1. UX Academy Foundations

I came out with a base knowledge of UI design and was able to apply that knowledge in projects and examples.  I was occasionally frustrated with not diving into a particular concept or application deep enough to mastery before moving on, but in the end I did figure it out.  Overall this is a good course and was absolutely worth the investment.

My favorite part of the course was having a mentor to guide me and help keep me accountable. Something many online programs don't offer. Not only that but the community access and support made it easy to find answers to any questions I had in a good time frame.

I completed DesignLab's UX Foundations program in 4 weeks.  They say you can complete the Foundations course anywhere from 4-8 weeks and because I am currently unemployed, I opted to push hard and complete the program within 4 weeks. However, I feel like choosing to use all 8 weeks would have felt like a much more enjoyable pace. (If you also have a job while enrolled, I would recommend 8 weeks so you don't get burn out.)   The course is thorough and will challenge you, especially if you have no formal training in design (like me).  The course is divided into 8 modules and each one contains a mixture of reading, videos and hands on design projects.  Like any bootcamp, you get out of it what you put in.  I watched dozens of YouTube videos and Figma tutorials along the way to supplement the coursework.  During the course you are paired with a mentor and I feel that can greatly affect a student's experience.  I was paired with a talented mentor who was quick to answer my questions and spent a few sessions showing me additional tips and functions of Figma while providing helpful advice on my projects.  DesignLab also has a wonderful community of students on Discord which I found extremely helpful and motivational!There are dozens of small projects throughout the coursework  that are all designed to build upon the skills learned in previous lessons, then culminating in a 10 hour design project. The submitted 10 hour project is required to meet certain standards to grant you admission in to the full UX academy. (which I hope to be approved for and begin soon!)Overall, I am very happy with the course curriculum, the mentor support and the Discord community channels that DesignLab offered.  I am amazed looking back at my projects, how much I've learned and how far I came in 4 weeks.  It was definitely worth the cost and I would recommend to anyone interested in learning more about the basics of UX design.

Your bootcamp experience is really what you make of it. You can either do the bare-minimum to do the assignments and mentor sessions, OR you can do further reading on the additional articles/resources that DesignLab provides and ask additional questions with your mentor. Doing the ladder, the experience has been so useful in ensuring that I am making the right decisions with my career change and receiving guidance to help with my "What's Next?" step in life.Foundations is a great starting point for getting introduced to UX/UI design, with a big emphasis if you understand the foundations of visual design. I've had a hard time learning Figma by myself, so doing this course has helped tremendously with the learning curve.

The Foundations course was great. I learned a lot of the foundational skills I will need when transitioning into UX/product design. The overall curriculum was good and I truly enjoyed working on the different projects. Having a mentor along the way was excellent! Highly recommend this course.

After doing a software engineering bootcamp and feeling stuck creatively, I decided to go the design route and Designlab's foundations course did not disappoint. It is most definitely a LOT of work, but I was able to complete it all in 3 weeks. I recommend it greatly since I was able to build a portfolio for the application to the actual bootcamp.

I learned so much about UX/UI Design from Designlab’s lessons, projects, and mentoring process. It’s amazing to look back at my early designs in the Foundations course just eight weeks ago to see how much progress I made. I recommend this program so highly!

UXAF course is a very well structured, practical and informative. I researched extensively, compared the courses from many institutes and decided to go with UXAF. The course comprises of all the aspects required to gain design knowledge. It includes information, practical work (projects), time management, using designing tools extensively and 1:1 mentorship which is extremely helpful in achieving great results. I had a great mentor who provided me with insights and constructive feedback which helped me in completing my project work with finesse. I feel immensely confident, motivated and comfortable as a beginner in the designing field.  DesignLab provides students with networking opportunities through Discord and Group Crits. I highly recommend this course to anyone looking to enter or grow in the field of UX/UI. I'm glad that I found designlab:)

I started designlab because I wanted to get into designing and learning the difference between UX and UI. I wanted to break into the tech industry for awhile now and designlab was the one that I felt was right for me after doing research on different tech jobs. I took a risk and started foundations to see if I'd like it. Turns out I really enjoyed all the projects and I felt proud of all the work I did so far. Now it's time to move forward with the academy!

I had zero design experience going in but UX Academy Foundations provided me all that I need to grasp design basics. It was valuable experience and I could not recommend it enough for anyone looking to make a career change into UI/UX Design! All the course are implemented with lessons, tutorials (Figma or Sketch that they give you free for a year), and projects to help give you a feel of what it's like to tackle real life projects as a designer. They also pair you up 1-1 with a mentor that is currently in the industry and they're there to help guide you throughout your journey. I was able to complete the course in 4 weeks, however, the course is designed for 8 weeks (pacing is up to you)! Overall, it was a fun experience and it sets you up for enrollment into Designlab's UX Academy.

I learned so much from my mentor and peers within the Designlab community. They were always responsive to my questions and always walked me through different assignments. I learn from seeing and watching others do, and I have to attribute my success to the powerful and thoughtful team of Designlab.

