A designer-founded school for successful careers in art direction, branding or UI/UX design with a standout portfolio that gets you hired.
Student Success
Our graduates now work high-impact companies, including Twitter, Pinterest, Microsoft and more.
$100K
Average Starting Salary
$30K
Average Salary Increase
92.5%
Employed Within 6 Months
Course Report
SwitchUp
Our Graduates Got Hired at Top Global Companies
Career Programs
Programs That Launch or Upgrade Your Design Career
Choose your specialization, then build a portfolio that gets you hired. New to design? Start with the foundation.
Step 1: Choose Your Specialization
For Working Designers
Art Direction
Short Course
Intermediate
Ready to take on art direction at work or for your own clients? Learn to set the creative direction, brief a team and direct today’s tools, AI included, in 1:1 sessions with a working art director.
For Brand-Focused Designers
Branding
Short Course
Intermediate
Ready to design brands people remember? Learn brand strategy, visual identity and brand guidelines in 1:1 sessions with a working brand designer.
For Digital Product Designers
AI Product Design
Coming Soon
Intermediate
Want to design digital products with AI in your process? Learn product thinking, UX flows and interface design in 1:1 sessions with a working product designer.
Step 2: Build a Portfolio That Gets You Hired
Where Every Path Leads
Portfolio School
Career Program
Intermediate
Turn your skills into a portfolio that gets you hired, promoted or booked by clients. Most students finish in 2 to 3 months with 1:1 coaching.
Pick the track that fits you: Portfolio Build, Rework, Bridge or Level Up.
New to Design
Start with Visual Design Foundation
Build the eye every design career needs, from color and type to layout and composition, before you choose your specialization.
How Path Unbound Helps You Succeed
1
Founded by Top Designers, Not Big Tech Comglomerate
Fun (crazy) fact – are you aware that less than 1% of design schools are founded by women and less than 3% of design schools are founded by designers? We are proudly diversifying design education and championing under-represented voices.
2
World-Class Expert Instructors, Not Untrained Mentors
Our instructors are professional, senior working designers. We vet and train each one to ensure top-quality instruction. Our instructors don’t just do design well; they teach it even better. Unlike many bootcamps, we do not “crowd-source” mentors.
3
College-Level​ Foundation, Ultra Craft-Focused
Many bootcamps don’t include comprehensive visual design foundation training, which shows up in portfolio. Our curriculum is written by former university design faculty members! Your portfolio will never look like it’s from a “bootcamp”.
4
Ultra Portfolio-Focused, Not an Afterthought
We provide individualized and rigorous portfolio coaching to make sure each of our graduates come out of the course with outstanding portfolios that immediately “wow” hiring managers and land jobs.
5
Flexible but Structured, with Accountability
Our structures are ultra-flexible, which means 1) you have the flexibility to learn at your own schedule but with accountability to finish on time; 2) we have designed flexible program combos to serve diverse students.
6
Always Student-First, Because We Care
We provide dedicated student advisory sessions every couple of weeks to ensure every student is on track and can get any problems resolved quickly. We are always student-first, because we care.
World-Class Instructors with Proven Teaching Experience
Our team of instructors are great at what they do and teach even better
How It Works
1
Book a Free Clarity Session
2
Enroll + Choose Your Own Instructor
3
Graduate with a Job-Ready Portfolio
4
Achieve Your Design Career Goals
Built by Designers Who Understand What Gets You Hired
Our founders are award-winning designers with deep instructional and curriculum expertise
Stella Guan
Co-Founder + CEO
Stella Guan is co-founder and CEO of Path Unbound. Stella’s design work has been recognized internationally by major design awards, some of which have also invited her to serve as a judge. A passionate design educator, Stella worked as an Adjunct Faculty of Design at several universities. She is often invited as a speaker at design conferences.
Sydney Ligouri Grady
Co-Founder + CPO
Sydney Ligouri Grady is co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Path Unbound. She brings over a decade of experience in the design industry. Sydney began her entrepreneurship journey as co-founder of creative mentorship platform RookieUp. She also taught—and later became Head of Design Education—at Shillington, before joining Path Unbound.
We Do It Differently, the Right Way
Features
Other Programs
Path Unbound
Instruction Quality
- Crowd-sourced "mentors" (hit or miss experience)
- Highly vetted instructors with proven teaching experience
Curriculum Quality
- Lacks foundation & rushed (shows up in portfolio)
- College-level, strong curriculum written by former university faculty
Portfolio Quality
- Cookie-cutter projects (that get lost in a competitive job market)
- Unique projects with real-world complexity and client work opportunity
Choice of Instructors
- Students are assigned a random "mentor"
- Students can choose the instructor they work with
Industry Expertise
- Founded by non-designers at big corporations backed by venture capital
- Founded by award-winning designers with deep curriculum experience and genuine care for students
Career Coaching
- Generic advice from general career coaches
- Individualized career strategy coaching from industry experts, always available after graduation at affordable per session rate
Personalization
- None - everyone must take the standardized program
- Customizable - we recommend the correct course bundles for students with diverse needs
Cost
- ~$7,100 - $15,000+
- $29 or $2,100 - $7,080 (depending on program)
Outstanding Student Portfolio and Success Stories
Take a look at some of the high-quality designs our students have produced and the stories behind them. By learning design at Path Unbound, you can expect results on this level and beyond.
Portfolio School
From Freelance Illustrator to Full-Time Agency Visual Designer
Carina’s portfolio spans branding, animation, and illustration — a creative range that opens doors for her immediately after graduating from Portfolio School.
Portfolio School
From Architect to Multidisciplinary Visual Designer
Kyle came from architecture, with some of his own study in visual design, but struggled to translate that into job offers. After Portfolio School transformed his portfolio, he started hearing back.Â
Portfolio School
Nicholas had already been working as a designer but was struggling to make his next move. After completing Portfolio School, he transformed his portfolio, which allowed him to advance his career.
Portfolio School
Architha was working as a senior designer, but found it challenging to update her portfolio due to time and NDA constraints. At Portfolio School, she was able to achieve that through our bespoke coaching.
Students Had Their Lives Transformed
Hear what our students have to say about Path Unbound, and how studying with us transformed their careers.
Gabriella Magamas
Fashion to UI/UX Designer
Sydney Hartman
From Retail to Visual Designer
Carina Venet
From Part-Time Illustrator to Full-Time Designer
Parker Cho
Marketer Turned Designer
Kristina Bozhanova
From Print Designer to Digital Designer
Donna Carroll
From Dancer to UI/UX Designer
Free Tools
Not Sure Where to Start
Take one of our free diagnostic tools to find out exactly where you stand and what to do next.
1
Why Isn't Your Portfolio Landing Jobs
2
Is Design the Right Career for You
3
Which Program Is Right for You
Not sure yet?
Free Resources to Help You Decide
Take one of our free diagnostic tools to find out exactly where you stand and what to do next.
1
Free pdf
Download Free, Information-Packed Career Resources PDF
We created a series of information-packed, valuable design career guides to help you start preparing your career in design before you enroll.
2
Free Preview
Preview Our Career Programs for Free Before Enrolling
Prospective students are welcome to preview Portfolio School and School of Design for 14-days, with limited units unlocked, for free before enrolling.
Ready to Launch Your Dream Design Career Yesterday
Your dream design career doesn’t start itself, but we are here to make sure that happens for you, if not yesterday, very soon.
