UX/UI Design Foundations

I started my course at Avocademy on December 9th, 2021. Since I had the time to dedicate myself to the program full time, I wanted a BootCamp that could be up to my pace. I enjoyed the materials and the assignments are very helpful to understand the concepts of UX design. Throughout the program, UX design mentors have to approve your work. This is a great educational tool as they will comment and give feedback to improve the work you are submitting. Mentors take their time to review everyone's work and schedule calls to help with assignments if needed. By the end of the course, you have 1 case study and develop a portfolio that you can continue building on after the foundation's course or through their career jumpstart program.              Another thing that I liked and found very valuable was the speaker's series. This is a series where UX professionals in the field would do an online presentation about helpful materials, tips, and skills to know in the UX world. There are a lot of guest speakers and they happen about once a week or more. If students are not able to attend the live session, a recorded version is available for all students within days. I enjoyed it! Overall, I really enjoyed my time at Avocademy. The pacing, material, and assignments were great, and the mentorship and speakers series were priceless resources to learn and jump into the UX design field.     

I am going to be finishing my run in Foundations for Avocademy here in a couple of weeks. The course is split up into 6 modules that guide you through *lots* of reading, videos and other literature, which prepare you for Activities. Activities are based on what you've learned and have incredibly clear instructions. When you complete an Activity, you submit it to the community Slack channel where it is reviewed and approved by a Mentor. On the Slack channel you can also ask questions, talk to other students, and participate in others work. The work is always very manageable but it does get intense- I just finished module 4 and the Wireframing Activity was crazy intense for me and took about 10 hours. The allotted 6 weeks is enough time to get through the course, but I had to add 2 weeks (which you are able to do for free) because of poor time management and imposter syndrome. Overall, the course is set up to guide you through each step of the creation of an app or program you want to make. The entire time you are moving through the program they are constantly reminding you to reach out to Mentors for help when you need it, which is very encouraging. I have truly loved this program and can't wait to move into the Career Jumpstart portion, where I will get to work on real world projects with other students. 

This Bootcamp is affordable, fast-paced, and intuitive. Within 6 months I went from having zero job prospects to working three different jobs. While the course does a great job of teaching the fundamentals of UX/UI, what really helped me was the mentorship! My mentors helped boost my confidence in so many different ways and really helped me thrive during this time of personal growth. 

Regarding a career pivot, Avocademy was one of the best decisions I have ever made. When I first became interested in learning UX / UI design, I was quite unsure where to start. The field had different routes without without have a direct path to entry unlike other careers. I have spoken with a variety of bootcamps focusing on the field, but was intimidated by their high costs and other factors.When I learned about Avocademy, I was hesitant and decided to conduct more research. Upon my research and some prayer, I decided to pursue this path with the program’s guidance.The program itself was definitely interesting. Even though the duration is only 6-8 weeks, it was packed full of content to work through. I enjoyed every moment though. Each of the 6 modules was new and exciting to complete. The mentorship was one of kind. I always brag about how personable the mentors are and that they definitely help make a difference for the students. Maca, the founder, is awesome as well!She and the other mentors definitely care about the success of their students and I am happy to have met them. I love how kind, resourceful, and helpful everyone is; the mentors as well as my fellow classmates. The next phase is Career Jumpstart which will solely focus on building my portfolio and then begin the hunt for a job position. I am excited to continue forward with Avocademy and secure a UX / UI design role in the very near future. As I said prior, Avocademy was one of the best decisions I have ever made and the payoff will be just as rewarding.

Avocademy changed my life. This affordable, approachable curriculum introduced me to key UX/UI concepts and gave me the confidence I needed to pursue this career in earnest. Avocademy mentors are helpful and friendly, and the coursework is thorough without being overwhelming. I was able to complete the activities and projects at my own pace, and the mentors gave me great feedback to ensure my work was top-quality and portfolio-worthy. Avocademy is self-paced with almost unlimited mentor support. Students can schedule one-on-one mentoring sessions to review their work, ask questions, and build connections with others in the industry.  If you're someone who thrives in an independent learning environment with support from experts, this course is perfect for you! You'll also join a welcoming community of talented and curious UX designers all rooting for you to succeed. I would take this course again without hesitation, and I've already recommended it to friends and family. 

This course is jam packed with information. I am greatful to gave learned as much as I did iver the course of time. It is supposed to be a 6week course however if you have other responsibilities it will take forever to complete. Maca and her team are excellent and really help you achieve your goals for the capstone project. Just note to get hired, one project isn’t enough. You need at least 3 so keep that in mind. There is another program for a price to help you get that new position. 

