Designlab

DesignLab Foundations helped me jumpstart a career shift from Sales into Design. Doing this bootcamp part-time was a great choice - I never felt rushed or overwhelmed with the time commitment, it was very reasonable. The program included lots of cool projects and taught everything I needed to know for each project. The mentorship program is also worth noting - my mentor was amazing, always very supportive and wanting to help out. I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking to learn about UX Design. Read less

The purpose of the foundations course is to get you ready for the full UX bootcamp. While I know I have a lot to learn in the field, I now feel like I know enough of the language of the field and most importantly, I know how to use the software in that field, so I'm  confident I'm capable of taking a course on it, either here or anywhere. Read less

Even though I studied at fashion school and have somewhat of an experience with regards to colour theory, visuals, etc, I was amazingly surprised by how much more I had to learn. The content on the platform was super easy to understand and the mentor sessions were amazing. I choose designlab after conducting my own internet research, reading about the platform on blogs, watching youtube videos, etc, and I must say, their pool of mentors and the quality content is absolutely amazing. I am excited to begin my journey into UX with Designlab after this.  Read less

I signed up for the course after conducting a market survey and not finding something that seemed professional enough in my country.
The course presents a comprehensive and interesting curriculum. The exercises they have built are very professional and help to understand the material in a clear way.
In addition, the most significant part of the course is the conversations with the mentor. My mentor was excellent and gave tips that were worth it all Read less

Designlab is an absolutely wonderful site to learn UI/UX. Not only is the site very user-friendly but you can learn a lot through the short courses. I never felt overwhelmed as the short courses are broken down into two units a week. Each one is filled with multiple lessons to make sure you understand the material. I also loved the mentor sessions as well. I felt that my mentor truly supported me and dedicated his time into helping me focus on critical design thinking and human-centered design. Without his help, I wouldn't have created such a beautiful project to add to my portfolio. Overall, a really lovely experience. Thank you for creating such an amazing community!   Read less

If you are coming into Design 101 blind to UX Design, you're in luck.  They provide a quick tutorial for the software of your choosing prior to the course starting.  I chose Figma which has proven to be useful in finishing my projects on time.  Each project submission is carefully reviewed by an assigned mentor who is experienced in UX/UI Design.  They provide feedback on every feature of your project's deliverables in a timely manner. Read less

Before UX, I had a background in graphic design, though that was learned on-the-job and on my own. I wanted to expand my horizons but I was intimidated. Many bootcamps I researched expected you to have a certain amount of knowledge or experience going into it.  They focused on ramping up already existing knowledge to take you to the next level in your career. I needed to focus on the basics. I wanted to feel confident that I'd have the understanding necessary to interact effectively with others in the industry, and of course, eventually land a job in UX! I wanted to walk the walk AND talk the talk. When I got the opportunity to participate in the UX Academy Foundations course I was through the moon. I eventually wanted to apply for the UX Academy so this seemed like the way to go. I quickly became immersed in the world of UX. I found that my design skills helped in some areas, and I learned a lot about whole new areas, like focus on the user, and making their experience number one, rather than just making it look good. I love that you're paired with a mentor right away and they give you insider knowledge and feedback. After the Foundations course, I did go ahead and apply for the UX Academy, and I got in! Now I can continue my learning in an area that excites me and teaches me something new every day! As the name implies, UX Academy Foundations gave me a great foundation for this journey. Read less

When I was doing research for UI/UX, I stumbled upon Designlab's UX Site. After reviewing their courses I felt over whelmed due to my lack of knowledge in design. I have background in sales and was ill prepared if I went straight in to the UX Academy course. I applied for the Design 101 course and then was offered a chance to try the Beta UX Academy Foundations. After going back and forth with a representative i decided to go forward with the beta due to the fact it was designed to better prepare you for the UX Academy Course.  I had an amazing mentor who was extremely helpful and guided me to not only finishing my assignments but comprehending it's importance. After I was done for the course i applied to the Academy and as some one who is almost finish the course I am glad I took Foundations. I never felt behind with my assignments and it gave me more time to exam how i can be better. I definitely recommend UX Academy Foundations If you want to try out UI/UX and if you know absolutely nothing about design. Read less

This course is great, I believe is even better from Design 101. My mentor was very detailed, I learned a ton and a lot of the work I finished I ended up adding it to my graphic design portfolio. Also, I decided to stick with Design lab and do their UX Academy bootcamp. Read less

UX Academy Foundations was an amazing experience. Headed into the bootcamp, I did not know what I wanted to do in the future. I am currently a student at UCLA trying to figure my career out, and UX Academy Foundations provided me the tools, skills, and mentorship necessary to jump-start my career. Especially for an industry like UX Design, I think it's super necessary to have a framework to approach design problems. UX Academy Foundations provides this framework. Read less

I am currently doing the UX Academy course and have previously taken the UX Foundations course (beta). 

