Best UI/UX Design Bootcamps 2023

Can you imagine a digital world today without UI/UX design? Try navigating Amazon or Facebook with floating banners, neon fonts, text-heavy pages, and clumsy icons. Websites designed without the user in mind would look much like the first webpages of the early 1990s, devoid of page structure and lacking the functionality that we take for granted today.

User interface (UI) and user experience (UX) guide users through a website or application. Good UI/UX design not only enhances the user experience and adds visual appeal, but it can improve web accessibility and drive traffic. Today, nearly every transaction is done online, which means good UI/UX design boosts a company’s profits. In fact, every $1 invested in UX design generates $100, according to research from Forrester.

Want to start your UI/UX career? On this page, we explore the best UI/UX design bootcamps, breaking down their costs, curricula, and student outcomes.

UI and UX design, though often lumped together, are two separate but related fields. UI design involves the aesthetics of a digital product — the color palettes, animations, and other visual elements. UX design, on the other hand, can apply to both physical and digital products. UX designers are concerned with the user’s overall experience with and attitude toward a product.

You can kick-start your design career in a UI/UX bootcamp — a quicker, often cheaper, and more flexible alternative to traditional college. A bachelor’s degree typically takes four years of full-time study to complete, but a UI bootcamp can be finished in 9-40 weeks. You can pay as little as $3,495 for tuition, or upwards of $16,900. Costs largely depend on the length and format of the program.

Many UI/UX bootcamps offer evening and weekend online courses or asynchronous formats that allow you to work full time while you study. Attending classes in person is also an option, as many UX bootcamps run brick-and-mortar locations.

The best UX design bootcamps teach the theory and tools that digital designers use every day, and they provide career support to help you curate your portfolio and land a design career.

UX design bootcamps often kick off with prework that covers the basics of design theory, concepts, and tools. The following units teach you how to map out a user experience and use wireframing for prototyping using tools such as Figma. At the start of a UX bootcamp, you’ll analyze user research and merge it with business needs to create digital products.

A UI/UX bootcamp also covers visual design and design systems. In this portion of the curriculum, you’ll study color and typography to make aesthetically pleasing user interfaces. Additionally, you will learn front-end programming languages to create interactive websites using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Along the way, you’ll test your skills in labs — either individually or in groups. Mentors or instructors will offer assessments and feedback to make sure you comprehend each concept before progressing.

The lessons will train you for a capstone project or a client project in which you’ll solve a real business problem by creating an application or website.

UX design bootcamp can launch you into a booming industry. The average base salary for a UI designer is $68,520, while the average salary for a UX designer is $76,383, as of March 2023 Payscale data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects employment for web and digital interface designers to grow by 16% from 2021-2031 — far exceeding other industries.

In addition to these two occupations, an education in UI/UX design can prepare you for the following design-related roles:

Product designers oversee the entire design process, including the business and manufacturing components. They create products that align with management and consumer needs and collaborate with engineers, developers, and marketing staff. Their designs incorporate considerations about form, function, cost, and market appeal.

Product designers make an average annual salary of $88,580, while the top 10% make an annual average wage of $133,000, according to March 2023 Payscale data. According to the BLS, industrial design jobs are projected to grow by 3% between 2021-2031. Product managers can advance to senior product development or product engineers.

Visual designers use color, images, and visualizations to enhance brands, products, and consumer interactions. They not only ensure that the consumer likes what they see but that the visuals stand out and evoke the right feelings and responses. Visual designers work with engineering, product management, and marketing teams to create concepts and prototypes.

According to Payscale, this occupation has an average annual salary of $67,640, and the top 10% of earners make $100,000 per year as of March 2023. The BLS projects that jobs in the related field of graphic design will grow by 3% between 2021-2031. Visual designers often advance to become UX designers and product designers.

UX researchers are an important part of a product team, which relies on them to conduct usability tests and lead studies on user behavior and psychology. The insights gathered from their research help the company understand the user experience and how to improve the product.

UX researchers have many potential career paths that offer advancement and higher pay. They can become product designers or senior researchers. UX researchers make a median annual salary of $89,460, according to March 2023 Payscale data.

Yes. You can learn UI/UX design online in many ways, including the UI/UX design bootcamps listed in this guide. These programs offer part-time, full-time, and self-paced schedules, plus synchronous and asynchronous delivery formats.

Online colleges and universities may offer certificate programs or UI/UX design courses as well. You can also gain UI/UX design skills through online self study, such as video tutorials and reading materials.

The cost of a UX design bootcamp varies based on length. You can expect to pay about $3,000-$4,000 for shorter UX bootcamps and about $16,000 for longer and more immersive programs. Costs also differ depending on how you pay. For instance, paying tuition upfront almost always saves you money compared to paying via installments or deferment plans.

Yes. Aspiring UI/UX designers can learn this field for free using resources available online. You can make use of many free coding bootcamps, which provide varying levels of training at no cost. You can also develop your own curriculum or specialization by compiling free online courses.

Other options include watching tutorials on YouTube or joining free workshops. You can also read through the vast collection of free design guides and walkthroughs. Consider practicing and hobby designing while you digest the information, as this will contextualize the information and help you work through challenges.

They can be. While bootcamp value varies by the program and the person, these programs have many benefits. UI/UX design bootcamps feature specialized and practical training in a condensed format. These accelerated programs allow you to develop the necessary skills for entry-level positions or advance your career without having to invest in a degree.

Bootcamps may feature lower training costs than many colleges and universities. They may also have more accessible admission requirements than some college programs. Bootcamp students can receive other perks as well, including financial aid, tuition assistance, and career services support.

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at https://benefits.va.gov/gibill/index.asp.