I've tried a different, short foundational UX/UI bootcamp before coming into Avocademy. The main reason I chose Avocademy ultimately for the "real thing" after researching many other bootcamps in a year was the unlimited 1:1 mentorship, and the affordable cost. A lot of bootcamps don't offer the call with mentor, some only offer a limited number. I also like how approachable all the mentors are. Maca (the owner) has been super helpful with any and all questions and issues I had. They're all just one Slack DM away. The curriculum was great, I didn't think it was possible to do everything that was listed on the modules by one person (myself) when I started the course and had a quick glance at them, but it was! I wouldn't say they're easy, they were challenging, but in a good way that helped my push myself out of my comfort zone. Again, the mentors were always there along the way, I don't think I could have done it without them, and my fellow students as well. In a couple of weeks I'm going to begin my Career Jumpstart journey so I'm very excited for that!

Overall, this bootcamp was great especially the fact you pay a lot less than compared to other bootcamps. It is a lot of work but it's a great way to learn the essentials of UX if you're a beginner. There were some hiccups during the program such as timezone issues and mentors not being able to jump on calls as frequently as I had hoped but Maca and her team were very receptive to hearing feedback and making adjustments to their course and mentorships to be able to accommodate everyone and to make sure those issues never popped up again. I would say anyone who is already familiar with UX/UI but just wants a mentorship, this wouldn't be the program for you (other sources for that) but if you want to learn the foundations of UX research and design and don't know where to begin and don't have the time and money to shell out the cost of a college degree - this is worth it! They have a career jumpstart program too which I just signed up for and so far, it seems most alumni have been successful in finding jobs. I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to do a career change but not go into debt over it.  

I came across Avocademy through social media in September. However I had already been trying to learn UX/UI on my own, but I knew I was not going to keep up with it unless I had someone to guide me and provide feedback. Avocademy was a great opportunity. The course went through the foundations of UX and UI which led me to my capstone project. I am very proud of what I created. Along the way I received wonderful feedback from the mentors. All the resources were on the course and I knew I could reach out to the mentors at any time :) Great course, and I cannot wait to continue on my journey with UX and UI! 

The UX/UI design foundations course was very hands on, quick, and affordable. They provide you with resources, videos, zoom calls with mentors, and feedback while you complete assignments. I highly recommend this course if you are ready to commit your time and efforts to a UX/UI design course. I got exactly what I thought I would get signing up for their services and I am very happy I found this great deal (considerably cheaper than most other boot camps) on social media. Also, all of the mentors I spoke to were extremely knowledgeable, professional, and very kind. Thank you for not making me feel so bad about my amateur designs :D hehe.

I had been debating joining a bootcamp for 1+ years, but was always so deterred by cost. I tried doing it myself and wasn't able to stick to a structured schedule. Then I found Avocademy. The price was within my budget, but beyond that, the length is what drew me in. I wanted to transition as soon as possible as with Avocademy, they gave a 6-8 week estimate of course completion. After that, you can enter into their career jumpstart program in which they pair you with clients for real design work and prep you for applications. The cool part is that you don't have to join if you feel comfortable enough with completing your portfolio on your own! In the Foundations course, I LOVED the mentorship that came along with it. Their mentors were incredibly knowledgable (Shoutout to Jordan, Radia, Maca, Lorianna, and more!!!!). It helped me see my projects in a new perspective and I loved the feedback. Beyond the mentorship, I made some incredible friends along the way and I'm so excited to see where our design journeys take us. Overall, 10/10 would recommend!!

I had just started pondering the thought about joining a UX Bootcamp when Avocademy popped up on my for you page on TikTok. I was hesitant at first but after seeing student portfolios, reading reviews I was sold. I started Avocademy at the very end of August and I was done by October so it's safe to say the course really is about 8 weeks long. Through my journey in Avocademy I have learned way more than I would have imagined. It's crazy to think I learned Figma, and completed an end to end project in just that short time period. The mentors were super helpful along the way! There were definitely time I got super frustrated and didn't know what to do but thanks to them I was able push through. Avocademy has also created a great community, even after completing the course I've stayed in contact with other students. Overall I feel like I truly have a great foundation to build on and I am grateful for Maca and the rest of the Avocademy team for helping me get to the next chapter of my life

