plan, and extended plans financed by Climb Credit: https://help.designlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000101533-How-do-your-payment-plans-work-for-UX-Academy- Refund / Guarantee Pro-rated refund: https://help.designlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015817174-What-is-your-refund-policy-for-UX-Academy- Tuition reimbursement policy: https://designlab.com/ux-academy/policies/#tuition Scholarship Diversify Design scholarship where recipients receive either a $1000, 50%, or full scholarship on UX Academy tuition: https://help.designlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/360052837753-Do-you-offer-scholarships-for-UX-Academy- Getting in
Minimum Skill Level Completion of UX Academy Foundations (included in overall tuition), or foundational skills in visual/UI design, demonstrated through samples of your work. Knowledge of 1 relevant tool (Figma/Sketch/Adobe XD) is also beneficial. Prep Work Application pre-requisites: https://help.designlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/218228487-How-do-I-apply-to-UX-Academy-Are-there-any-prerequisites-for-the-program- Placement Test No Interview No More Start Dates
July 25, 2022 - Online Apply by July 15, 2022August 22, 2022 - Online Apply by August 12, 2022September 19, 2022 - Online Apply by September 09, 2022
4. Design 101
ApplyStart Date August 05, 2022 Cost $399 Class size N/A Location Online In this 4-week online course built for design beginners, you'll learn about the fundamentals of color theory, typography, and layout in web design. You'll have 4 weekly sessions with your mentor and receive additional written feedback from them on all your project pieces and assignments.Financing
Deposit $0 — course fees are taken on the start date, regardless of when you sign up Tuition Plans 2-part payment plan — 50% on the start date, 50% on the end date: https://help.trydesignlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/216992247-Do-you-offer-payment-plans-on-short-courses- Getting in
Minimum Skill Level Beginner design course, no previous experience is required. Prep Work If you'd like to get a head-start, you could take one of our free email courses on Figma, Sketch, Photoshop, or Adobe XD: https://trydesignlab.com/resources/ Placement Test No Interview No More Start Dates
August 05, 2022 - OnlineSeptember 02, 2022 - Online Apply by September 01, 2022
5. UX Research & Strategy
ApplyStart Date August 05, 2022 Cost $399 Class size N/A Location Online In this 4-week online course, you'll master the art of understanding your user through learning the ins and outs of user centered research and design. This course is perfect for design beginners and those new to UX — you'll learn the basics of user-centered design, explore the core research techniques professionals use to gain customer insight, and get experience by working on hands-on projects to create deliverables like personas, storyboards, customer journey maps, and empathy maps. You'll have 4 weekly sessions with your mentor and receive additional written feedback from them on all your project pieces and assignments.Financing
Deposit $0 — course fees are taken on the start date, regardless of when you sign up Tuition Plans 2-part payment plan — 50% on the start date, 50% on the end date: https://help.trydesignlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/216992247-Do-you-offer-payment-plans-on-short-courses- Getting in
Minimum Skill Level Beginner UI/UX course, no previous experience is required. Prep Work If you'd like to get a head-start, you could take one of our free email courses on Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD: https://trydesignlab.com/resources/ Placement Test No Interview No More Start Dates
August 05, 2022 - OnlineSeptember 02, 2022 - Online Apply by September 01, 2022
6. UX: Interaction Design
ApplyStart Date August 05, 2022 Cost $399 Class size N/A Location Online In this 4-week online course you’ll develop an eye for seeing, and a language for talking about, interaction design. You'll become familiar with human interface guidelines, principles of usability and fundamental interaction design details. You'll also practice evaluating if and how interactions can be improved. As with all Designlab courses, you'll work 1-on-1 with an expert mentor, with feedback on all your work and weekly video sessions. By the end, you’ll have an interaction design toolkit for evaluating and improving the usability of your products. You’ll have examples of your process and work that you can speak to and draw on in related projects. This course is especially useful to anyone looking to develop better communication of and confidence in their interaction design work, and for folks looking to develop their ability to understand and work with product designers.Financing
Deposit $0 — course fees are taken on the start date, regardless of when you sign up Tuition Plans 2-part payment plan — 50% on the start date, 50% on the end date: https://help.trydesignlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/216992247-Do-you-offer-payment-plans-on-short-courses- Getting in