The course is easy to follow and understand. The lessons are straightforward. This course also provides optional lessons for those who need them. The assignments are challenging in the right way. Also, the mentors give honest and helpful feedback. Overall the experience is great and there is a lot to learn. :)

The course material is important to review and learn to understand the basics, but in my opinion, your mentor will make or break your experience. Having a knowledgeable, empathetic mentor will be the key to your learning and advancing your skills. They will be the ones to teach you all the nuances and look at things in a different way. Their years of experience will flow to you in little tips and tricks from what they've learned. If you come prepared for your mentor sessions and are open to feedback, you will do great! You only have to attend one "design crit" during Foundations, but from what I've heard these sessions will eventually be the backbone of UX Academy. I highly recommend taking notes on each Unit in a separate doc, as well as notes from your mentor call so you can review and refer to them to consolidate the information. I used Notion to organize all my notes for each Unit. I think this course is also a great way to test the water, and see if you actually like UX/UI before jumping into the longer, more expensive UX Academy. This course will get you very familiar with a design tool of your choice (for me, I chose Figma).  Keep in mind though, that UX Academy will be more focused on UX research (from what I've heard). 
Pros: 
self-paced
fully online
easy-to-follow video tutorials for learning Figma
a dedicated mentor you meet with 1:1 8 times during the course
supportive community on discord that you can interact with other students (get help, get feedback, ask questions)
an aesthetic, easy-to-use platform for keeping track of your course progress
lots of extra resources and links sprinkled throughout the course material for extra learning
they provide a nice 1-2 page "cheat sheet" at the end of each unit
they constantly ask for feedback and ways to improve at the end of each unit 

Cons: 
Honestly not many serious cons for me
If you're looking for a course that is only videos, this is not for you. There will be reading and hands-on projects involved, with some videos thrown in for tutorials on Figma
If you're in a time crunch to finish this course and move on to UX Academy (like I was), you'll need to finish this course in under 4 weeks to be able to apply to the next month's Academy cohort - if you don't, you'll have to wait a whole month to apply to the next one. So, you may feel rushed to finish before the UX Academy cohort deadline. 

(FYI I finished in March 2023, but I was only able to select up to 2022 for this review)

Designlab was a great experience for me. The mentor that I was paired with was extremely helpful and did everything she could to make sure that I understood the assignments and completed the projects to the best of my ability. The curriculum was pretty impressive. I felt like it covered a wide range of information but it didn't feel overwhelming at all. Although I've only just completed the Foundations course, I plan to continue straight into the Academy. If you're looking to make a career switch or simply add new skills to your resume, I 100% recommend Designlab. You won't regret it!

If you continue on to UX Academy, this course is basically free! The curriculum is very thorough, well planned, and seamlessly structured. The student portal makes it super easy to keep track of all assignments and timelines. My mentor was great and really knew when to challenge me and provided tons of professional insight to my endless questions. We had calls twice a week, and this held me accountable while also keeping my workload realistic. Communicating with the admissions staff was a very pleasant experience. The Discord community is also invaluable and a great way to connect with your cohort! The only thing I would be mindful of is that the time estimates for each unit are on the low end. You will get out of this course what you put into it, so be prepared to give yourself a lot more time than is projected for each assignment if you really want to get a firm grasp on the lessons and design tools.

Ive worked in tech for over 5 years in the ops department dabbling in the intersection of Legal, Intellectual Property and Policy + Product. I took the intro course to get a basic foundation of design and get a sense of whether UX/UI design is the right career path for me. 

The foundations course through DesignLab was a great introduction to visual and UI design. The coursework was easy to follow and navigate. The project time estimates were accurate. I really appreciated working with my mentor. She was amazing!

I had a wonderful experience with Designlab's Foundations course. I was able to get the basics of Figma down and feel quite comfortable with the design side of the program now. I learned the basics of design thinking and the UI process. I have taken a course before at my local city college and Designlab's was much easier to follow. I felt I gained exactly what I was looking for. I am looking forward to hopefully continuing on with their Academy. 

This course is detailed and informational, and I learned all about UI in order to prepare me for UX Academy. I gained a lot of knowledge from this course, there are countless resources, and my mentor is friendly and extremely helpful. Would recommend 10/10!

I recently completed the Foundation course at DesignLab, and I have to say it was an incredible experience. As someone with zero design background, I was looking for a way to gain some foundational knowledge and get a sense of what a career in this field might entail, and DesignLab definitely delivered. The curriculum was well-structured and covered a range of topics, and each module built upon the previous one. The platform was well-designed and easy to use, and the pace of the program was appropriate with flexible schedule. My mentor was really supportive and and helped me improve my skills. She was always available to answer my questions and provided feedback on my project. Overall, I would highly recommend DesignLab to anyone who is interested in UX design. It's a great way to gain foundational knowledge and get a sense of  this field.