Overall, I think it is a good learning experience for the amount invested. There were readings, assignments, and weekly mentor meetings. I felt that as a newcomer going into UX design with no design experience it was an adequate challenge -- not too easy or difficult and that I was well-supported throughout the course. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have a hard-time staying on track (although, this has been harder for me in UX Academy). I very much enjoyed the process of learning and applying what I learned right away to an actual assignment/project. Seeing my progress overtime was very rewarding as well.  Read less

Jumping into foundations I was able to learn Figma really quickly while also getting a great foundational knowledge of the design process. In Foundations, the emphasis is on learning the tools.  This helps you learn how to iterate very quickly with Figma or Sketch. All the lessons have both tools in mind throughout the course.
If you're preparing to do UX Academy through DesignLAB, Foundations is a great starting point if you have no experience with common design tools in the field. It gets you up to speed so when you get into Academy you're full speed into the program.  Read less

I took the Designlab UX Foundations course as a primer to taking the UX Academy in which I am currently enrolled. Through the Foundations course, I was given a refresher on design fundamentals and also taught contemporary UI techniques. The course is structured in such a way that you make weekly progress and have weekly video calls with a mentor. I never needed the support team but I was given the impression that they are friendly, helpful, and readily available. Everyone I have dealt with there has been great. The course set me up for success to continue on and progress into the UX Academy. A great course to refresh a design background or transition completely into a new field. I would highly recommend Designlab in any capacity!   Read less

There are so many bootcamp options out there, and it's such a huge financial commitment to jump into something you're not certain of. I really enjoyed the UXA Foundations course because it let me dip my toes into what UI work could look like. This course definitely leaned heavy on UI rather than UX, but having never taken any formal training in design it was really helpful to see all those principles laid out. Another really great feature is that you have meetings with a mentor where you can talk about your work but also career-type questions. If you're interested in the industry and aren't ready to commit a ton of cash and time, this is a great place to start. Read less

The content is definitely helping me in understanding the basics of visual design and how users would view an interface! I so glad to have learned about visual hierarchy, color and typography etc! Although with enrolling the course won't get me a job, it surly sets myself ready to learn about UX design and other design thinking strategy in UX Academy!  Read less

I've been doing graphic design, web design, and design-adjacent things in my various job roles over the last 10 years, when I decided to make a career switch into UX design which lead me to DesignLab. The Academy Foundations course is meant to prepare you for their DesignLab Academy proper, which to be honest, I was a tad skeptical of how much value I would get from this "foundational" course. But I was shocked by how much I was learning and reestablishing in myself in just the first few weeks alone! The assignments were flexible enough that a beginner could handle, but tons of room for any experienced designers to challenge themselves.

Pros:
- Good price for the value, and you get reimbursed for the course if you move on to take the DesignLab UX Academy course
- Comes with a mentor to talk shop or get advice from, and they help ensure that you're applying what you learn correctly
- A large and active community of students, support staff, and mentors on Slack
- Includes group crit sessions to get you used to presenting your ideas and defending your design decisions in the "real world"
- Includes lots of resources for learning how to use industry tools, and lots of partnerships with those tooling vendors to get those tools at a good price or for free
- Lots of extra material that you can get to in your own time for furthering education after the course is over. (Throughout the course are tons of book, podcast, and blog recommendations, and DesignLab is always hosting webinars)

Cons
- I honestly can't think of any Read less

I went into UX academy wanting to become a UX designer. I decided on the design lab because of the job guarantee and assistants that they bring to prepare you. I am overall very happy with choosing to do UX academy foundations to prepare me for UX academy. I enjoyed learning the new material and projects as well as building a relationship with my foundation's mentor. Highly recommend!  Read less