1:1 instructor-led programs in art direction, brand and visual design, UI/UX product design with AI, portfolio development and building design businesses.
Visual and Brand Path
Lead Brands and Visuals
For designers who want to set the creative direction for brands, campaigns and visuals.
Product Path
Design Digital Products with AI
For designers who want to design apps and websites with AI in their process.
Business Path
Build Your Design Business
For designers who want to freelance or run their own studio, and make it profitable.
Outcomes
Student Success
Our graduates now work at high-impact companies, including Twitter, Pinterest, Microsoft and more.
Course Report ★★★★★
SwitchUp ★★★★★
$100K
Average Starting Salary
$30K
Average Salary Increase
92.5%
Employed Within 6 Months
Our Graduates Got Hired at Top Global Companies
Programs
Programs That Launch or Upgrade Your Design Career
Every program pairs self-paced lessons with live 1:1 sessions, so you learn on your schedule and still get feedback from a working designer.
Courses
Learn one focused skill set with 1:1 feedback
Visual Design Foundation
Build the eye every design career needs, from color and type to layout and composition.
Art Direction and Creative Leadership
Set the creative direction, brief a team and direct today’s tools, AI included. You also learn to freelance as an art director.
Brand Design
Specialize in brand direction, from strategy and identity to brand guidelines people remember.
UI/UX Product Design with AI
Learn product thinking, UX flows and interface design with AI in your process.
Portfolio Program
Turn the skills you already have into a portfolio that gets you hired
Portfolio School
Already have design skills? Turn them into a portfolio that gets you hired, promoted or booked by clients. Most students finish in 2 to 3 months with 1:1 coaching.
- For Career Transitioners
- For Working Designers
- For Senior Designers
- For Creatives in Transition
Career Programs
A course plus Portfolio School, so you graduate with a job-ready portfolio
Career Program
Visual Design + Portfolio
Start with the visual foundation and build a portfolio that gets you hired as a visual designer.
- Visual Design Foundation
- Portfolio School
Career Program
UI/UX Product Design + Portfolio
Learn the foundation and UI/UX product design with AI. Build a standout portfolio for product design roles.
- Visual Design Foundation
- UI/UX Product Design with AI
- Portfolio School
Career Program
Art Direction and Creative Leadership + Portfolio
Learn to set creative direction and lead a team. Show it in a portfolio built for art director roles.
- Art Direction and Creative Leadership
- Portfolio School
- Optional add-on: Visual Design Foundation, if your visual design skills need work
Career Program
Brand Design + Portfolio
Specialize in brand design and build a portfolio that wins brand design jobs and clients.
- Brand Design
- Portfolio School
- Optional add-on: Visual Design Foundation, if your visual design skills need work
Design Business
Freelance or run your own studio, and make it profitable
Build a Profitable Design Business
Going freelance or running your own design studio? Learn from successful design business owners about how to price your work, win clients and run projects from brief to final invoice. Every step comes with plug-and-play toolkits you can use the same day.
Why Path Unbound
How Path Unbound Helps You Succeed
You choose who teaches you. Every project gets 1:1 feedback from our vetted instructors. Here is everything that sets us apart.
1
Choose Your Own Instructor
Pick the senior working designer whose experience matches the work you want to do, from companies like USA Today, Capital One and Microsoft. No preference? We’ll recommend the best fit for you.
2
1:1 Feedback in Every Course
Every course and program is taught 1:1 by default. Start any day, learn at your own pace, then bring each project to a live 1:1 session with your instructor for detailed feedback.
3
Founded and Taught by Top Designers
Path Unbound was founded by award-winning designers and design educators who have taught at FIT, CUNY and Shillington. Our instructors are senior working designers we vet and train to teach.
4
Train Your Eye Before the Tools with University-Level Curriculum
Former university design faculty wrote our curriculum, so you build real craft in color, type and composition first. That judgment outlasts any app, including the AI tools you direct.
5
Portfolio-Focused and Student-First
Every path ends in case studies for your first job, a career switch or a promotion, with rigorous 1:1 portfolio coaching and advisory sessions every couple of weeks to keep you on track.
6
Flexible Learning Schedule with Structured Accountability
Every program is designed for your schedule, whether you work full-time or not, with the structure and accountability to finish on time. Choose the program that matches your goals.
