Go further
When you participate in Designation, you become part of a worldwide Designation alumni network. After it ends, we’ll work with you to make sure you find a career path in digital design that provides a lifetime of learning.
Incredible resources for alumni
Values report
Career support
Exclusive job board for graduates
Partnerships with recruiters

“Each phase of the program thoughtfully builds upon the next so that when it comes to the end of the program you feel confident and knowledgeable in your new field. You leave knowing what you don't know and having a really good idea what role or area in UX/UI you want to focus on in your career.”
Siri PrestonUX Designer, Periscope
Career mentors
Shortly before graduating, each designer is matched 1:1 with a professional designer who serves as their mentor. This creates a rewarding, purposeful relationship that focuses on giving actionable, specific feedback on career materials, and serves as a resource for their job search process. Mentors may be in-person or virtual, but they’re a truly important bridge for all designers between Designation and their first professional job.
If you’re interested in becoming a career mentor, visit the Volunteer with us page.
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Erik Barraza
Traceable Change
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Caity Beaudoin
Capital One
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Buddy Boor
Other Things
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Christina Brandon
Sears Holdings
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John Buckley
Frontend.com
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Alyssa Burke
MU/DAI
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Kelly Burke
Target
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Marvin Cespedes
Vox Media
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Angeline Chen
Fjord
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Janice Cho
DevMynd
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Abbigail Rose Christensen
Allstate
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Shae Clements
STATS
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Liz Composto
Slalom
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Stelios Constantinides
Perficient Digital Labs
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Brittanie Crain
SpotHero
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Brian Crowley
Allstate
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Logan DeBiase
Salesforce
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Jeremy DeBor
Other Things
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Matt Deming
HS2
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Kaisa Dille Dickens
bswift
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Kim Dobe
bswift
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Kate Doornbos
Interior Define
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Erin Dunn
Emmi
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Mary Eisenmann
ParkWhiz
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Michael Facchinello
Clique Studios
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Kelsey Fagan
SmartSource Management
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Myla Fay
Limbix
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Emily Fernau
Allstate
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Gino Fiore
Traceable Change
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Michael Fischer
Freelance
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Rafael Flores
Hyatt
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Lorena Fox
Matika Studios
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Zeke Franco
Pandera Labs
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Michael Gallegly
Manifest
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Ryan Gamble
Allstate
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Patrick Gendron
Allstate
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Sam Gensburg
Table XI
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Francesca Gilibert
N26
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Amy Gurka
Airbnb
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Mallory Haack
Pandera Labs
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Dustin Hamilton
Allstate
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Brian Hanson
One Design Company
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Laine Henry
LearnVest
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Jon Hensley
Allstate
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Sara Holburt
Indeed
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Kuu Hubbard
Yello
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Irene Jang
Table XI
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Sarah Jerger
Pivotal Labs
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Varun Kapoor
Arity
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Jane Kim
ZS Associates
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Tom Kutschera
E*TRADE
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James LaCroix
Twitter
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Kat Lauritano
Razorfish Commerce
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Safina Lavji
Motorola Solutions
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Tonia Leung
BCG Digital Ventures
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Kevan Lin
Atlassian
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Denny Liu
Freelance
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Alyssa Low
Eight Bit Studios
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Lauren Lucchese
Capital One
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Matt Magpantay
Freelance
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Justin Martin
E*TRADE
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Nicole Mata
CCC Information Services
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Liz Maybury
Animoto
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Alex McGonigle
FS Investments
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Venkat Murali
American Medical Association
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Nicole Nagy
CareerBuilder
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Dan Nehring
Allstate
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Karen Nickerson
Capital One
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Daniel Orbach
McKinsey & Company
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Lukas Ostrander
Allstate
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David Owens
Bain & Company
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Erika O’Neil
Fjord
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Nick Palumbo
Solstice
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Scott Pandel
Space Suit
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Jenna Passmore
R/GA
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Nik Payne
SpotHero
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John Pehler
Grainger
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Kelly Perry
United
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Jessica Peña
Allstate
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Carmelina Piedra
Allstate
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Chloe Quinn
Tableau
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Alex Ramsey
Allstate
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Rebecca Readey
Pandera Labs
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Blair Richardson
MiniSuper Studio
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Courtney Roberts
Bold Insight
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Becky Rother
Adler Planetarium
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Joey Salvador
Gamut
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Johnny Schroepfer
Capital One
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Autumn Schultz
ShopRunner
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Alex Simmon
Allstate
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Jules Simplicio
dscout
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Zoe Sinner
Facebook
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Andrew Skweres
STATS
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Alison Steinhauer
Allstate
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Theresa Stewart
Colored, LLC
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Rob Stone
Slalom
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Stephanie Sun
Healthcare.com
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Austin Tapper
SpotHero
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Nastasia Tebeck
Amazon
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Libby Van Why
McGraw-Hill Education
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Matt Viane
Allstate
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Andrew Vitale
Salesforce
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Joseph Wanka
Sears Holdings
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Alicia Warren
Allstate
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Martha Willis
Freelance
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Ashley Wrobel
United Airlines
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Candice Yono
Pivotal Labs

“Designation provides a wealth of tools and resources for launching a design career. If you are proactive throughout the program and truly commit to the tasks at hand, you will leave with a solid body of work and an incomparable skill set.”
Kim DobeUX Designer, bswift
Frequently asked questions about life after graduation
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What’s the average salary for Designation graduates?
We’ve found that graduates earn an average of $60,000–$65,000 in their first year after finishing the program. This number varies greatly due to location—it goes up to an average of $95,000–$100,000 for graduates in San Francisco, for instance, but also down to an average of $40,000–$45,000 for graduates in cities like Omaha. It also varies by industry, company type, company size, cost of living, and several other factors.
For graduates who work as freelancers, contractors, or interns, the average hourly rate is $35–$50.
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Does Designation guarantee a job after the program?
A graduate’s employment is based on a large number of factors both external (the health of job market in their city of choice, entry- and low-level design jobs available) and internal (how quickly they can finish their portfolio after graduation, their drive to get a job quickly, how engaged they become in their local design community, their willingness to network and research to find openings). All of those factors contribute to a designer’s ability to get a job that will be fulfilling and challenging. But they also mean every graduate’s job search is a fundamentally unique experience, and one that must be undertaken by the graduate themselves.
We can, however, guarantee that we give every designer in the program what they need—skills, tools, experiences, portfolio-quality projects, and a drive to continue learning—to be truly competitive in the design industry. It’s up to the graduate to use it all.
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How long does it take to get a job after the program ends?
We’ve found the average length of time is about three months. That means some graduates will get a job quickly—even in the final weeks of the program—and others will take more than three months.