1. UX Academy Foundations

I loved taking this course, it was definitely a great way for me to get started learning UX, and to help me figure out if I want to pursue it or not. I can say for sure now that I do. This course challenges you, but I had so much fun every step of the way with it. I'd say it's worth it if you're looking to get into UX design but aren't sure where to start!

I really did not occur any cons during my studies in the UX Academy Foundations Program. Everything that was offered by DesignLab and the course has been so carefully thought through which makes an incredible experience as a student, from being able to work at your own pace, to calls with my mentor which allows for feedback that is crucial and essential to view another perspective and level up my design knowledge, as well as how the curriculum is structured is definitely a dream for most students as it’s fun to learn yet incredibly valuable. Even the behind the scenes team that works at DesignLab has been so kind and helpful throughout the entire process. Thank you DesignLab.

I learned a great amount about the various design principles, ideas, and rules. The reading material and tutorials were very thorough and succinct. It was easy to understand and digest to be able put what was learned into practice. The unit projects were challenging but helped with exploring my creativity as well as incorporating what was learned from the readings and tutorials. After each unit I gained more confidence to move on to the next unit. Especially with help from the weekly calls my mentor. Have a mentor to help you through the learning process is extremely vital. And they matched me up perfectly with my mentor. He was very knowledgeable and professional and understanding. He gave great feedback and answered every question that I had. Overall the Introduction course was a great stepping stone in to getting into the UI/UX career field.

I came out of the Foundations course by DesignLab with new skills in Figma, which was the most important thing you come out of it with. The curriculum left a little to be desired. It was very repetitive and we were often copying existing websites and replicating them in Figma with little direction as to what we should be noticing about the design. 

I had a wonderful time during this foundational course. I think it is perfect for someone who is self-paced and is currently working a full-time job. The articles were interesting to read and most importantly, the projects were set up in a way where I was able to learn the software of my choice (Figma). However, I do think the articles aren't super accurately timed. This is my own preference but I think it would be beneficial if there were more 10-minute articles rather than anything over 20 minutes. It's easier to digest when an article is bite-sized.  Also, I was thinking including a sample project during a project brief might be useful. I didn't know how much creative range I had from just the project brief.Overall, I really like how the curriculum was set up, and the course made me more confident in wanting to apply to the UX Academy.

I found the program really good for people with no design background. - The curriculum contained all the topics necessary to understand design. It definitely gives you the tools and skills to start the UX journey- The website also helped in understanding the status of the submissions and my progress on the course- The opportunity to be part of the UX Designlab Discord community was also helpful and it is very active.- The mentor sessions help a lot in understanding what to improve and any tips towards your goal.- There was indeed a lot of information provided; however, it would be nice to have video lessons as well.

I highly reccomend this course to any interested in going into UX/UII have zero experience in design and it helped me so much! I hope to continue on to the UX academy! My mentor was also really really helpful! 

Going with Designlab was a great choice I made. I like how the course was structured. I focused on a unit a week. You can also find videos easily if you are stuck on something. Plus the Discord group is helpful too. My main reason I choose Designlab was the mentors they provide you with. The mentor I had was helpful and if I needed extra help with something she would recommend some extra resources to help like videos. I am a visual learner so this would help me a lot. Overall I feel like I learned a lot I am new to this field I feel comfortable using design programs and tools in figma. So I actually feel very accomplished after taking foundations.   

Pros: - The content and assignments were clearly layed out- A ton of resources for outside learning - A 1v1 mentor that wants to help you succeed Cons- Minimal video content - Only one mentor (only one perspective)- Mostly focused on UI 

The learning curve was difficult for me as I had never used Figma before. Gratefully, I had a great mentor named Yunji Kim who was kind but still gave useful and much needed feedback. I'm enrolling in UX Academy next. I definitely feel a lot more comfortable using Figma now. 

I took the UX Academy Foundations course in order to apply for the actual bootcamp, as I didn't have any previous design or UI experience at all. Foundations was well-paced, easy to understand, but also challenging enough to keep me occupied and engaged over the course of the 8 weeks. I enjoyed the projects I completed and always got great, timely feedback from my mentor. I now feel like I have enough foundational knowledge to launch into the bootcamp and continue my education into UX.

I'm happy that my investment into the Designlab Foundations course exceeded my expectations. The one-on-one mentoring is extremely valuable to elevating your designs to a place that would not be possible otherwise. The course really nicely balances providing learning materials, projects, and mentoring sessions. You also gain access to an incredible community of other students/mentors in Discord to collaborate with. I have a ton of confidence going into UX Academy and ultimately making this career change in general!  

I was pretty afraid that UI and UX design is something macro, but it turned out to be the same as normal design, but in a more practical and exciting way. The course, in general, is quite easy to understand and follow. My mentor is supportive in helping me deal with many complicated theories and tools.I actually wish to learn more about UI (especially on Figma) as somehow 2 months is not enough for me to practice.In general, I really enjoyed the course and hope that I can arrange my schedule better to continue to join the Academy!

