2. UX Academy (Part-time)

I had a great experience at DesignLab, the breakdown of the lectures followed by the projects followed by putting together a portfolio was the perfect flow. GroupCrits and Mentors were also an additional bonus to the course, learning how to give and receive feedback as well as having a mentor to guide you through the course work and projects helped me understand that I was on the right track. I really enjoyed this course and I recently found a position as a UX UI designer.

I decided to switch careers to UX Design after multiples years in customer experience and international sales. I choose Designlab mostly for its community and curriculum. The group crits feature was one the most appealing to me, being able to study on my own but still share about my work and help others every week. The community is really great and I was able to discuss often with my peers. I always had plenty of students helping me out with my design choices or research. Designlab community was really a great experience for the overall study process ! At the end, I could easily find a UX Designer job after few months of active search.

UX Academy is a great course, especially for beginners! I first joined the Foundations course in January of 2021, and month after that I enrolled in UX Academy. I learned so much about UX Design, from design systems to creating great case studies. Before UX Academy, I had no prior design experience. The only thing I had was 5+ years of sales experience. After I graduated from UX Academy, I was grateful to be able to find a job 2 months later! I would 100% recommend UX Academy to anyone that wants to make a career change a like once did.

UX Academy made possible for me to boost my UX/UI skills up to today standards. This allowed me to promote in my company to Product Designer, which I am very happy to share.I highly recommend the bootcamp, it's worth the money for the quality of the material, organization and the mentor I had the luck to work with. After graduation there's Career Services, where a seasoned couch helps you through the daunting task of job search.There could be less reading material, but that's a minor downside. You'll learn a bunch with this bootcamp.All in all, I can only recommend it!

I'll write this review based on my own questions researching UX design bootcamps as I was comparing several. Before enrolling in Foundations, I reached out to UXA grads to get their unfiltered thoughts—and their experiences were largely very positive (as was my own!), which led me to decide on Designlab. Here are the topics I asked them about:

Caliber of mentors with strong UX backgrounds. My experience: For the most part, Designlab mentors are very experienced in the field, however it's up to you to get the kind of the mentorship you're looking for and expect. One of my UXA mentors fell way below my expectations in terms of experience and mentoring, and in hindsight I should have requested a change earlier than I did. The three other mentors I had in UXA, Foundations, and Career Services were above and beyond and everything I needed and wanted in a mentor. 

A thorough-enough curriculum to be competitive in the job search. My experience: Since I was starting from pretty much zero UX design knowledge, the curriculum felt as comprehensive as it needs to be for a relatively short period of learning. That said, I did take several months longer to graduate because I wanted to be sure I was actually grasping and retaining the concepts, as well as build a portfolio that wasn't cookie-cutter and showcases real-world experience, a thoughtful process, and a true understanding of UX. 

Opportunities for "real-world" or industry experiences like design sprints with the cohort or an actual client—and if not, whether you felt like that would have been valuable. My experience: There are definitely plenty of opportunities to do so just from people sharing leads in Designlab's Slack channels, but this is not part of the curriculum and is not required. Personally, I 100% feel like having any real-world experience is immensely valuable and gives you a leg up (especially in interviewing), but again, it's up to you to get after the experience you want in your learning journey.

Knowing that any program's success is largely dependent on how much effort you put in, I'm curious if you felt like you left UX Academy with a solid, competitive portfolio? My experience: I truly feel like I came out of UXA with a very competitive portfolio (granted I personally had to relinquish the tuition reimbursement to do so, but this is just my experience), as it includes client work, team work, and a passion project in the space I am now working in as a product designer :). 