Get ready for a long and emotional review: TLDR, I could not have done it without Avocademy ( and Maca - She is nothing less than incredible). 
 A quick background on myself, because I know all new students want to know where and why you switched to UX:I am a trained architect, I went to school in Mississippi, I always knew I didn’t want to follow the traditional track of architecture, but I did it anyway and struggled with it as expected. I can talk about that struggle for years - just call me and I’ll tell you the whole saga. But, after the 5 years of schooling, 4.5 years of designing buildings, worrying about how people will get out of my building in the event of a fire, dealing with international code / the city of Austin, and difficult engineers, ( a similar narrative to your own I am sure) I decided it was time for me to find a different path. This was at the very beginning of the pandemic (March 2020) - and we all know how that was -So, I decided to teach myself. (The internet is infinite right?!)  I took SO  many courses ( paid for them too), watched an insane amount of youtube videos and the main thing I was missing was feedback and above all things - mentorship. Somehow, Avocademy came across my feed - whether it was Instagram or tiktok - they took a hold of my attention. I scheduled a call with Maca and the rest is history. I was got direct feedback from the mentors at Avocademy. They were able to let me know exactly where I was going wrong, where I needed to go to make it right, and once the program was finished, give me the confidence I needed to know I was fit to head out in the field, and create well thought out experiences for users. Even if you aren't a traditionally trained designer they are there to help you learn, grow, and gain the confidence you need to turn you into a real, bonified, UX/UI  designer. If you are thinking about joining Avocademy, have a good sense of what looks and feels good, you should know that you will be supported, listened to, and will be ready to head out as a real UX designer at a real job, and be making real money. You won’t regret it. 

Coming from the creative side and looking to make a transition, this course was essential for me to immerse myself in to get a better understanding. This is such a great skillset to have and I'm excited to apply it going forward.

I did the bootcamp followed by their career jumpstart program. They taught me the foundations of UX, kept in constant contact with mentors, filled my portfolio with real life clients, helped me write my resume, did mock interviews, guided me on job applications and helped me land a job making 2x what I was making in Education. They even helped me negotiate that job offer. I can't say enough good things about this program!

The Avocademy UX/UI Foundations course was so great. I'd been wanting to learn UX for a while and this was a perfect option for me.  The course work can all be done on your own time, but mentors are available via chat or scheduled video call and will review your work before you move on to the next module.  Every mentor was friendly, encouraging and helpful.  I came out of the class with a great portfolio project and landed a job a couple months later.  The course is advertised as 6-8 weeks, but it took me about 10 weeks to complete the whole thing - which is fine as you let them know what's going on.  

I'm glad I joined Avocademy. It is very affordable compared to other bootcamps out there. The UX/UI Foundations Course is so in-depth and made me feel like I truly understood UX/UI Design. Avocademy has an amazing mentorship system, and all the students in the community are so motivated and kind-hearted. The course is extremely flexible, and as someone with a full-time job, I was still able to fit it within my schedule and work at my own pace. There are also guest speakers who join us to talk about their experience in the UX/UI world. I recommend everyone trying to get into UX/UI to get into this bootcamp.

I found Avocademy in August and because it was so much cheaper than any other bootcamps out there I decided to try it. Even though the Foundation course lasts for only about 8 weeks, it was a great learning experience for me. I was already acquainted with the field of UX/UI design but I needed more details about the process itself and I got a lot of it. Advantages:- Self-pace studying. It is always a great thing when you have a job or other responsibilities. - Good mentorship. You have a different mentor during different  parts of your project but for me it was a good thing because it's always nice to hear different opinions. The mentors I had worked with were super helpful and fast responding. You can also tell that mentors are genuinely trying to help your project look better, I had lots and lots of comments on my high-fidelity prototype but that was great. There was only one small  hiccup with one of the mentors: she didn't see my message in the thread because there were lots of others and I had to wait a week for her respond x) So my advice to students: ALWAYS DM your mentor, it is easier for them to see how many messages they haven't got through yet.- Resources. The school has lots of different articles about every single step of a design process. Of course, you need to find extra time to study them but it is worth it. It helped me understand lots of things I had problems with. Also different articles provide you different insights into design process and you could get something that would work particularly for you. Of course, you can easily find articles on anything yourself but you never know who wrote them and because you don't have that much experience you might fall into the trap of a completely unprofessional 'writer' who has no idea what they are talking about. Having resources the school provides you are worth reading.- Mentor sessions. One more cool thing is that you can schedule a 30 min call with a mentor if you have any questions and you want to discuss them verbally, without any messages (there are times when it is really easier to just call and talk about your problem rather than send texts back and forth). - Webinars with professionals and graduated students. I might be wrong here, but for me it always seemed like every single week there would be at least one webinar with either a professional designer or a former student talking about their experience either at work or during their studies. You can listen to them, ask your questions and re-watch the session later because all the videos are always recorded and uploaded on the school's website. I remember al least one session of a graduated student who successfully found a job and her talk about how to get used to your new responsibilities, how to overcome imposter syndrome, etc. That was a great topic for me and the video was really helpful. Disadvantages: - Made-up project. For your project you would come up with some area you are interested in and you would come up with a problem in that area which your product will solve. For me it was a little bit hard to be 2 people in 1: being a client as well as being a designer. Felt a little bit like the main character in 'Split' movie xD- Only one project. After finishing the foundation course you have only one project done (and portfolio asks for at least 3). So you either look for projects yourself or enroll Avocademy's Career Jumpstart course. As for me, I chose the second variant and now I am a student of Career Jumpstart and I love it as well.All in all, my experience with this school has been amazing and if I had to choose which bootcamp to enroll again, I would definitely go with Avocademy.