Designlab's UX Foundations course is rigorous and intense, requiring the students their utmost time and energy to have them learn the foundations of UX Design, specifically UI and Visual Design. Being relatively cost effective compared to other bootcamps, Designlab helps alleviate financial burdens on students.

PROS:
The platform is extremely intuitive to use and the curriculum provides a wide breadth of knowledge for students. For a deeper understanding, links to outside articles are also provided which I appreciated but they definitely were not required to be successful in this course. Going into Foundations, I had zero design experience but the lessons were easily digestible and I loved that this course broke down concepts into simple and precise information chunks. There was also a multitude of projects that you submit online for feedback that really tested the skills we learned in each unit and made me much more confident in my usage of the software Figma.
Before Foundations started, students take a pre-course survey and get matched to a mentor. In addition to being one of the more affordable choices for UX/UI boot camps, I chose Designlab because of this access to expertise from working professionals in this field. The knowledge from my mentor was invaluable and they really boosted my UI design skills throughout the course.
Another aspect that I loved about Foundations was access to a server on Discord with multiple channels where you could ask experienced designers or your peers about your work. The ability to try asking for help at any time was a huge plus. Also, there's a whole unit dedicated to learning how to give/receive critiques - Foundations even allows students a chance to attend what's called a "group crit" where the students get experience critiquing each other's designs; no doubt an invaluable skill in this field.

CONS:

The whole curriculum, while very extensive and provides a lot of knowledge, is reading compiled articles on the Designlab platform and doing projects. One thing that would've been nice would have been dedicated lecturers who could teach lessons on certain topics in real-time and answer questions from students who attended.
Another issue that arose for me was some incompatibility with my mentor. A good/bad mentor can make or break your experience in this course. My mentor, while knowledgeable and had a good design background, didn't provide sufficiently good feedback by my standards. I wish they would've been more responsive to my submissions (at times, they didn't comment at all on a project and just approved it) and sometimes I felt they were abrasive with their feedback. Also, during our mentor meetings, sometimes they just weren't helpful and refused to answer some of the questions I had. You can reach out to Designlab's director(s) to try changing mentors but I was met with resistance because they always encourage students to try everything they can to make it work. Eventually, I figured I was learning the content just fine and because I was only going to have them as a mentor for the duration of Foundations, I just went with my original mentor. However, I did feel like my experience was diminished a decent amount. 

Overall, the curriculum was very thorough and accommodating toward students with zero design experience. The course provided me with ample chances to test my design skills throughout each lesson. Even though I felt that my mentor wasn't the best, the access to mentoring in general and being able to ask people on Discord for help was a huge plus. I highly recommend this course to anyone looking to get their start in UX/UI! For me, Designlab's Foundations course was an excellent course in teaching me the fundamentals of UI and now I feel very prepared for what comes next in this career path.EXTRA BONUS: Foundations costs $500 but if you decide to go forward with Designlab's UX Academy course, the $500 is put towards that tuition so you can essentially get your money back! 

I learned a lot and had a great time going through the assignments . Overall it was interesting to use figma in some of the tutorials as it was good balance of technical info and textbook practice. My favorite part was the mentorship and I looked forward to the feedback given.

I truly enjoyed my experience with DesignLab's UX Online Foundations Course. I had a background in Industrial Design so some topics came easy to me but I feel like I learned more in 8 weeks than I did in a semester at school. I also love that I'll continue to have access to the resources they supplied me with long after completing it. I'm excited to continue on to the academy!

ProsContent is relatively well structured, and really helpful for getting started in design.Mentorship program is great.Discord server has many channels and features for getting connected with the community.Tuition for Foundations is credited toward the UX Academy program.ConsVideo tutorials are outdated and not the best.Some content could be explained thoroughly or timed better.

I enjoyed UX Foundations and the self-paced track of the program. As someone who didn't have any design experience and going through a career transition to UI/UX, this program was straightforward and easy to follow. The projects were fun and my mentor challenged me while including thorough industry tips and answered all my questions in our sessions. Seeing my progress from the first project to the last project was so satisfying! My only feedback is the suggested time limits can feel stressful, I hope they can include more practice projects or a more detailed tips sheet. My tip for those going into UX Foundations is to focus on your own learning process getting comfortable using Figma/Sketch, but also track your time to see how long you work on your projects. Overall, great program and really proud of my progress throughout each unit and project!

Designlab’s UX Academy Foundations course was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with school. I’ve always been a big advocate for trade school and hands on learning. I feel like it not only gives you a better idea of the field that you’re getting into but also allows you to learn so much faster. Foundations perfectly balanced the instruction given and the hands on project work you complete to give you a great experience. I did a lot of research on other UX design bootcamps before deciding on Designlab. What stood out to me the most was the fact that the Foundations course existed. It was the perfect opportunity to get your feet wet, build your design skills, and most of all, see if UX/UI design is even something you’d want to pursue further! I’m already planning to apply for UX Academy because I loved everything I learned in Foundations so much and want to pursue a career full time in UX design! I wish I had known about this course sooner because I wouldn’t have wasted the money and time I did spend in college before deciding it wasn’t what I wanted.