Here are my personal Pros and Cons for Designlab while I was comparing other bootcamps. Happy to say that after graduating from the course, these are still accurate! (One surprise is that the community aspect greatly exceeded my expectations! I have made lifelong friendships from meeting peers in Designlab, and I cherish this as one of the most special takeaways from my experience). Pros
+ Group critiques to practice articulating design decisions and giving and receiving feedback+ Portfolio prep and up to 4 portfolio projects (can suggest real-world projects for capstones)+ Job search prep with career coach+ Most affordable+ 1:1 mentorship+ Can switch from full-time to part-time and vice-versa+ Allow two 1-week pauses (plus 1 week break for t-giving and 2 week break for christmas)+ Close-knit community Cons- Varying mentor experience- No real-world project experience 
TLDR: You might have to take some initiative to get the most out of your experience (i.e. no one will force you to do a real-world project or work with a real client), but if you do, Designlab is a great and fun environment to learn, get mentorship, and build relationships in the design community. I would recommend it for beginners and career changers!

I started my UX journey trying to watch tutorials and learn independently but quickly realized that wasn't effective for me. I spent a lot of time researching UX Bootcamp's and finally settled on Designlab due to positive reviews and tuition costs. I enrolled in foundations, figuring if I didn't love it, I wouldn't enroll in the academy. I've now graduated from the UX Academy and gained full-time employment (which is really the ultimate goal) and can confidently say Designlab is overall an incredible UX Bootcamp and worth considering.

Because I didn't have any background in UX/UI design, I took the Foundations course before applying to UX Academy. I really enjoyed the Foundations course and I also had an great mentor who taught me a lot. UX Academy itself is intense but I've learned so much and have landed a UX Design job quickly after graduating. The hard work pays off! I did thorough research before choosing Designlab by comparing programs online but also by asking people in the field which programs they recommend. The main benefits of Designlab are: the 1-on-1 mentorship, the weekly design critique sessions, a lot of room to choose/create your own capstone projects to build a portfolio that stands out and 6 months of Career Services after graduating. The reason I'm not giving an overall 5-star rating is because the mentor pairing can be hit or miss (it's very personal!) and the process to change mentors wasn't always that smooth for me. 

Designlab is an excellent starting off point to launch a career in UX design! Starting with no experience in UX, I was amazed at how much knowledge I gained, including three detailed portfolio pieces. Throughout my time, the designlab staff has been very understanding, supportive, and accomodating. In addition, you get access to the slack channel even after graduation. It's a great location to find resources and connect with other designers.

On the downside, it's a self-taught course. It's necessary to have the motivation and dedication to get through the entirety of the course.  However, the weekly group crit is a great way to meet other students and connect with excellent facilitators! The course does not go in-depth in some areas of UX. For this, I recommend supplementary courses like google UX. When it comes to mentors, they are a hit or miss. They are generally all great UX designers but not necessarily great mentors. I recommend reaching outside of designlab and connecting with other UX designers or UX mentors on platforms like adplist. Career service is what you make of it and will not guarantee you a job. So again, it's essential to connect with people outside of designlab for advice and networking. 

Overall, designlab was a great starting off point. It will prepare you for your first UX design role, and  I recommend the academy to anyone interested in starting a career in UX design. 

I chose designlab's UX Academy because not only was it modestly priced, but the allure of being able to learn and work through real life scenarios through the problem with a mentor with a wealth of knowledge in the industry was something I couldn't pass up. I met some amazing students during my time and some even more amazing mentors! The core curriculum was vast and there was a lot to learn, and being able to gain insight from mentors while doing it was a great experience. Career services (once you complete UXA) is largely an effort you take on as a job seeker yourself, they give you supplemental materials to work through during the job search but its all about your effort. I think like most bootcamps, you get what you put into it, its all about your effort, and if you put in the effort, then designlab and everyone involved will match that effort with you.I would largely say that my time in DL was fantastic and the skills I learned not only from the curriculum and from my mentors were major factors in me landing a position in the design world within six months.

Designlab’s UX Academy was an overall positive experience.  Since finishing the program, I’ve recommended the course to several people who found themselves in the position I was in prior to beginning the course- stuck in a job they hate, barely keeping above water financially, and looking for a new direction.  The course prepares you for a career- as long as you are willing to put in the work.  It is more rigorous than I anticipated, but Designlab is very supportive and willing to help as needed

Designlab was a fantastic experience as I pivoted into UX and product design. The content itself was good-not-great (most of it you can learn on your own) BUT I had absolutely amazing mentors, that both inspired and pushed me to grow to where I am now. In my experience, Designlab was absolutely worth it, but I do want to list some of my personal caveats and tips:
Make sure you really want to pursue UX/UI/Product Design beforehand. 

