Designation is now Flatiron School

As of May 2019, Designation is now Flatiron School.

If you graduated from Designation prior to May 1, 2019, please leave your review for Designation. Otherwise, please leave your review for Flatiron School.

To view updated and accurate information, please visit the Flatiron School Course Report page.

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Designation

Average Rating4.8
115 Reviews
3 Courses
Designation is a 24-week program specializing in the fields of UX and UI design with the primary goal to turn you into a hireable candidate for innovative and tech-focused companies. Designation offers a hybrid of both online education and in-person immersion in Chicago. Throughout the 24 weeks of the program, students are treated to guest speakers, sponsored workshops, and lab sessions. While there is no formal grading, students are asked to create portfolio delivera...
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115 Designation Reviews

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous
    Graduate • Chicago
    Nov 12, 2016
    Overall Experience
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    There Are Downsides...

    I wanted to write a review to even out some of the glowing reviews on here. Please remember that it is better for alumni to have the school look great and feel like they made the right decision.    In my opinion, it is not worth the money. The program is run by somewhat overconfident men promising too much. The main instructor denied the existence of sexism in tec...
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  • Maria Faulisi
    Anonymous
    Student • Chicago
    Jan 21, 2017
    Overall Experience
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    Look elsewhere

    They say they screen applicants but they don't. You WILL work with people who shouldn't be in the program. Those people will be dead weight dragging down your experience (and your portfolio). Taking that into consideration and coupled wtih a lack of job placement, and incredibly short deadlines which negatively affect your ability to produce great work. I'd save the money and try another experience. 

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  • Anonymous
    Business Development Manager • Graduate • Chicago
    Sep 22, 2015
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    Highly Recommended!

    Incredible environmnet filled with people from all over the world that come from vastly different experiences. I learned more during the 12-week course than I did during 4 years of college. 

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  • Ryan
    UX Designer • Graduate • Quartz Cohort • Chicago
    Verified by LinkedIn
    Jun 30, 2017
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    My Experience with DESIGNATION

    My Background:
    I stumbled across this program after my previous industry had crashed and left me with little opportunity. I was forced to pivot and discovered UX design when researching new careers. It sounded awesome! But I had zero experience in design and programming. I also had zero connections in tech to reach out to for advice. A degree in psychology was my closest applicable experience.


    Why DESIGNATION:

    At the time, DE...

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  • Anonymous
    Graduate • Chicago
    Jun 05, 2015
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    Learned more than I ever could have by teaching myself.

    Really liked the way the curriculum was structured around full-stack design and then one particular focus area for each student. Great informal atmosphere and the instructors are very talented, but sometimes they are too busy to give full support creatively. Overall good experience.

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  • Kate Doornbos
    Kate Doornbos
    UI / UX Designer • Graduate • Topaz Cohort • Chicago
    Dec 22, 2016
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    Trust the process. It works if you do!

    TL;DR: DESIGNATION can help you land a design job, but nothing's handed to you. The people that do well are the ones that have some work experience, take it seriously, trust the process, and work their asses off. The program's hard by design and constantly testing/iterating to be better.

    ---

    I worked with DESIGNATION both as a student and on staff (as a TA), and I'm super happy with the investment. I gained...

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  • Jules
    Jules
    Product Designer • Student • Chicago
    Mar 12, 2017
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    mixed feelings, overall net positive

    I wish I could say I absolutely loved this program and highly recommend it to everyone, but there were too many moments of frustration that makes it hard to spew out those exact words.

    I'll start with the bad and transition to the good.

    1. Instructors - I really enjoyed learning from the UX instructor; however the UI instructor was hands down terrible despite his numbers of experience and other credentials. I'm not sure what the interview process is like for them, ...
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  • Qui
    UX Designer • Graduate • UX Design Intensive (begins every 6-8 weeks) • Chicago
    Verified by LinkedIn
    Feb 15, 2018
    Overall Experience
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    A transformative experience that truly allows you to design a new career!!!

    At Designation, you all are truly allowed to design their next career if you put forth the effort.

