UI Design Training That Actually Prepares You
Twelve months of hands-on learning starting September 2025. We'll take you from curiosity to confidence through projects that mirror what studios genuinely need. And you'll be working alongside others who are just as committed to getting this right.
Learn With People Who Get It
You're not sitting in a room watching someone talk at a screen. This programme puts you in small groups where everyone's figuring things out together. Because honestly? That's how real design work happens.
We've structured it so you're constantly bouncing ideas off peers, reviewing each other's work, and occasionally getting stuck on the same problems. Which sounds frustrating until you realise that's exactly when the breakthroughs happen.
Weekly group critiques where you'll learn as much from reviewing others as from presenting your own work
Pair programming sessions for interface prototyping that show you how collaboration actually speeds things up
Peer mentoring rotations where you'll both teach and learn throughout the twelve months
What Changes in the First Few Months
People expect this to be slow and gradual. But most participants notice shifts in how they think about design within the first quarter. Here's what typically happens sooner than you'd think.
Visual Confidence
By week eight, you'll stop second-guessing every colour choice. You'll understand why certain layouts work and others don't, which means you'll spend less time staring at blank canvases.
System Thinking
Around month three, you'll start seeing patterns everywhere. Design systems stop feeling like corporate bureaucracy and start feeling like the time-savers they actually are.
Critique Comfort
After your fourth group review, something clicks. Feedback stops feeling personal. You'll actually start looking forward to hearing what others think because that's where the good ideas hide.
Why This Works Better Than Going Solo
Real Project Complexity
You'll work on briefs that have conflicting requirements and unclear stakeholders. Because tutorials with perfect conditions don't prepare you for actual client work.
Portfolio That Tells a Story
By month nine, you'll have case studies that show your thinking, not just pretty screenshots. Studios want to see how you solve problems, not just what you can make look nice.
Industry Tool Fluency
Figma, Sketch, prototyping tools - you'll know them well enough that they stop being the focus. The software becomes invisible, which is exactly when you can focus on the design itself.
Connections That Continue
Your cohort becomes your network. Three years from now, you'll still be messaging these people about job openings and asking for quick reviews.
Who'll Actually Be Teaching You
Our instructors have spent years working in studios, agencies, and product teams across Portsmouth and London. They know what works because they're still doing it.
Esme Blackwood
Lead Instructor, Interface Systems
Esme spent eight years at a fintech product team in London before moving to Portsmouth. She's particularly good at explaining why certain patterns exist and when to break them. Her students say she has this way of asking questions that make you realise you already know the answer.
Thora Lindbeck
Senior Mentor, Visual Design
Thora freelanced for twelve years working with agencies and startups before joining us last year. She's seen enough design trends come and go that she can spot what's genuinely useful versus what's just fashionable. Her portfolio reviews are thorough in the best possible way.
Applications Open June 2025
We'll have more details about the September intake in a couple of months. If you want to know what the application involves or have questions about the programme structure, just get in touch.
Ask About the Programme