What Will You Learn This Fall?

📰 3 THINGS TO CHECK OUT

Designlab's Back-to-School Sale

• Earlier this week, we announced our Back-to-School Sale, which runs through September 9.
• In addition to offering $150 off all 4-6 week courses, we're also offering even bigger savings on our longer certification programs, including Advanced Design Craft ($250 off) and the AI Product Design Certification ($500 off).
• Those transitioning into UX or product design careers can save 25%, which adds up to more than $2,000, on the full UX Academy path — matching our largest-ever offer for new designers. Book a call with Admissions to learn more and claim the discount.

What Does the Future of Software Look Like?

• Everyone's speculating about how AI will reshape software interaction. Figma put the question directly to its design community and collected nine distinct responses that reflect how we relate to technology and connect to each other.
• Most contributors imagine interfaces getting quieter and more invisible, but Tech Anthropologist and Co-Founder Jésabel DC argues for reintroducing the friction we've spent two decades designing away, like situational cues (think transition sounds).
• "We have to actively design experiences that counterbalance the rest of our users' tech stack — otherwise, we risk losing users not because our product is bad, but because their nervous systems are already maxed out before they arrive."

When Design Stops Looking like Design

• We've heard the case that design is more than visuals. System Designer Nandina Mehta traces her own path from poster design to systems work and points out something she's noticed: that the more strategic design gets, the less it looks like design.
• That leads her to question portfolios themselves and argue for work that shows more range. If strategic work is really about facilitation, ambiguity, and what changed because you were there, a folder of pretty screens can't prove it.
• "Show me what you notice. Show me what you question. Show me how you navigate ambiguity. Show me how you work with people who disagree with you. Show me how you make complexity understandable. Show me what changed because you were there."

💜 PORTFOLIO SPOTLIGHT

UX Academy graduate Julia Spyra earned a Fine Art degree before moving into UX, and one habit stuck with her: she still starts everything with sketches, a process that lets her explore ideas without getting caught up in the details too soon. Her thoughtfulnessshows in LinguaLink, her platform connecting immigrants with language mentors. Rather than tackling loneliness, language barriers, and cultural adjustment all at once, she narrowed to one problem worth solving well, then let two rounds of usability testing reshape it. For LEEP Audio, a Toronto music-tech startup, she turned a team's existing research into a color system that communicates competition status at a glance — a telling example of her ability to do real product work.

💡 INTERESTING STUFF...

• Gestalt Principles for Visual UI Design
• “How do I carry on creating when the world is in crisis?"
• Designing Product Simplicity for the AI Era
• Demystifying UX ROI

Design almost never benefits from straight lines. Some ideas only show up when you take the long way around. — José Torre, product designer, founding designer at SimpleStudy

🧪 FROM THE LAB

Cohorts Launching Soon

Several of our top courses are launching in less than a week, on September 10. There's still time to save your seat — and at a discounted price with our Back-to-School sale (ending September 9).

AI for UX Design

Integrate AI across the full design workflow, from research and ideation to prototyping and testing — and learn where your judgment still matters.

Advanced Figma

Master the nuances of Figma, including auto layout and component libraries — and build the systems thinking that'll position you as a go-to expert on your team.

Vibe Coding Camp

Ship real, functional software using today's leading AI tools: Claude Code, Supabase, Vercel, and more.

Advanced Design Craft (Save $250)

An 8-week studio-style program built to sharpen the judgment and precision that'll make you an indispensible part of your team.