Before entering the product design world, new designers often face a daunting question: How do I prove what I can do?

In an industry that prizes process as much as outcomes, a UX/UI design portfolio isn’t just a formality — it’s a clear demonstration of your skills, your unique process, and your ability to deliver real design impact.

For learners in the King’s UX & UI Product Design Career Accelerator, that proof comes not from hypothetical exercises but from real-world projects, expert feedback, and a deepened sense of self-belief.

The programme at a glance

The King’s UX & UI Product Design Career Accelerator is a six-month, part-time, fully online programme created by King’s College London in partnership with FourthRev. It’s designed for people ready to build a career in UX and UI product design, whether they’re making a pivot, building on creative or technical skills, or looking for a structured path into the industry. Learners receive:

✅ Practical experience through hands-on case studies and a six-week Employer Project

✅ Early and ongoing portfolio development starting in Course 1

✅ Training in industry-standard tools like Figma, applied in design scenarios

✅ Career coaching, personalised feedback and peer support throughout

✅ A UX design certification from a globally respected university

This Career Accelerator prepares you to do the work, speak to your process and stand out for your impact, and learners from a wide range of backgrounds are proof.

From blank page to portfolio powerhouse

When Rajdeep Deo, a mechanical engineer, joined the programme, she was planning a significant career pivot. At first, UX might not have seemed like the obvious next step, but for her, it quickly clicked.

“It made sense to me, even if it wasn’t a typical transition that others had made. Once I started, I thought, ‘This actually makes perfect sense.’ It has everything I enjoyed about engineering, just in a way that feels more creative and exciting for me. It really suits my background.” — Rajdeep, King’s Career Accelerator Alumna

Over the six-month programme, Rajdeep applied her structured problem-solving mindset to multiple design challenges — including building three end-to-end UX case studies with real industry companies: a voice interface concept, a health-tracking app, and a tourism site redesign. These weren’t theoretical tasks; each one mirrored actual business scenarios, designed to help learners demonstrate breadth and depth across key UX principles.

“The course encouraged us to apply what we learned to real projects and case studies — not just made-up exercises. I’ve worked on a tourism site, a health app, and now the Sky voice interface challenge. It’s helped me show a good range.”

“The way the course is structured encourages you to go beyond just reading theoretical material — you’re constantly applying what you learn to practical projects and real case studies in a meaningful way. I think that’s going to help me stand out to employers as I start looking for jobs.”

These projects formed the backbone of Raj’s UX/UI design portfolio, which she created during the Career Accelerator. The depth and range of work, combined with the clarity of her storytelling, became something she could take pride in.

“It’s crazy when I think back to when I started six months ago. If you’d shown me my portfolio now and told me how much I’d learn by the end, I don’t think I’d believe it was mine, just because of the amount of work involved and the depth we’ve gone into. It’s been really amazing. I feel like I’ve come a long way in just six months.” — Rajdeep, King’s Career Accelerator Alumna

Feedback that sharpens, structure that guides

From the beginning, portfolio development is an integrated part of the learning journey — not an afterthought. Learners receive feedback from Course Facilitators, attend dedicated portfolio sessions, and take part in live reviews that help them refine their narrative and showcase their process clearly.

“We had a lot of portfolio classes throughout the course, which were really valuable. My approach was always to tell a simple, clear, and concise story behind each project — not just what I did, but why I did it, and making that obvious to anyone reading it.” – Rajdeep, King’s Career Accelerator Alumna

In UX hiring today, that storytelling ability is a powerful differentiator. According to Indeed’s design hiring team, the UX portfolio examples that stand out aren’t just polished — they clearly explain the thinking behind the work. They show process, not just outcomes.

💼 Explore Rajdeep’s UX portfolio here.

Group projects, real outcomes

Portfolio-building in the programme isn’t limited to individual assignments. Some of the most powerful and job-relevant work comes from collaboration, through group projects that mirror what it’s like to design within a product team. These experiences don’t just sharpen communication and teamwork skills — they often lead to standout case studies learners feature in their portfolios.

The final six-week Employer Project in the King’s UX & UI Product Design Career Accelerator is a prime example. Set by an actual industry company, it’s designed to simulate the realities of UX and UI design work: cross-functional teams, evolving priorities, tight deadlines, and client-facing briefs. Rather than an academic exercise, it becomes a six-week glimpse into the day-to-day working environment learners are preparing to enter.

It was during this project that Emma, a design assistant looking to step into a more strategic, user-focused role, discovered how much she could grow — both as a collaborator and as a designer. After completing the programme, she landed a UX Designer position at EasyJet, and the Employer Project became a turning point, shaping one of her most impactful portfolio pieces.

“I’m not someone to really enjoy group projects so much, but because I was in such a good team and everyone had different strengths, it allowed me to observe what other people are doing that worked, and what I should be taking on myself. It was a massive learning curve for me, and it really changed my perspective on group projects. It was very nice to be in that environment.”

That experience helped Emma connect theory to practice and produce project work she would later feature in her portfolio. It also made the leap into her new UX role feel natural.

“Now that I have a job in UX, it really made me think that what I learned in the course was very relevant to what I’m doing now. The industry project helps build that connection between what you’re learning and real-life situations.” — Emma, King’s Career Accelerator Alumna

Emma’s experience reflects a wider truth: when learning mirrors professional UX design challenges, the shift from classroom to career becomes not just achievable, but seamless.

🎥 Watch Emma showcase her portfolio at this event.