    Before Designation, I was a Relationship Manager at Bank of America. I had significant experience in finance and banking, but I also worked in other industries including healthcare and food retail. I also have a degree in sociology. Throughout all my positions across industries, they were all people and client facing, so I knew I had a love for customer service...

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  • Jane
    Jane
    User Experience Designer • Graduate • UX Design Intensive (begins every 6-8 weeks) • Chicago
    Verified by LinkedIn
    Mar 09, 2018
    Overall Experience
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    One of the most rewarding experiences

    My timeline: I started Design Essentials in April 2017 and completed the Career Phase in October 2017. For a month after graduation, I did nothing but revise and complete my portfolio. After three months of active job hunting (A LOT of job applications, emails, networking, and interviews), I received an offer that I liked, and I began working at the end of February 2018. Now, I just finished my second week working as a User Experience Designer at a global consulting firm. ...

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  • Siri
    Siri
    UX Designer • Graduate • UX Design Intensive (begins every 6-8 weeks) • Chicago
    Apr 24, 2017
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
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    Job Assistance

    You get out what you put in

    You will hear it over and over, but, trust the process. Designation gives you space and the tools to learn about UX and UI design in order to kick start a career in UX/UI design. But, you can't just sit back and enjoy the ride. The knowledge and skills won't come if you aren't willing to work hard and be proactive about your learning and your future career. Coming from marketing, graphic design, and sales, I could have gradually worked toward a career chan...

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  • Abbigail
    UX Designer • Graduate • UX Design Intensive (begins every 6-8 weeks) • Chicago
    Verified by LinkedIn
    Aug 15, 2017
    Overall Experience
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    Job not guaranteed - BUT HIGHLY LIKELY IF YOU TRUST THE PROCESS

    Let me start by saying a little about my background.

    I worked in PR agencies for 3 or so years then decided to switch into something more creative. I looked into GA and even went through their application process, but it ultimately wasn't for me. DESIGNATION sold me on the client-facing projects that they had to offer as well as the extended length of the program. The 94% job-success rate also was in the 'pro' column. 

    Now that you know what led to my decision, here's h...

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  • Daniel
    Daniel
    Jr. UX/UI Designer • Graduate • Sapphire Cohort • Chicago
    Dec 16, 2016
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
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    Great Program for a Career Change

    If you have no design experience, but want to make a career change into it, you should definitely consider DESIGNATION because I was on the same boat as you. I came into the program with a background in Biomedical Engineering, while doing wedding videography on the weekends. 

    I chose this program because I wanted to learn the fundamentals of UX/UI, apply them to projects, which would help me to find a job. And that's exactly the focus of DESIGNATION. 

    A hu...

