The Designlab team is at it again! We’ve been working behind the scenes since the start of the year to bring you some amazing new features that we can't wait for you to try.
In this post, we'll be highlighting some of the key updates that we believe will have a positive impact on your experience, whichever program you choose to interact with. So, sit back, relax, and get excited for what’s in store!
Program: UX Academy Foundations
In this 4-8 week program, students learn foundational visual and UI design skills through hands-on projects and 1:1 mentorship with an experienced designer.
Figma updates
Figma has become one of the key interface design tools for UX/UI designers. Learning how to use Figma efficiently will not only help you to create your designs in less time, but also helps you to create higher quality work.
UX Academy Foundations students now have access to a brand new series of Figma tutorials that walk them through both basic and advanced interface design techniques (like auto layout!).
Here’s just one example:
Expect more updated content to help you master Figma essentials and turn your ideas into reality more quickly.
Program: UX Academy
UX Academy is a fully online bootcamp that helps you master the skills—and build the portfolio—you need to land your first role in UX/UI design. It’s an intensive experience that requires commitment and perseverance…and we’ve been focused on implementing some improvements to help students maintain their momentum throughout the program.
Phase 1 updates
We’ve made some big changes to Phase 1 of UX Academy, including rewriting some of our key project briefs and updating the corresponding templates that are the starting point of course projects.
We’ve also adjusted the overall sequencing to help students move through Phase 1 of the program at a better pace. This includes giving students more of a heads up before needing to line up user research interviews — something we heard was a common challenge for students to plan around.
Better progress tracking for Designlab students
We’ve released new features to help our mentors and students better stay on track and manage their time during our programs.
Each mentor is committed to helping students achieve their goals and stay on track throughout the program. Our new built-in progress tracking brings a host of new capabilities to the platform, helping mentors better support their students in their learning journey.
Mentors can now see a range of stats on their students, including:
⭐️ Current week and phase
⭐️ Estimated course completion date
⭐️ Percentages of each module/units completed
⭐️ Assignment due dates
⭐️ Live student progress, including total expected hours vs. total hours completed
We hope that these improved progress tracking features (coming soon to the student side of the platform) will help our community better manage their course experience, and help you progress at a steady pace!
Career Services
As the job industry continues to evolve, we've started offering a series of new workshops and peer support that are designed to address specific, relevant topics that our Career Services—a part of UX Academy—students are currently facing in their job search.
Brand New Advanced Programs
We’re excited to launch our new advanced program, Data-Driven Design, coming in June. This is the first in a series of offerings helping designers level up as they progress in their careers, and we’ve crafted it with the help of experienced industry experts on our advisory board. Designlab alumni and mentors got early access to these new programs.
We're always looking for ways to utilize our community insights to improve our programs, and these changes are just one example of how we're committed to giving you the best possible experience. We appreciate your continued support and can't wait to share even more updates in the future. Thanks for reading!
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