Designlab
Average Rating4.78
769 Reviews
9 Courses
Designlab is an online training provider that teaches in-demand UX/UI design skills through their UX Academy and short courses. Designlab’s top-tier online programs connect students with expert design mentors, empowering them to launch and advance their career in digital design. Whether students are transitioning into UX design with Designlab’s flagship UX Academy or refining their skills through advanced courses designed for seasoned designers and design teams, Designlab offers meticulously crafted programs to help learners achieve their goals.
With mentorship and community at the core of every course, students benefit from weekly 1:1 video calls in UX Academy and UX Academy Foundations, as well as small peer group sessions in advanced and short courses. Through personalized feedback and guidance, Designlab’s network of experienced mentors helps students navigate the design industry, offering career advice and insights into market trends from a professional’s perspective.
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.
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- Conan SmeethStudent • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineVerified by LinkedInJul 28, 2024Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Awesome way to get into UX/UI design
From the start, I immediately knew I was going to enjoy the course! I appreciated how the lessons had us look at the history of design, given that we needed to have that understanding of related principles; I found myself coming back to review them while I was working on my unit projects. Everything was built via scaffolding, and I felt that my skills consequently were being reviewed and tested within every new unit. And, when I did have some questions and/or issues about how to proceed,...From the start, I immediately knew I was going to enjoy the course! I appreciated how the lessons had us look at the history of design, given that we needed to have that understanding of related principles; I found myself coming back to review them while I was working on my unit projects. Everything was built via scaffolding, and I felt that my skills consequently were being reviewed and tested within every new unit. And, when I did have some questions and/or issues about how to proceed, the mentor that Designlab paired me with was there for me! Honestly, the feedback given to me by him was incredibly helpful and it's things like these that really enhanced my overall experience. The caveat is that sometimes, your mentors might not be as responsive as you would like, so it can be hit or miss, but there's no questioning the fact that having one is something that should be the default. Finally, I loved how both the practice tasks and unit projects got me engaged to the point that hours flew by without me noticing! I didn't think I'd be this happy and excited to work on something like what Designlab has to offer, but I'm oh so happy that I found them! - NickUX Designer • Student • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineVerified by LinkedInJun 15, 2024Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
fun, creative, challenging, educational, and satisfying
Fun and Creative:
DesignLab's UX/UI Foundations course wasn't just informative, it was genuinely fun! The projects were engaging and allowed for a lot of creative exploration. I felt like I could experiment and creatively find my design voice and accomplish the Design Briefs.
Challenging and Educational:
The course provided a perfect balance between challenge and learning. The content pushed me to think critically about user experience and user interface, but it also provide...Fun and Creative:
DesignLab's UX/UI Foundations course wasn't just informative, it was genuinely fun! The projects were engaging and allowed for a lot of creative exploration. I felt like I could experiment and creatively find my design voice and accomplish the Design Briefs.
Challenging and Educational:
The course provided a perfect balance between challenge and learning. The content pushed me to think critically about user experience and user interface, but it also provided all the tools and support I needed to succeed. I came away feeling confident in my newfound UX/UI skills.
Satisfying:
Completing the DesignLab UX/UI Foundations course was incredibly satisfying. It wasn't just about acquiring skills; it was about seeing my design ideas and how to bring them to life. It ignited a real passion for UX/UI in me.
The Mentorship was my favorite part of the program! My mentor cared about my personal life, future career, and growing me as a designer. All around, wonderful experience!
By the end of the course, I felt equipped to... enroll in the full UX program, however, another opportunity arose, but would be back in a heartbeat to finish!