Tools that make the work real

Product design is grounded in practice — in tools, team platforms, and design systems. That’s why, from day one, Career Accelerator learners work with industry platforms like Figma and Notion, applying them to professional-level design problems.

But learning tools are only the starting point. What sets this online UX training apart is how learners apply those tools — for real-life users, under real constraints, and with tangible results.

Klaudia Skiba, who entered the programme at the beginning of her UX journey, landed her first Product Designer role at a healthcare software company while still completing the Career Accelerator — a connection made through her Course Facilitator. Her Employer Project became a standout portfolio piece: her team redesigned an NHS app, using actual user reviews to define the problem and propose validated solutions.

“You have to provide research pieces that show it’s viable and that it’s essential that it’s improved. For example, I was working on an NHS app used in the UK. I used the bad reviews from the Apple Store and showed the exact pain points that users had. Then I went through usability testing. We also presented it, so it’s essentially a whole other case study for your portfolio.” 

Experiences like this, identifying user problems, conducting UX research, iterating based on insights, are what make a portfolio relevant, respected and ready for hiring conversations.

💼 Explore Klaudia’s UX case study.

Support that strengthens every step

While tools and projects lay a strong foundation, the support learners receive often makes the biggest difference in building confidence.

Every learner in the King’s UX & UI Product Design Career Accelerator is paired with a Career Coach and a Success Manager who support them throughout their learning journey. Whether building a study schedule, refining a CV, preparing for an interview, or getting feedback on a portfolio case study, the support is consistent and expert.

“The Facilitators have been amazing…It’s really nice to be able to chat to industry professionals and get their take on it. I felt really supported and guided whenever I was working on coursework or assignments. If I had any questions about jobs or portfolios, it was great to have someone knowledgeable there to turn to.” — Rajdeep, King’s Career Accelerator Alumna

Making the shift: From learning to doing

Learners are drawn to this programme because it offers more than skills — it offers the chance to think, create and deliver like a UX designer from Course 1. Each activity and assignment is designed to build confidence through practical, hands-on experience.

Rizal Azlan, who has a psychology background, used what he learned to take on freelance UX projects while still in the programme, demonstrating just how immediately applicable the content is.

“The type of learning was incredibly practical for me. I was doing freelance projects for UX design, and I found that to be a really good way to embed everything that I have learned straight into a real-life application.” — Rizal, King’s Career Accelerator Alumnus

The Employer Project, where Rizal’s team worked on a hospital booking app, helped him experience what many online UX bootcamps miss — true collaboration, with real-world stakes.

“We were working with Creative Navy on a hospital booking app. I felt like that really stood out compared to a lot of my previous learnings, where it’s all very theory-based — you don’t really get hands-on to work on a project, especially with other people, until you’re in the working world, until you actually have to apply it. By that time, it’s kind of too late because they expect you to have those skills already.”

This is what makes the difference: learning that feels like doing, and doing that leads to jobs. Or, in Rizal’s case, to launching 1+1 Studios, the gaming company he co-founded after completing the Career Accelerator — applying his UX skills to create something of his own.

 🔗 View Rizal’s low-fidelity game design.

Designed with the industry and recognised by it

Across this case study, learners have mentioned companies like the NHS, Creative Navy, and real tourism and healthtech brands — and that’s by design. The King’s UX & UI Product Design Career Accelerator connects learners to the standards, tools and expectations of real companies, through case studies and projects grounded in professional practice.

At the centre of it all is King’s College London — a name that adds immediate weight to their skills and learning, recognised by employers around the world.

“The truth is, I’ve got the confidence now, and I wasn’t half as confident after four years of university, and it’s because I worked with experts.” — Klaudia, King’s Career Accelerator Alumna

“Being associated with King’s has given me a real sense of credibility and confidence in my skills. I already feel very connected to the industry, which is something I don’t think I would’ve gotten from another course. The combination of industry experience, course content, and being backed by the university — all of that has really helped set me up for the field.” — Rajdeep, King’s Career Accelerator Alumna

The combination of company-led challenges, expert feedback and university backing offers clear proof of your readiness for the field. It shows you’ve solved real employer problems and worked to high industry and academic expectations. In job conversations, this elevates your credibility, helping you stand out as someone already thinking, working, and presenting like a professional designer.

The design decisions you can show — and stand behind in interviews

One of the most valuable outcomes of the programme is learning how to showcase your UX work in a way that stands up to real hiring conversations. Through live reviews, expert feedback, and repeated practice, learners develop the clarity and confidence to present their portfolio and connect with employers in ways that resonate.

Learners like Rajdeep, Emma, Klaudia and Rizal have all shown that career progress isn’t just about what you design — it’s about how you share your thinking, demonstrate your process, and speak to the value of your work.

“The truth is that the industry is quite competitive, and having your portfolio stand out and attract well is important. The transition [into my new role] was so seamless. I could not be happier.” — Klaudia, King’s Career Accelerator Alumna

“I feel confident job hunting now and talking about what I’ve done — because I’m really proud of it. I didn’t feel that way when I was job hunting in mechanical engineering. I think that says a lot about what I’ve learned and the process I’ve gone through during these six months. It’s been a big shift in how I think about working in the industry — and I have the course to thank for that.” — Rajdeep, King’s Career Accelerator Alumna

By the end of the six months, learners graduate with a portfolio of work developed through industry-aligned briefs, shaped by feedback and strengthened by self-reflection. But more than that, they know how to showcase it — how to explain their choices, respond to feedback, and own their story.

That’s the real proof of progress.

Ready to see what your own journey could look like? Download the brochure to explore the full programme.