 Do some research and networking and talk to some current designers. First of all, they'll probably LOVE talking to you and second, they'll be super valuable later for networking purposes.
Dive into some of the introductory stuff: (Whether its books like The Design of Everyday Things or Just Enough Research, podcasts, or articles)

A Bootcamp is NOT like a college degree.
My experience with traditional degrees was that getting into the college or program was an accomplishment. Then, the content you learn is absolutely helpful, but graduating is a key factor. Your degree has worth and value.
For this Bootcamp, in my opinion, the certification (finishing) isn't really worth much. It's not a school as much as it is a tool. Therefore, it's not about just putting in the time to slink by and graduate, it's really about making sure you are learning, growing, and connecting every step of the way so that you can apply that knowledge during and afterward.

For me, that meant making sure I understood each assignment, spending a lot of time on the assignment to do it well (usually above the recommended amount), and several iterations based on my mentor's comments.

The Mentor Relationship is EVERYTHING.
Basically, the program is a bunch of articles, exercises, and deadlines that you can easily find, replicate, and do on your own (that's not a slight on the material, you can get the syllabi for almost any college course). The value comes from your weekly one-on-one mentor meetings. Prep for these.
It's your mentor's role to both 1. Encourage you and 2. Push you to grow 
Therefore: If you don't think your mentor is doing a good job at both of these, switch! ASAP! It might be awkward, but that self-advocacy is huge! My mentors were FANTASTIC at both #1 and #2  and it made my experience so incredibly helpful. Please make sure you do what you can do have a similar experience.
One last quick bit: Find a group crit facilitator that you really like, and lean on their wisdom as well. 

Understand the Curriculum and How To Approach It 
The First Phase is going through the design thinking process with a single project: slowly learning aspects of the process, applying them, iterating, etc. This is the big educational portion.
The Second Phase is three capstone projects. Each has some loose guidelines but treat this as the beginning of your freelance career. The more you can do real work (work with real clients, real developers, real products) the easier it will be to share in future job interviews and the more appealing you will look to potential employers. 

Finding a Job is a Process
During Phase 2, take time to understand aspects of the job search process with your mentor. 
You'll have to understand and craft a narrative around: Why did you switch to UX Design? What aspects of your background will make you a unique asset to your future company?
Networking is so, so important.
Learn about the Portfolio Review Interview process, and how you can be tailoring your capstone projects into a slide deck. 

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Overall Designlab is a great program that will get you hired. There is definitely some room for improvement on the education material- some things are a bit outdated,  however their mentorship program is what is truly brilliant about the program.  I worked with Minnie Kim and I cannot recommend a better mentor. I actually was hired as a UX designer after phase one of the academy because of her guidance and ability to prep me for the real world. She really prepared me for the interview process and how the industry is different from the educational world of UX. I actually got hired on my first UX job interview....I started interviewing early to gain experience and was offered a job! The coolest thing is that Minnie is also a grad of Designlab so she was the perfect person to help me navigate through the program. 

On the last day of my UX academy, my mentor let me how difficult it would be for me to get a job and that I was very junior. Considering the mentor is supposed to elevate your skillset this lets you know everything you need to know about the course. This program does not prepare you to be industry-ready and land a job after taking the course. If you go into this program with that expectation you will be disappointed.  This program is only the tip of the iceberg needed if you are making a complete career change. I highly recommend spending the money elsewhere and getting a more formal and thorough education. 

I took Designlab's UX Academy and really enjoyed every part of it. The course not only taught me essential design principles, but also helped me create 4 case studies to showcase my work. My mentor was very knowledgeable in the field and I am so grateful for his advice -- from honing pixel perfection to overarching design thinking. Also Career Services really helped gave me insightful tips on my job search! Totally recommend this course 100%!