Instructors
World-Class Instructors with Proven Teaching Experience
Our instructors are great at what they do and teach it even better. You can choose which instructor to work with or even work with multiple instructors.
Stephanie Sell
Senior Product Designer
- Washington, D.C., USA
Jenni Renas
Senior Visual Designer
- Richmond, VA, USA
Arnold Kotra
Art Director | Visual/Brand Designer | Studio Owner
- France
Ashley May
Senior Product Designer
- Michigan, USA
Nina Shahriaree
UI/UX & Visual Designer
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
Silvia Script
Senior UI/UX Designer
- Washington, D.C., USA
Our Founders
Built by Top Designers Who Understand What Helps You Stand Out
Our founders are award-winning designers with deep instructional and curriculum expertise.
Co-Founder + CEO
Stella Guan
Stella is an internationally award-winning designer and creative director who has also judged major design awards. She spent a decade designing for Fortune 500 companies, including JPMorgan Chase, before founding Path Unbound. She has taught as adjunct design faculty at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the City University of New York, and she was Lead Visual Design Instructor at General Assembly.
Co-Founder
Sydney Ligouri Grady
Sydney brings more than a decade of design industry experience and co-founded the creative mentorship platform RookieUp. She taught at Shillington NYC and later became its Head of Design Education. She has also worked on end-to-end product design in tech education, and she studied at The New School.
Student Work
Outstanding Student Portfolios and Success Stories
See the work our students produce and the stories behind it. At Path Unbound, you can expect results on this level and beyond.
Reviews
Students Had Their Lives Transformed
Hear what our students have to say about Path Unbound and how studying with us changed their careers.
I was provided with an easy to follow curriculum and one-on-one sessions with an incredible industry expert. And I received consistent support during my job search. I have now landed a full-time design role at JPMorgan Chase! I highly recommend Path Unbound!
Gabriella Magamas
Fashion to UI/UX Designer
Enrolling in Path Unbound has been the smartest schooling and career decision I’ve ever made. To my surprise, I’ve already landed a full-time junior design position at a multimedia company, even though I’m not even halfway through the program!
Sydney Hartman
From Retail to Visual Designer
I had tried for months to remake my portfolio website on my own, but I kept feeling lost. Path Unbound was the perfect push I needed and I’m so glad I did it. The response I got from recruiters after I updated my portfolio was night and day. I started receiving offers. Yes, multiple!
Carina Venet
From Part-Time Illustrator to Full-Time Designer
As a self-taught designer, I wanted to invest in a professional program that would give me a solid foundation of knowledge. I’m very glad I chose Path Unbound because it offered everything I needed with affordability and flexibility. I’m now happily employed as a designer!
Parker Cho
Marketer Turned Designer
The course is demanding, but worth it! The live sessions are invaluable, since they push you forward when you are spinning your wheels and have been staring at your work for too long. Great organization with courses that are extremely valuable for designers.
Kristina Bozhanova
From Print Designer to Digital Designer
I’m so glad I gave this a shot. I needed extra guidance creating a portfolio I’m proud of. This course delivers, in a simple to follow (though not easy) process. It’s a ton of work that results in an incredible creation that gives me the confidence to apply for those dream jobs!
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.
Which Program Is Right for You?
Answer a few questions and we’ll match you to the course, career program or design business path that fits your background and goals.
Is Your Design Foundation Strong Enough?
Pick the stronger layout, type pairing or color choice and find out whether you can go straight into Art Direction, Brand Design or UI/UX, or should start with Visual Design Foundation.
Why Isn't Your Portfolio Landing Jobs?
Sent out a lot of applications and heard nothing back? Take the free diagnostic quiz to find out what is holding your portfolio back.
Are You Ready for Creative Leadership?
Find out whether you are ready to move from making the work to setting the creative direction and leading the team.
What Should You Charge for Your Design Work?
Enter your costs, hours and income goal to get a day rate and project prices you can explain to clients.
Is Design the Right Career for You?
Find out whether a design career fits your strengths and interests, and which path to start with.
Ready to Launch Your Dream Design Career Yesterday?
Your dream design career won’t start itself, but we are here to make sure it happens for you. If not yesterday, very soon.