Designlab Reviews

Pros

Great team / mission - I love being a part of this community that provides access and resources into the design space. The money back guarantee is amazing and something I've never heard of before. It's the most affordable program I've come across, and the curriculum is exceptional.

Cons

Contract employees only, no option for benefits as mentors.

Pros

Self-paced program. Courses start every month. Structured materials that teach you the basics of design thinking and UX process

Cons

Not always effective mentorship (Could be good if you will be lucky with your mentor. People change mentors several times). Tight deadlines for the first phase that makes almost everyone switch to part-time. Not enough time and materials are devoted to learning the tools properly. To be on a normal level in Figma you need to find time to learn it through workshops outside of the course. Sometimes lengthy process of checking and approving the portfolio, means delay in graduation

Pros

- Passionate about helping our students improve their lives. - Everyone contributes directly to the company's overall success and everyone's opinions are heard. - Leadership create a great work culture and the vibe is like a startup but without the stress. - I've never remote-worked at a company that did such a good job of keeping remote teammates connected. - In-person retreats are held twice a year where the whole team can meet face-to-face. On the dev side of things: The codebase is well written and maintained. There is not much (if any) spaghetti code to be found. Dev process involves pull requests and code reviews. Unit testing is used but not TDD.

Cons

- Fully remote so not many chances to meet co-workers in person/socialize (again, though, they do a good job of having virtual social events) - Small team means you need to be comfortable wearing many hats and switching gears often

Pros

To start, Designlab has an intelligent, empathetic group of people that are genuinely invested in the student body. A ton of autonomy is granted to all individuals which allows for seriously flexibility. It's important to note DL is fully remote business and always has been (with team members across the world). I've been nomading for years and while on the job (across the Americas, Europe, and Asia). The benefits are also fantastic. Leadership is invested in company and individual growth. You can't want much more.

Cons

Remote work is not without its pain points and may not be for everyone - newer team members sometimes struggle and may leave as a result. It can feel quite isolating if you are not used to it or desire more present relationships with your team members.

Pros

I genuinely enjoy my work and I feel valued for my contributions. The people who work at Designlab really care about the outcomes of the students and making sure the company is always growing. We are empowered to make choices we feel are the right ones, and to manage our time. No micromanaging in sight! There is a lot of flexibility because the company is remote.

Cons

It is a start-up which means it's not for everyone. It's growing and you have to be comfortable trying new things and not always having the answer. You might have to come up with the answer and process. It's also fully remote which also isn't going to work for everyone. If you need an in-office structure or that daily f2f comradery it could be pretty difficult.

Pros

- Great work/life balance - Amazing team to work with - Competitive compensation - Fully remote - Flexible hours and scheduling - Open and inclusive environment

Cons

I wouldn't say that is a con necessarily, but it's a fast paced work environment. You'll have the opportunity to keep learning, try new things, and be involved in different facets of the company. You'll also have the chance to wear a lot of different hats! This is something that I personally enjoy, so wouldn't consider a con. However, I understand this may not be everyone's preference for their working environment.

Pros

Designlab has established a great culture among its fully remote, tight-knit team. Since the company doesn't have massive headcount, everyone's role is highly valued and you really feel like you're making an impact. You'll be expected to work hard, but the reward is getting to wear many hats and learning a ton along the way. Leadership clearly cares about the personal growth and development of the team, and the value of that can't be overstated.

Cons

If you require in-person interaction with your co-workers, Designlab won't be the best place for you to work. That being said, they've hosted some awesome IRL company-wide retreats pre-covid and they say they'll start hosting those again when it's safe to do so.

Pros

The team is made up of compassionate, proactive, and organized individuals who work diligently to support the 1500+ students who go through the various courses Designlab offers. From processes/strategies to company-wide policies to the product itself, everything is well-designed and created with a people-first mentality. Most would agree that every employee has a voice. This is built into the company culture. Doesn’t matter how new you are, how little experience you have, or where you’re positioned within the company, individuals are given opportunities to propose ideas and offer feedback. A lot of students/customers choose Designlab over our competitors because they say we look like a program created by designers for designers. This is true. The proprietary platform and curriculum is created by a small, but mighty in-house team of designers, software engineers, and educators who all come from a creative background. The hiring process was efficient, straightforward, and stimulating. The two interviews consisted of questions that were thought provoking and not run-of-the-mill. The prompts encourage you to dig into both your work life as well as personal interests and values. I remember sharing stories both from past work situations and from outside of the professional context. If you make it past the two interviews, you will be offered a project that will test your skills/knowledge in the area in which you are applying. Whats awesome is that you get compensated for this work at a fair rate. If things go well with the project, you will receive an offer letter further detailing the responsibilities, title, salary, and benefits. Some of the benefits include medical and dental insurance, work anywhere policy, a very generous amount of PTO, 8 weeks’ paid parental leave, occasional team retreats, and Fridays off in July.

Cons

There are few downsides to working at Designlab. Being that Designlab is fully remote (no office space or headquarters), one might miss the in-person collaborative experiences you’d have at other creative companies. That being said, some people do meet up IRL if they happen to live in the same city. There are also in-person team retreats twice a year in awesome locations like Colorado or Portugal (when there isn’t a raging virus sweeping the planet). The other downside is turnover. People come and go with some frequency. This might be related to the fully remote working environment where people feel a little less attached to the team or company because of not having to meet in-person. This, however, is only a theory.

Pros

Great mission, good values on paper, there are colleagues that genuinely care, remote work environment

Cons

- Toxic work culture that rewards the loudest voice in the room, overconfidence, and cutthroat behavior - Obvious group of inner-circle employees who consistently receive preferential treatment from leadership - Perpetual issues with communication, lack of transparency - Inexperienced leadership struggles with communication. Unable to delegate decisions due to lack of trust. Micromanagement and need for control leads to stress and inefficiency - Unethical treatment of employees leaving the company - Inaccurate job descriptions - Lack of growth opportunities - High turnover and high burnout - Uncompetitive pay

Pros

There are no pros. This environment was incredibly damaging.

Cons

It is apparent that there is little regard for employees, nor the students DesignLab works with. The environment was incredibly hostile and my work was adversely affected by the unhealthy conditions prevalent in the office. Harish and Daniel struggle to lead a team with empathy, professionalism, and the best interests of anyone at heart. Miscommunication and chronic layoffs were overwhelming. There was even direction from management to "catch" peers so they could find a reason to fire them. This truly appalling practice created a fearful environment that built distrust amongst colleagues. I am surprised this company is still in business given how truly horrific the work conditions are.