Minimum Skill Level Beginner UI/UX course, no previous experience is required. Prep Work If you'd like to get a head-start, you could take one of our free email courses on Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD: https://trydesignlab.com/resources/ Placement Test No Interview No More Start Dates
August 05, 2022 - OnlineSeptember 02, 2022 - Online Apply by September 01, 2022
7. UI Design
ApplyStart Date August 05, 2022 Cost $399 Class size N/A Location Online In this 4-week online course you will develop a detailed "eye" for visual design, learn to decide which typefaces to use, become equipped to choose and create color palettes, learn about best practices for UI patterns and reusable design components, and learn how to create retina-ready designs that scale across different devices. You'll have 4 weekly sessions with your mentor and receive additional written feedback from them on all your project pieces and assignments. By the end of the course, you'll have a certificate of completion, a portfolio of projects, and a strong skillset in UI design. This course is intended as a follow-up to our Design 101 course, or for anyone who has a basic understanding of visual design principles. Students are expected to be acquainted with a professional design tool (Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD) before they begin this class.Financing
Deposit $0 — course fees are taken on the start date, regardless of when you sign up Tuition Plans 2-part payment plan — 50% on the start date, 50% on the end date: https://help.trydesignlab.com/hc/en-us/articles/216992247-Do-you-offer-payment-plans-on-short-courses- Getting in
Minimum Skill Level Beginner UI/UX course, no previous experience is required. Prep Work If you'd like to get a head-start, you could take one of our free email courses on Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD: https://trydesignlab.com/resources/ Placement Test No Interview No More Start Dates
August 05, 2022 - OnlineSeptember 02, 2022 - Online Apply by September 01, 2022
Reviews
Designlab Reviews
- Cindy • Graduate • Course: 1. UX Academy Foundations • Campus: Online • Verified via LinkedInI think UXA Foundations was a great learning experience for me! I've taken some courses at Coursera and had some background in Figma prior to starting, so I wasn't sure how much I'd really learn from the course. The answer was A LOT! Each unit contains a couple projects to truly cement what I've learned, and my mentor gave me personalized feedback to help improve my designs. To be transparent, there was a good amount of copywork (copying existing designs) in the curriculum. They're a good way to get an understanding of how shipped designs are built and what tricks they use, and how to accomplish them on your own on a limited time frame. I got really good at using Figma this way! After each copywork assignment, you also got the chance to create your own designs (landing page, hero section, responsive webpage, etc.) and again get feedback from your mentor.
- Awesome Introduction to UI- 3/3/2021Austin Silberman • Graduate • Course: 1. UX Academy Foundations • Campus: Online • Verified via LinkedInI just finished the Design Lab Foundations course, this was an awesome course with access to a mentor throughout the entire process. The course is very well laid out, each unit starts with some readings then you usually have multiple small assignments along with one larger project. The smaller assignments can take around 1-2 hours while the longer projects are usually around 3-4 hours with the final project being 10 hours. I love the simplicity in this course layout, I was able to start each day by doing the readings then working through the assignments, finishing the course in about 3 weeks. This was nearly full time as I worked on it for about 6-8 hours per day during the week. I'm planning to do the UX Academy through Design Lab as they do an incredible job teaching the material and providing support and help along the way. My mentor was fantastic, they work in the industry and answered all my questions about becoming a UX/UI designer, we made iterations to my projects to improve my designs as well. Design Lab has a great modern way of teaching, providing an incredible foundation of design while also ensuring the students are using the most prominent tools in the industry and challenging you with fun and interesting projects. Excited to get started in UX Academy at Design Lab and can't wait to work in this industry. Foundations is perfect if you are considering getting into UX/UI but aren't sure where to get started.
- Solid course to begin a career in UX/UI- 3/2/2021Brandon • Graduate • Course: 3. UX Academy (Full-time) • Campus: Online • Verified via LinkedInI just want to start by saying this was my personal experience and yours may differ.
Overall I had a good experience with DesignLab and if it wasn't for their program I wouldn't have had transitioned my career as quickly as I have today.