I decided to take UX Foundations first to see if I actually liked UX design (coming from a background in project management). After taking the short 8 week course, I fell in-love with UX and took the plunge to enroll in UX Academy. The course was very thorough and all of the staff and students were extremely helpful. I learned so much about UX and how it’s all around us. I was able to design 4 responsive projects which were super helpful. I’m order to get an interview or a job, it is typical to have at least 3-4 projects in your portfolio. The only not so great thing I can say about DesignLab is that the part-time course, really isn’t part time. It required me to put in an additional 10+ hours a week, while I was working full time. I also wished that at least 2 of the projects were team based and collaborative. It would have made the course much more enjoyable and I’d also be able to discuss how I worked in a team while in an interview. Instead, you’re working on your projects solo dolo. Other than that, I would honesty recommend to take the course. It is so we worth it if you desire a career in UX.

I took the Design 101 course and followed it with the full UX Academy course (from Dec. 2019 to Aug. 2020).I can say from personal experience, that the overall experience was great. The coursework, group critiques, mentor sessions and many more really helped me become a better designer. I enrolled in the UX Academy as a part time student because I really wanted to take my time to understand and practice the things I've learned. But if you have more time and really want to get through the courses quicker, full time is definitely do-able as well. I would say the most important part of the entire course was finding the right mentor for you, because if you can communicate and connect with your mentor well, it will totally help you improve as a designer. Definitely recommend DesignLab's courses to anyone looking to transition to this field.

I was a student in DesignLab for a total of 3 months before I decided to withdraw. There were technical issues with Airtable (program they used to schedule group crits), unreliable mentors (mine would show up late or not at all and rescheduled multiple times), and TONS of materials I could get for free elsewhere (lots of the reading linked to external blogs). NOT worth the $7k they charge.

After years of Umm-ing and Ahhh-ing, I finally decided to make the jump from engineering to UX design. My aim was to completely change careers. I looked at so many different Bootcamp styled courses, Career Foundry, General Assembly, Thinkful, DesignLab, Flatirons, etc., and decided on DL because to me there was no other course out there that was offering what DL was for the same value. I'm so glad I chose DL.The UXA course was awesome, so in-depth and the first phase really prepares you for the second phase and building capstones and your portfolio. (also, a course that delivers you to the job market with 4 full capstone projects is something not many other courses can offer). I had a great experience with my mentor and support system. and never lacked support. The inclusion of group crit sessions was also a great help during the course but also during the job search phase, having that experience of collaboration with fellow designers is huge! I took the course part-time and completed it on time. Some students do struggle but this doesn't become an issue unless you're solely interested in the job guarantee. Which while is nice to have, is not the sole purpose for me doing the course, and is kind of hard to stick to anyway - also for me it was a sign that designlab is going to get you a job! They also have pauses which you can take if you get behind.I completed my course and portfolio review in March but started my job hunt 3 months prior. I landed my first UX job in March and I am 100% convinced I couldn't have done it without DesignLab. I think the average hire time is something like 3-4 months, so if you're not in a rush this is even less than an issue. The mentors you have access to were incredible too. My mentor for the course phase was amazing. Supportive and instructive, with over a decade of experience. My careers service mentor was great too, even though we only had one session, the knowledge experience and contacts they can bring and give you aren't measurable, and you'll be hard-pressed to find them anywhere else.I can't recommend DL enough. If you're think of a career in UX - Choose DesignLab.  

Group crits and mentorship are the winning traits of UX Academy. The curriculum is well structured and they’re continuously updating information based on student feedback. You could find this information through online resources or books, but it’s nice to have assignments where you can apply that knowledge and have a professional (your mentor) guide you through any confusion or misunderstandings. The group crits are such a home run on DesignLab’s part. You get a chance to learn how to present your work, justify your design decisions and thinking, and give/accept critique. They’re very informal and quite welcoming- the moderator is there to promote conversation but I found that it happens organically most of the time. Loved my time at UXA and highly recommend it!