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Designation Alumni Outcomes

Recent Designation News

Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated December 27, 2018
As we near the end of 2018, we're rewinding and reflecting on the most interesting and impactful coding bootcamp news of the year. Come with us as we look at trends, digest thought pieces, break down the 175 million in new funding, and more. We ll also look at our predictions for 2019 and our hopes for the future of coding bootcamps! 2018 Course Report in Numbers We added 89 new schools to our directory You (our readers) applied for 789 scholarships on Course Report and we gave away over ...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated January 25, 2018
Designation is a UX/UI bootcamp that has been building up the Chicago design community since 2013, and recently moved into a new WeWork classroom. We asked the Designation team to share their reasons behind the move, how students will fit into the larger WeWork community, and why Chicago is a great city to work in UX Design. Plus, we hear about Designation s future plans to collaborate with WeWork in other cities around the world! Schedule a 30-minute tour of the Chicago campus! ...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated December 01, 2017
On the Course Report Coding Bootcamp News Roundup, we keep you up to date with the blossoming coding bootcamp industry. This November, we're covering the WeWork/Flatiron School acquisition, over 2M in funding to various bootcamps, and why tech is booming in "Heartland" cities. Of course we also look at new schools, new campuses, and our favorite pieces to work on this month for the Course Report blog! Plus, is The Iron Yard back from the dead? Read the summary or listen to the podcast ...
Lauren Stewart
Lauren Stewart
Updated November 17, 2023
Do you want to be a front end developer or a back end developer? Understanding your career goals at the end of a coding bootcamp can make it easier to narrow down which school is best for you. This can be a tricky task if you aren t familiar with these terms but no need to worry now that you have this guide. Let s dig into the difference between front end web development and back end development which programming languages you ll learn, which coding schools teach them, and what to expect ...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated November 10, 2015
Founded in 2013, Designation offers an immersive bootcamp for aspiring UX and UI designers. Mike Joosse, their new Community Director, tells us about his transition from the design world to Designation, the most important ingredient for a successful UX designer and how Designation prepares students for post-bootcamp careers. Tell us about your background and what you were doing before Designation. I come from a design background. I went to design school a long time ago and ...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated October 07, 2015
Welcome to the September News Roundup, your monthly news digest full of the most interesting articles and announcements in the bootcamp space. Do you want something considered for the next News Roundup?  Submit announcements  of new courses, scholarships, or open jobs at your school!   This Week on Course Report Should you learn web or mobile development first? We dive into this question with advice from Atlanta's DigitalCrafts code school!  ...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated January 31, 2018
Coding Bootcamps are intensive programs- some require an 80 hour per week commitment, and all demand undivided attention in the classroom. This structure may be necessary to learn a new skill in a short time, but it can also overwhelm students and in some cases, cause burnout. Luckily, at Course Report, we get the opportunity to talk with alumni from coding bootcamps all over the world, and we always ask how they avoided burnout during their courses. We ve compiled the top eight ...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated October 02, 2014
Welcome to the September News Roundup, your monthly news digest full of the most interesting articles and announcements in the bootcamp space. Want your bootcamp's news to be included in the next News Roundup? Submit announcements of new courses, scholarships, or open jobs at your school! Bootcamps in the News Udacity Raises Fresh 35M to Expand the University of Silicon Valley In September, Hackbright Academy, Hack Reactor, Dev Bootcamp, Wyncode, Flatiron School & ...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated July 09, 2018
With a degree in Advertising Art Direction, Martha Willis was looking for a way to build on her current skillset in pursuit of a web-based career. So she enrolled in Designation , a full-time, immersive design course in Chicago. We get the scoop from Martha about the application process, her new job as a UI Designer, and how she's continued her education after Designation. Remember, the Course Report community is eligible for a 500 scholarship to Designation! What were you doing ...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated July 12, 2018
Designation is a digital design-focused school in Chicago that helps students with a technical or design background make the shift to digital design jobs. We talk with founder Kevin Yun about the differences between Designation and other web-development bootcamps, the types of applicants they look for, and why it's important to learn digital design now. Remember, the Course Report community is eligible for a 500 scholarship to Designation! Kevin, tell us about your background ...
Locations

Designation Alumni Reviews Summary

Overall Experience
4.8
Instructors
4.6
Curriculum
4.5
Job Assistance
4.5
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More Information
Guarantees Job
Job Assistance
Includes Housing
Offers Corporate Training
Accepts GI Bill
FAQs

How much does Designation cost?

Designation costs around $15,800. On the lower end, some Designation courses like Design Essentials (Online, Part-time, begins every 6-8 weeks) cost $1,000.

Where does Designation have campuses?

Designation has in-person campuses in Chicago. Designation also has a remote classroom so students can learn online.

Is Designation worth it?

Designation hasn't shared alumni outcomes yet, but one way to determine if a bootcamp is worth it is by reading alumni reviews. 115 Designation alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Designation on Course Report - you should start there!

Is Designation legit?

We let alumni answer that question. 115 Designation alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Designation and rate their overall experience a 4.8 out of 5.

Does Designation offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?

Right now, it doesn't look like Designation offers scholarships or accepts the GI Bill. We're always adding to the list of schools that do offer Exclusive Course Report Scholarships and a list of the bootcamps that accept the GI Bill.

Can I read Designation reviews?

You can read 115 reviews of Designation on Course Report! Designation alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Designation and rate their overall experience a 4.8 out of 5.

Is Designation accredited?

While bootcamps must be approved to operate, accreditation is relatively rare. Designation doesn't yet share information about their accreditation status.

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