The overall curriculum is well done, and the structure of their course is great! At the beginning of my journey in DesignLab, the staff was great! They were very communicative with any questions I had pertaining to the course, finances, etc. I enrolled as a full-time student and the work was heavy, but enjoyable! Lots of great content although some of the modules had broken links throughout the course which was a bit frustrating, but not a big deal.
My mentor during the course was amazing and helped me so much with questions, feedback, etc. This was probably the best of my journey in DesignLab. I graduated with a high score on my portfolio review and was excited to begin the real journey of landing a position in UX/UI.
Unfortunately, this is where DesignLab stopped providing the support I needed. They did provide some good articles and assignments to help you establish a cover letter, resume, and tips for applying to work. However, the information was no different than Googling "How to land a job in UX design." My main focus and hope during career services was working with a career coach who would help me land a role. I was paired with my first career services coach and although she was knowledgeable in the field, I struggled to communicate with her. She did not speak English well, I had a difficult time understanding her and she didn't seem to understand my questions most of the time. I was not getting detailed feedback on my portfolio, resume, and progress so eventually after a few meetings, I decided to request a new mentor. I filled out the questionnaire to request a new mentor, but my request was ignored. I had to reach back out to request it again, and they made me re-fill out the questionnaire. I was paired with a new career coach and my experience was the same. During each call, they were unprepared and did not have much value to provide to me. They struggled to answer questions about my job search journey, and I felt that our meetings were a waste of time. I stopped scheduling meetings and looked for support elsewhere, where I was able to connect with a career coach who was able to give much more valuable tips on landing a job.
I attempted to contact DesignLab regarding my experience and to request a new mentor, but my emails were ignored again. Not sure why I haven't had contact with them, but it seems like after you graduate from the course, they stop providing the support you would receive during the beginning of the course.
The experience was good, but if you are looking for career support specifically, you may want to check out some other Bootcamp Courses.
- Very complete course- 2/24/2021Kee • UX Designer • Graduate • Course: 3. UX Academy (Full-time) • Campus: Online • Verified via LinkedInEnjoyed DesignLab’s UX Academy. It’s a course that goes over every part of the UX design process and comes with a hugely supportive community and group of mentors. Each week there were plenty of opportunities to not only learn, but to practice UX and get feedback on projects. Great experience!
- A solid grounding in user interface design- 2/15/2021Michael • Graduate • Course: 1. UX Academy Foundations • Campus: Online • Verified via LinkedInI really enjoyed this UX Foundations course. As someone who had ZERO design experience before starting, I really feel like I gained a solid grounding in UI design. Design patterns, design theory, colour selection, typography, iconography etc. I feel as if each of these topics were given equal exposure and I now feel more confident about hopefully enrolling in the Academy soon.I felt as though the projects in this course were varied in nature and there was a nice balance between this and the theory side of the course. I really enjoyed the experience and would recommend this course to anyone considering entering the world of UX design.Just a warning though. This course is entirely UI. No UX at all. To my understanding, you will only begin with the UX side of things in UX Academy (which is the big course that comes after UX Academy Foundations). I believe that DL say this is because they want new students to the world of design to have the essential skills in UI (and on the different apps) squared away before they enter the wider learning world of UX.The only point I would make is that there are quite a few projects that require you to copy existing designs out there. Now, that's fine and it's good practice on whichever design tool you're using. However, I assumed that the reason for all these copy projects was to gain experience on these design tools in preparation for UX Academy As such, it did begin to get a bit boring. When I mentioned this to my mentor, she said another reason for these exercises is so that we as students can start to look out for design patterns and to think about why the designers of these forms, landing pages, app screens etc made them the way they did.Eureka! I really feel that if Designlab had explained the purpose for these exercises earlier on, I would have approached these projects in a different way and would have gained more from the experience. Now, this isn't a criticism. This course is only a very new one so I am sure they will make improvements down the line. Just something for the DL team to consider.All in all, a great course and recommended :)
- Great intro to UI course- 2/13/2021Danny Kim • 3D Artist • Graduate • Course: 1. UX Academy Foundations • Campus: Online • Verified via LinkedInI think it was a really great course for intro UI course.
Nice readings and assignments.
