We empower creators to do the work they love.
Harish Venkatesan, one of our co-founders, came up with the idea for the company in 2012 while reading Creative Workshop, a book of design exercises. It became clear that a continuous cycle of feedback and iteration is essential for anyone aspiring to improve their design skills. Over the past five years, we’ve brought that idea to life by crafting our vision of an ideal online learning platform. Every Designlab student is paired with an expert designer as their mentor, completes several hands-on projects, and receives ongoing design feedback and peer support from our student community.
With today’s design tools, creators can build products and services with the potential to enrich the lives of billions of people worldwide. New products are launched every day, so good design is crucial to staying relevant in a competitive market. Today, more than ever before, you can cheaply experiment and reinvent your skills until you find what you truly love. After all, you spend 60% of your waking hours at work, so itβs only right that you enjoy it.
In this environment, we believe these traits are more important than ever: Creativity. Lifelong learning. Passion for your work.
These have no place: Crippling student debt. Unfulfilling jobs. Unsatisfying careers that we choose by default.
We’re combining the power of the internet with the magic of 1-on-1 mentoring to create an invaluable educational experience that is affordable and accessible worldwide. Our goal is to guide you to find the creative work you love, and to help you become a master of your craft. Join us!
We’re a distributed team of creators & doers located across the globe.
Harish Venkatesan
Founder/CEO
Built product at Venmo & Grubwithus; graduated from UPenn
Things I like:π π π·
Daniel Shapiro
Founder/CTO
Previously full-stack developer at YCharts; graduated from Duke
Things I like:π₯ β· π―
Patrick Multani
Design & Mentorship
Studied Concept Design; worked at Less & Better to listen and understand
Things I like:π π π
Edgar Salazar
Software Development
Builds products for nonprofits and startups; graduated from MIT & University of Manchester
Things I like:π πΈ π΅
Renee Tracy
Product
Studied Psych at University of Alaska; brings perceptive fine-tuning to startup ops
Things I like:π¨ π π§
Austin Basallo
Operations
Philosophy & Lit @NYU; trying to make everyone else's life easier through ops
Things I like:π² β π
Diego Torres-Galvan
Support
Studied at UC Berkeley; previously at Uber & Handy
Things I like:β· βοΈ π
Mandy Kerr
People Ops
Graduate of the University of Cape Town: geographer turned people ninja
Things I like:π β° πΆ
Vivian Kalea
Product
Outdoorsy dog mom, food lover, and live music enthusiast
Things I like:π βοΈ π§ββοΈ
Alexa Harrison
Content Writer
Studied English at UMass; word wizard + marketing maven
Things I like:π π©βπ³ βοΈ
Emma Shimmens
Admissions
Graduate of the University of Nottingham; passionate about education
Things I like:π π¨ π¦
Melissa McDougall
Support
Studied Screen Arts & Cultures at UMIch; passionate about documentary filmmaking, language-learning, and self-care
Things I like:β½ π π
Emily Ho
Product
Studied Psychology at UC San Diego; Visual Communications at FIDM; Loves to learn; Soft skills guru
Things I like:πΆ π¦ βοΈ
Chris Ohman
Operations
Studied Musicology and Media at NYU; Helping everyone reach their goals with ops magic
Things I like:πΌ π½οΈ π
Emilyann Gachko
Admissions
Studied Photography at Ramapo College; passionate about art, education, and getting outdoors.
Things I like:πΈ π² π΄
Timothy Moore
Curriculum
Learning experience designer; used to own a printers museum; studied industrial design at JMU
Things I like:πΈ ποΈ π¨
Robbin Arcega
Curriculum
UC Davis grad in psychology and Japanese, escape room enthusiast, supposed polymath, edtech veteran
Things I like:π π΅ π
James Andrews-Coulter
Mentorship
Design @ Curtin; learning nerd, minimalist, nomad.
Things I like:πΎ π π₯
Crystal Campbell
Mentorship
I like lots of things. I'm curious. I am a storyteller. I design experiences to engage people.
Things I like:πΆοΈ π± π
Guido Baratta
Mentorship
Design Director at Samsung, TripAdvisor, NYT, and many more. Atlantic crossing sailor, wannabe TV host & private jet pilot.
Things I like:β΅οΈ βοΈ π
Zeynep Ozkasim
Support
Studied French Language and Literature at University of Hacettepe & UniversitΓ© Toulouse.
Things I like:πββοΈ π π
Nicole Locklair
Partnerships
Studied advertising, design, and education; passionate about connecting people to opportunities.
Things I like:πββοΈ ποΈ π
Nicola Bolton
Software Development
Studied Multimedia Design at Nottingham Trent University; inspired by people and their stories.
Things I like:π ποΈ πΆ
Thousands of students have taken our courses.
Students Enrolled
9,000+
Project Submissions
300,000+
1-on-1 Mentor Sessions
60,000+
Mentor Feedback Comments
440,000+
kesiena eboh
FleetCarma
Mike Mansfield
Toptal
Kaity Hammerstein
Square
Minnie Kim
Q4 Inc.
Rebecca
Samsara
Shaun Modi
β’
Peter Javorkai
Adidas
Simon Brunton
Koordinates
Jessica Adamson
RingCentral
Mark Lester C. Lacsamana
Growsari
Nikki Kipple
Academy of Art University
George Bagaoisan
Trusted Health
Our international student community is formed of driven, aspiring designers who work together to achieve their career goals
Jeanmarie Levy
UX Designer at Code For America
“Honestly, the community of Designlab was crucial for my learning and success.”
Read Jeanmarie's storyEmily Pak
UX Designer at Amazon
“The fast pace of UX Academy definitely mimics the deadlines of the real design world.”
Read Emily's storyRachel Carton
UX Designer at Microsoft
“Iβve learned so much from working with other established designers, both through Designlab and at Microsoft.”
Read Rachel's storyErik Gartzke
UX Designer at SpaceCAMP
“I would not have gotten where I am today without the UX Academy program at Designlab.”
Read Erik's storyAlvin Kuang
Product Designer at Glassdoor
“My career coach offered me so much advice and perspectives that I would otherwise be unaware about.”
Read Alvin's storyHannah Cunningham
Product Designer at Royal Caribbean Cruises
“I really think I learned more in UX Academy than I did my entire four years of business school.”
Read Hannah's storyCarlos Castro
UX Designer at American Express
“My mentor 1-on-1s helped me to remain open to criticism and to iterate constantly.”
Read Carlos' storyYOU
What is your dream job?
We offer short courses and an intensive UX Academy. Whether you want to upskill or build a new career, Designlab is for you.
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