We recently sat down with Designlab mentor Helena Bukovac, who brings over a decade of experience and a deep commitment to supporting the next generation of UX professionals. Throughout her career, Helena has put curiosity about users, problem-solving, and a love of learning at the forefront of her work. Today, she channels that experience into mentoring career changers and designers through both UX Academy as well as several advanced courses at Designlab, blending practical insight with empathy and encouragement.
Translating Industry Experience into Mentorship
With over a decade of UX experience, Helena Bukovac has built her career across small firms, her own design consultancy, and higher education. Today, she brings that breadth of real-world practice to her role as a Designlab mentor, supporting aspiring designers as they enter and grow within the field.
Helena’s work as a consultant—helping early-stage startups shape their business and product strategies—deeply informs her approach to mentorship. She sees real-world experience as essential to effective teaching: “How can I mentor if I don’t have real-world experience? It’s very important to have current knowledge and to prepare students for what’s happening, and what might happen next.”
Bridging Experience and Empathy Through Mentorship
Her own journey into the field also fuels her desire to give back. She remembers what it was like to navigate design without much formal guidance and wants to offer students the support she didn’t have. Many of her mentees are career changers, and she places a strong emphasis on showing them how their existing skills can translate into design.
Of working with her, one of her students shared: “Helena has been fantastic with helping me grow as I continue my journey in the UX/UI foundations program and supports me as I overcome my insecurity over my design choices by breaking them down and going over what could be improved and what looks great.”
Shaping Curriculum and Community
Part of the experience Helena brings to the table is within our own courses: Helena has helped shape Designlab’s curriculum, most notably through her contributions to the Prototyping in Figma course. In addition to UX Academy, she mentors for several advanced courses, where she sees students make significant leaps in their skills.
“It was fun to work with the team and figure out how the course will feel for students, and try to create a cohesive learning experience”, Helena said of developing the program.
Why Mentorship Matters
For Helena, mentorship is about far more than teaching design skills—it’s about building trust, adaptability, and confidence. She takes time to understand each student’s learning style and goals, adjusting her approach to meet them where they are.
This is evident in how her students feel about her, with one sharing, “Helena is an absolutely amazing mentor, person, and designer. I really enjoyed her feedback—it was always constructive, helpful, and very insightful. Not everyone who is a great designer is also a great mentor, but she is both. I can’t express how thankful I am to have had her as my mentor!”
By the end of UX Academy, Helena often sees students’ confidence soar as they reflect on their early work and realize how far they’ve come.
The Power of Getting Started
For those considering a career shift into UX, Helena’s advice is simple: just start. Of this, Helena shares: “Design is great. Everybody who thinks that they want to transfer into the career, I would suggest at least trying UX Academy Foundations. You get to talk to someone who is a mentor about the career and decide if it’s for you. The people who mentor really care about the job and want to share their knowledge.”
She believes pairing mentorship with structured learning is one of the most effective ways to navigate a career change. A mentor can offer perspective, structure, and encouragement—pointing students toward possibilities they might not have seen on their own.
Through her work, she’s helping shape the next generation of designers: confident, adaptable, and ready to keep learning.
Ready to start your UX journey? Learn how about how UX Academy can support your success.
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