>> If you're looking for a fun and effective way to launch your UX/UI design journey, DesignLab's Foundations course is an excellent choice! << - Jonathan FoxUX Engineer • Graduate • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineVerified by LinkedInJan 17, 2024Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
A solid introduction to the world of UX
Solid experience for the price and a user interface that is inutitive to tracking course progress and learning. I felt that the long form text apporach to learning was actually quite helpful. I do wish there was some more depth around visual design techniques and theories. - Emily LippolisJudicial Innovation Fellow/UX Designer • Graduate • 2. UX Academy (Part-time) • OnlineVerified by LinkedInDec 30, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
Worth it with caveats
Overall Experience- Overall, I'm so glad I invested the time and money into Designlab and my UX career. However, I went into it with a design background and a really good working knowledge of Figma, and I think this made my experience less stressful.
- Everything took twice as long as Designlab's time estimates. Projects slated for 4 hours took 8, and I took a full year to do the part-time academy program. Feeling "behind" is common, but the staff w...
Overall Experience- Overall, I'm so glad I invested the time and money into Designlab and my UX career. However, I went into it with a design background and a really good working knowledge of Figma, and I think this made my experience less stressful.
- Everything took twice as long as Designlab's time estimates. Projects slated for 4 hours took 8, and I took a full year to do the part-time academy program. Feeling "behind" is common, but the staff will work with you as long as you communicate with them.
- Even with its flaws, Designlab is still the best value for the money among the bootcamps.
- It can be hit or miss. Everyone is assigned a mentor and you choose a crit session each week to go to. I ended up having great mentors and stumbling upon an amazing crit facilitator (Carmela FTW!). Still, I knew other people in the program who felt like they weren't getting the right support from their mentor, and the quality of the crit facilitators varied widely.
- My cohort was the last under the old curriculum so I can't speak to the new curriculum.
- Designlab did the best they could to match me with a career coach, and she was great, but they were not able to pair me with a coach from my specific industry (civic tech).
- I got a job within 3 months of graduating from Designlab in a tough tech economy.
- I felt like the portfolio I made with Designlab is professional and appealing to employers.
- The program says that you don't need design training to succeed, and that's true, but I highly recommend going into the program at least knowing how to use Figma.
- Connect with your classmates as much as possible- participating in research requests is a great way to do this.
- Treat bootcamp like 60% of your UX education and make sure you fill in the rest with workshops, webinars, practice sessions, etc.
- Michael ChildsStudent • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineVerified by LinkedInJul 07, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Found confidence to start becoming a designer
DesignLab is a very tried and true online platform for learning digital product design. The UX Foundations course was a very solid introduction into the world of UX/UI design. They covered the basics of design thinking, exploring your creativity, layout, scale, color, typography and more. The projects were challenging and rewarding and build up more and more as the course goes. Before you know it you have the confidence to start making your own icons and building a brand. The one thing t...DesignLab is a very tried and true online platform for learning digital product design. The UX Foundations course was a very solid introduction into the world of UX/UI design. They covered the basics of design thinking, exploring your creativity, layout, scale, color, typography and more. The projects were challenging and rewarding and build up more and more as the course goes. Before you know it you have the confidence to start making your own icons and building a brand. The one thing that I didn't really like about the course was using Discord for the community aspect. I would have preferred to have used Slack as it has a more professional focus.
I highly recommend anyone who is thinking about learning UI/UX design look at starting off with DesignLab's Foundations course. - Dong ChoiStudent • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineVerified by LinkedInJun 05, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Awesome beginners course
I just finished training under the UX Foundation courses at Designlab and it was great. I went into this course totally blank with no knowledge on anything related to this subject and now I have a very good idea of what this field entails. The courses were easy to understand with a lot of readings (good and bad) and short videos showing the principles and uses of Figma. The mentorship was great in my experience. Ally (my mentor) was very attentive and very detail oriented in my works...I just finished training under the UX Foundation courses at Designlab and it was great. I went into this course totally blank with no knowledge on anything related to this subject and now I have a very good idea of what this field entails. The courses were easy to understand with a lot of readings (good and bad) and short videos showing the principles and uses of Figma. The mentorship was great in my experience. Ally (my mentor) was very attentive and very detail oriented in my works and pointed out very interesting ideas and concepts that really took the design to the next level. Overall it was a very fun experience and I recommend to anyone interested in UX/UI design. - Diana MooreGraduate • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineVerified by LinkedInMay 03, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
A Great Start to UX/UI!