The course is a decent value priced at $1500 and you can learn a lot, but not enough to score a good job unless you have previous design experience.Most of the "mentors" are people without experience who just graduated from Avocademy and are on a job hunt.The curriculum is 98% links from other FREE resources online + random Youtube videos.It is a better value than some other $10000+ bootcamps but if you google "ux/ui" you will find the same links that are in the Avocademy curriculum for FREE!There are plenty of free and paid mentorship platforms where at least you can learn from experienced UX designers and will cost you half the Avocademy price.From my experience, getting a job without the Career Jumpstart (7% of 1yr salary) is hard and if you calculate 7% of the average UX pay in the US and add the $1500, it cost the same as bootcamp with legit mentors and curriculum.Average Junior UX salary - $809287% of $80928 = 5664.96UX Course $1500 + Careeer Jumpstart $5664.96 = $7164 $7505 CareerFoundry with job guarantee$6749 Design Lab with job guaranteeDo your research before enrolling in any of the bootcamps. 

Originally, I was unsure how promising this Bootcamp would be. I questioned, "How could an affordable Bootcamp that provides 6-8 week training and assistance help me learn the fundamentals of UX Design in such a short time? Aren't there other Bootcamps that exist that teach the same thing?" I decided to join, hoping to gain mentorship and guidance with this uncertain feeling. After 8 weeks, I can finally say that I was wrong for doubting this Bootcamp. And I'm glad I was wrong. Note: My review is referring to the Foundation course. Not the Career Jumpstart course. Pros:
1) Activities - You have 6 modules to complete the foundation course. In these modules, you have articles to read before doing the activity. Your first activity is coming up with a topic that will be your first case study project. I like this process a lot because I get to see how well I understand each topic. Some activities may take longer than others, such as module 4 activities. However, the mentors want you to do well in these activities rather than rushing them for completion.2) Mentorship - The reviews all mentioned how amazing the mentors are, and they are not lying about this. I truly believe Avocademy shines the best is through its mentorship system. They give a lot of feedback because they can tell the potential of your work. They know that your work can be 10x better if you make these changes. They know what they are talking about. An example I can provide is when I went to a design workshop online. A UX Designer who used to work at Facebook was giving feedback on those who submitted their portfolios. These students who submitted their portfolios came from other well-known Bootcamps and self-taught. Through these portfolios, she noticed how a lot of them do not put their final UI designs on the top of the screen. Now, if you look at the student's portfolios on the Avocademy website, you will find that all of their portfolios show the final UI designs at the start of the page. It is up to you how you would interpret this information, but when I found out about this, my trust towards Avocademy grew. 3) Students - Everyone in the Bootcamp is so kindhearted! You can connect and get to know each other better. Avocademy recently made a LinkedIn group where you can see other students who are enrolled in the Bootcamp. Nobody judges you for your gender, ethnicity, religion, etc. You will feel part of the UX design community the moment you enroll in this Bootcamp. Cons:1) There is none. You won't waste your money when you join this Bootcamp. You will feel you learned so much within these 6-8 weeks. Keep in mind, you need to put in the effort. You cannot expect to get a lot of help while not putting as much effort into your case study. Because the amount of effort you put into the work is the amount of feedback you will receive from the mentors. While the Foundation course does not focus on job assistance, I can confidently say I have met Avocademy graduates who have done both the Foundation course and the Career Jumpstart course. Within a few months of applying, they are getting a lot of interviews and job offers. Avocademy knows the current job market and will change its focus as the job market change. They update each module based on the issues they are noticing from students to improve the student's experience. They give honest expectations on how long you will get the job and how much work you need to put instead of giving false promises like other Bootcamps. As long as you put in the hard work, have faith in knowing they already notice your efforts. They will help guide you on the right path to success.