Are you mesmerised by Memorisely’s supafast tutorials? Hopefully, their innovative style has piqued your curiosity about Memorisely and their Bootcamps. I enrolled in the following three classes: UX/UI Design, UX Research and Design Systems. In this article, I'll share my experience with class structure, teaching style, tool stack, key takeaways and case studies. I'll also throw in some tips on how I made the most out of the Bootcamps.
Transparency is key
When I evaluated Memorisely as a potential design school for up-skilling, I was in awe of their transparency. They laid down the nitty gritty details of what would be taught for each week. Their clear plan set my expectations on how I ought to manage my time along with my full-time job. I was impressed by Memorisely’s recommendation on getting to know your teacher and classmates before Bootcamp kicked off. That was when I had my first 1-on-1 with Zander, CEO and founder of Memorisely. Besides the well-organised curriculum, there were no hidden costs associated with the payment. That was a key to gaining my trust.
High relevance at work
We all know how rapidly technology changes. The ability to unlearn and re-learn become your ally. Memorisely understands this and designs its curriculum to be in sync with the ever-evolving tech world. I remember learning via Miro during my first course at the beginning of 2021. Not long after, FigJam entered the picture and established its position as one of the hot collaboration tools. After assessing FigJam, Memorisely decided to switch.
When I signed up for the Bootcamps, Memorisely provided a list of prep tasks consisting of reading, writing, hands-on design activities, and tasks to familiarise myself with the tools we'd be using. Thanks to the prep tasks, I understood where I made my mistakes at work and could quickly remedy the errors.
Memorisely’s style of teaching
”I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” — Confucius
Confucius’s quote resonates with Memorisely’s mode of delivering live learn-by-doing interactive classes. Their teaching method is stark in contrast to traditional teaching, where the instructor reads from a boring PowerPoint. Memorisely believes that active participation is key to retention. In a typical session, teachers raise thought-provoking questions for students before introducing the concept and guiding students to work together actively while a demonstration takes place.
Contribution to real-life case studies
Memorisely collaborated with companies such as Margot, Unplugged and Smiling Mind to develop problem statements for our case studies. Students were able to interview users and stakeholders within the stipulated timeframe. After diligently attempting the case studies, I gained more clarity on the approach I needed to perform at work. Teachers recommend students pair up with classmates. Since we scarcely work alone in the real world, it offers a fantastic opportunity to build teamwork skills.
Fertile ground for networking
Memorisely advocates small class sizes to provide a more personalised experience. As a result, students can support and connect well with each other. They also provide an excellent platform for networking by encouraging students to connect with classmates through weekly coffee chats. In 2022, Memorisely launched career workshops for Memorisely students. These workshops helped me develop skills for networking, building a killer portfolio, and rocking interviews. Let’s also not forget about Memorisely’s free community of more than 12,000 members. It is a perfect place for folks to collaborate and upgrade their skills.
Deep dive into the Bootcamps
Design System (June 2021 - July 2021)
Are you struggling with maintaining your designs while working on the UI? Does a design change request send a chill down your spine? Do different designers seem to create their version of a UI component? Does your colleague possess a different vocabulary for a UI element? If you answered yes to these questions, then consider studying Design Systems.
Prep tasks
- Recommended books are Atomic Design by Brad Frost and Laying the Foundations by Andrew Couldwell
- Design system blogs by Intercom, Invision, UX Collective, Google Design, and Airbnb
- Students audit existing design systems by well-known products such as Mailchimp, Google, Shopify, Atlassian, Apple, Microsoft, and Uber. They jot down what works well and what can be improved
- Students familiarize themselves with Figma, Notion, Loom and Figma plugins for the upcoming Bootcamp
- Figma playground exercises consist of understanding Figma’s features such as Variants, Auto layout, Links and Shadows
- Creation of components in Figma
- Based on component creation via Figma, we document their functionalities and usages
- Document learnings
Case study
For our case study, we built a mobile signup screen using a design system. Key activities included planning the foundations, constructing components, nested components and, finally, the patterns. When it was time to create the screens, we only had to drag and drop the elements. Apart from the obvious outcome of being able to create a design system with more confidence, I am grateful to Memorisely for introducing us to Lyft’s Colorbox tool. This tool helps to produce a set of colours.