I highly recommend the UX Academic Foundations course with Designlab. I learned so much in those eight weeks, and I feel like I have a strong foundation to start from in moving to the Academy. My skills are fresh and sharp, and I feel ready to learn more and land that dream job! - Randon SommarsEnglish Professor • Student • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineVerified by LinkedInApr 06, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Foundations was Foundational
I had a rough start to the program because the mentor that I was set up with originally did not guide me properly. However, after I had contacted admin. the quickly assisted me to change mentors. That change in mentors saved me. The content and information from the readings / Units are good, but the information you learn from mentors is where the essence of this program lies. I had a great time learning from, asking questions to, and having conversations with my mentor about all thing...I had a rough start to the program because the mentor that I was set up with originally did not guide me properly. However, after I had contacted admin. the quickly assisted me to change mentors. That change in mentors saved me. The content and information from the readings / Units are good, but the information you learn from mentors is where the essence of this program lies. I had a great time learning from, asking questions to, and having conversations with my mentor about all things UX UI. It was such a positive experience! - Annie ChuongGraduate • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineVerified by LinkedInJan 19, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Affordable, exciting, motivating!
Designlab is a great choice when considering UX design bootcamps. I appreciate the 1:1 weekly mentorship I had with my mentor. The weekly opportunity to work with an industry professional made me feel really excited to continue learning and motivated me to find resources outside of Designlab. My mentor provided many great insights like reading material, information on the ever-evolving industry, as well as tools and tricks on Figma. The optional Group Crit was also incredible! I loved ge...Designlab is a great choice when considering UX design bootcamps. I appreciate the 1:1 weekly mentorship I had with my mentor. The weekly opportunity to work with an industry professional made me feel really excited to continue learning and motivated me to find resources outside of Designlab. My mentor provided many great insights like reading material, information on the ever-evolving industry, as well as tools and tricks on Figma. The optional Group Crit was also incredible! I loved getting the opportunity to work with other students and UXA alum. Getting feedback from not only just my mentor made learning more fun. The other element of Designlab that I really enjoyed was the Discord channel. This allowed me to connect with other students, learn from others, and it made committing to a fully remote education program a lot less lonely. Overall, I am excited to move forward with UX Academy in a few short weeks now that I have a great understanding and feel for the overall education structure and format. - Gregory StewartStudent • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineVerified by LinkedInJan 14, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Smooth, Supportive, Engaging
The Design Lab Foundations course was super smooth. The content was mostly project based so I was able to apply skills really quickly with no background in UX design. My mentor was super supportive. Overall the program was well-paced and well-priced. - Paolo De LeonContract UX Designer • Graduate • 3. UX Academy (Full-time) • OnlineVerified by LinkedInDec 09, 2022Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
You get what you put in
I career changed from business entrepreneurship to UX through Designlab's UX Academy. I did the part-time track on top of UX Academy Foundations so my whole course was about 36 weeks long.
The curriculum and resources they provide are well-curated and definitely provide a solid foundation for early-stage designers to work off of. The amount of external resources and extra assignments they provide is generous. On a part-time track, the amount of work is manageable while I had a 30...I career changed from business entrepreneurship to UX through Designlab's UX Academy. I did the part-time track on top of UX Academy Foundations so my whole course was about 36 weeks long.
The curriculum and resources they provide are well-curated and definitely provide a solid foundation for early-stage designers to work off of. The amount of external resources and extra assignments they provide is generous. On a part-time track, the amount of work is manageable while I had a 30-hour/week job on the side as well.
However, the only complaint I have about UX Academy is that the experience highly depends on the mentor you get paired up with (although you can switch whenever you want). The mentor is the one who's in charge of "grading" your assignments and some mentors are more strict than others (reasonably or unreasonably so). They're the ones that will actually teach you and guide you along the right path so your entire perspective in the course is shaped around them for better or for worse. Ultimately, I switched mentors a couple of times until I landed on one that was in sync with me.