The only problem might be the name itself.
I don't think this is a Foundation UX course, this is more Foundation UI I think...
But I'm not sure, since I'm new to this world of UX. I might be wrong.
It just felt like more UI classes than UX for me.
And they were great.
- Design 101, UX Academy and Career Services- 2/13/2021Spencer Goldberg • Verified via LinkedInThough I come from a graphic design background, I knew virtually nothing about UX/UI. After a quick four weeks of their Design 101 foundations course, which taught me the fundamentals of UI design, I was ready to take on the three-plus months of the main UX Academy. Though I did have to switch mentors at the very beginning, (my first one was unresponsive) I had a great time. My mentor was outstanding and really guided me through the work. It certainly wasn't easy, and it's a lot of work, but I would absolutely recommend this program to anyone who's interested in UI/UX. I spent only a short time in creative services, but from what I did participate in, it was also great. I found a job pretty early on.
- UX Academy Foundations- 2/12/2021Rebecca • Graduate • Course: 1. UX Academy Foundations • Campus: Online • Verified via LinkedInThis program has taught me a lot about design. I really enjoy the mentoring sessions, I chose to complete the course in 4 weeks, and it wasn't overwhelming, I also work full-time (unrelated to design). The program is self-paced and there is not a recommended schedule, so before I started I wrote down when I wanted to accomplish everything. Most of the lectures are writings online, with a few video tutorials. There is a lot of time spent on projects which I really enjoyed, as I prefer doing projects and learning by experience as opposed to tests or lectures. It was really simple to contact my mentor and set up the meetings, she was very helpful and gave me some tricks. I like that all the mentors are working in the UX industry so they have practical experience. Overall, this program was amazing and I am excited to do the full boot camp.
- Everything you need for a foundations program!- 2/10/2021Janelle Suzara • Graduate • Course: 1. UX Academy Foundations • Campus: Online • Verified via LinkedInSuch an amazing program! I came in with no design experience and ended with so many tools on my belt! The impact of the curriculum is evident by the quality of my projects over time. My mentor was so helpful and available to advise me along the way. The curriculum is straight and to the point and the projects were impactful
- Great UI/UX intro course- 2/10/2021Nathan • Student • Course: 1. UX Academy Foundations • Campus: Online • Verified via LinkedInI took this full time with the intention of going into UX Academy immediately afterwards. I found their estimates for course work to be underestimates by about 25 to 50%. There are parts units they don't count but are really worth doing if you are not familiar with the tool you use (Figma).
- Michelle Cruz • Graduate • Course: 6. UX: Interaction Design • Campus: Online • Verified via LinkedInI found it quite overwhelming to study during a global pandemic and doing research as to which program I should be in was very overwhelming. I went through tedious research and comparing curriculums to comparing price ranges and it's quite intimidating to get to a course that you've no idea of, let alone spend money for it. I finally decided to shoot an email to Designlab, and actually thought they won't respond but they did! They even gave me a zoom call. The call was from the UK and I'm from southeast Asia, so timezones were in the extremes. Up to this day, I am very grateful for that call from the admissions office before joining the program because at that time someone in my family had Covid and I really appreciate that gesture. I reached out in October 2020 and I finally joined the course in January 2021. I'm halfway through and so excited to step into the new path that I'll have after this. I would also like to stress that the mentor program that they have really helped my confidence in learning and affirmed me in so many ways. You get fully onboarded from the get-go and I really liked that they're very responsive to all of my inquiries and very open to feedback because they want to improve! :)
- Great value!- 2/8/2021Kaavya P • Graduate • Course: 1. UX Academy Foundations • Campus: Online • Verified via LinkedInI chose DesignLab after months of research. I'm a former teacher making a career change, so a comprehensive, flexible curriculum was essential for me. DesignLab uses project based learning to immerse you in the world of UX and UI. The updated Foundations course teaches you the software (Figma, Sketch, XD) through assignments, and your mentor guides you in a personalized way once a week. I couldn't have chosen a better course- and if you finish Foundations, you get a discount applicable towards the next step in the DL course list- UX Academy. For people who want to get their money's worth for their education, choose DesignLab- I'd wager it was more worth it than my university degree!