UX/UI Design (July 2021 - October 2021)
The UX/UI Design Bootcamp is ideal if you wish to grasp the foundations of being a product designer. It is suitable for seasoned designers as well as folks looking to switch to a design career. It's a 15-week course that touches upon the design thinking process along with two case studies.
Prep tasks
- Recommended books are The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman, Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal, Just Enough Research by Erika Hall, Lean UX by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden and Creative Confidence by Tom Kelley and David Kelley
- Skim through blogs by Intercom, Signal vs Noise, Hotjar, Maze, Figma, Facebook, Spotify and Dovetail
- Students review the usability of an application. They take notes on its wow moments and pain points
- Students read and take notes from Design Systems of well-known products such as Google, Shopify and Apple
- Students familiarize themselves with suggested tools, Chrome extensions and Figma plugins for the upcoming Bootcamp
- Creation of user flows, paper prototypes, and hi-fidelity prototypes in Figma
- A 30-day UI component challenge via Figma
- Students are free to choose articles related to UX. Moreover, some article topics are also provided
Case studies
Case studies for this Bootcamp may vary from cohort to cohort. Students of this particular class worked on the following two case studies:
- Margot is an application that provides 1-on-1 mentorship to women and gender-marginalised individuals. This project aimed to streamline the process of booking mentors.
- Unplugged aims to provide a digital detox experience to users by letting them stay in cabins surrounded by nature. For this case study, our goal was to improve the search and filter of cabins.
My favourite takeaway
Career week takes the cake. The instructors did a walkthrough on what to expect during the job application process and tested us with some interview questions.
UX Research (May 2022 - June 2022)
The UX Research Bootcamp focuses heavily on the research part of a project. It dives into crafting research goals and plans, conducting interviews, usability tests, analysing data and presenting research reports for stakeholders.
Prep tasks
- Recommended books are Just Enough Research by Erika Hall and About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design by Alan Cooper
- Suggested UX Research blogs are from Hotjar, FullStory, Typeform, Maze, Otter, and Dovetail
- Students familiarize themselves with tools such as Figma, Notion, Otter, and Maze
- Document key takeaways from the books
Case study
Smiling Mind is an application that aims to equip people with the skills they need to thrive with a healthy mind. They wish to enhance the experience particularly for university students. Our goal was to understand the needs of university students looking to try meditation and explore possible barriers.
My favourite takeaway
Besides the art of asking non-leading questions to the user, my UX Research teacher, Ali Angco, conducted an engaging exercise in Slack. In this exercise, we were supposed to ask questions based on our peer’s introduction. The purpose of this assignment was to get comfortable asking questions.
How I made the most out of the Bootcamps
- Choose the right project partner. I recommend you get to know your potential partner from the task point of view. Reflect on your expectations and communicate them to your prospective partner. Do not hesitate to ask tough questions on contribution and commitment towards the project. Choosing a teammate based on superficial interests will backfire if you all are not on the same page.
- Manage time efficiently. Understandably, you have other commitments apart from the Bootcamp. For myself, when Bootcamp enters the equation, I prioritise the list of tasks for the week. I immediately eliminate activities which can wait which helps to free up my time for catering for my Bootcamp assignments.
- Seek feedback. Get comfortable with asking questions, seeking feedback and iterating on your work. Treat the Bootcamp as a platform for you to practice your communication and presentation skills.
- Go above and beyond. Study the materials thoroughly and do not be afraid to experiment. Actively participate in the lessons, and engage in fruitful discussions with the instructors.
Closing thoughts
The Bootcamps granted foundational knowledge in design. I led the Design System project at work a few months ago and demonstrated the results to my manager. He was pleased and remarked that the Memorisely Bootcamps paid off!