Lastly, if you think you'll get a job just by doing the bare minimum with Designlab - you won't. Designlab is here to merely provide a foundation but it is up to you to put in all the extra work after learning. Designlab provides plenty of resources for you to work off of and many ways to connect with others to expand that network.
Overall, I would recommend Designlab to others as the price you pay is worth what you can potentially get from it. - Tamer MetwallyStudent • 2. UX Academy (Part-time) • OnlineVerified by LinkedInNov 01, 2022Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
Traumatic experience with mentors
I had a series of mentor problems and changes that I had NO control over or part in over the course of my enrollment at DesignLab. DesignLab let me down and I'm deeply hurt.
I was forced to change mentors 3 times! 2 of them in the middle of a capstone project.
The first one was badly affected due to the change of styles between mentors. And then I had the same problem again with the second project!
I was not happy at all with my progress or the quality of my work, un...I had a series of mentor problems and changes that I had NO control over or part in over the course of my enrollment at DesignLab. DesignLab let me down and I'm deeply hurt.
I was forced to change mentors 3 times! 2 of them in the middle of a capstone project.
The first one was badly affected due to the change of styles between mentors. And then I had the same problem again with the second project!
I was not happy at all with my progress or the quality of my work, unfortunately.
I lost a lot of sessions thinking that a 30 mins session would count as a half session plus due to my pause I really needed help to improve and move forward faster to meet my already delayed deadline to graduate which I failed to meet my deadline because I had to change jobs and countries at the same time too!
I wasn't lazy or slacking or dragging things. I was still determined to finish the program, but they canceled my program and took away my remaining mentor's sessions.
they took away my mentor's sessions, and my career service and haven't even offered to partially refund me! I'm still stuck in the last project for almost a year with no guidance and still struggling to pay off a loan I had to take to be able to join that program.
Designlab Alumni Outcomes
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Designlab Alumni Reviews Summary
Based on 700+ Designlab alumni reviews on Course Report, students consistently praise the hands-on projects, 1-on-1 mentorship from industry professionals, and the comprehensive UX/UI design curriculum. A student shared, "Designlab is a very solid introduction into the world of UX/UI design... Before you know it, you have the confidence to start making your own icons and building a brand." Some critiques, however, mention the reliance on Discord for community interaction, which some found less professional than alternatives like Slack.
Overall Experience
4.8
Instructors
4.7
Curriculum
4.7
Job Assistance
4.3
More Information
Guarantees Job
Job Assistance
Includes Housing
Offers Corporate Training
Accepts GI Bill
Awards
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By Jess Feldman
By Rachel Meltzer
By Jess Feldman
FAQs
How much does Designlab cost?
Designlab costs around $7,749. On the lower end, some Designlab courses like 9. Design 101 cost $499.
What courses does Designlab teach?
Designlab offers courses like 1. UX Academy Foundations, 2. UX Academy (Part-time), 3. UX Academy (Full-time), 4. Data-Driven Design and 5 more.
Where does Designlab have campuses?
Designlab teaches students Online in a remote classroom.
Is Designlab worth it?
Designlab hasn't shared alumni outcomes yet, but one way to determine if a bootcamp is worth it is by reading alumni reviews. 769 Designlab alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Designlab on Course Report - you should start there!
Is Designlab legit?
We let alumni answer that question. 769 Designlab alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Designlab and rate their overall experience a 4.78 out of 5.
Does Designlab offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?
Right now, it doesn't look like Designlab offers scholarships or accepts the GI Bill. We're always adding to the list of schools that do offer Exclusive Course Report Scholarships and a list of the bootcamps that accept the GI Bill.
Can I read Designlab reviews?
You can read 769 reviews of Designlab on Course Report! Designlab alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Designlab and rate their overall experience a 4.78 out of 5.
Is Designlab accredited?
While bootcamps must be approved to operate, accreditation is relatively rare. Designlab doesn't yet share information about their accreditation status.