There’s so much noise in this space and so many abstract ideas about “What a developer is” and what is “Tech” or “Design” – so, we start out trying to get a clean slate. There’s some work-life balance that we have to address.

From there I use the history of the web as a framework to teach how each piece of the puzzle came to be and why it is important to you.

I take a holistic approach that adds layer by layer.

We’ll talk about discoverability, empathy, usability, typography, communication, accessibility, critical thinking, research strategies, content strategy, prototyping, user-testing, information-architecture, project-planning, how the web works, authoring web documents with HTML, web crawlers, metadata and social sharing, writing, deliverables like site maps, style-tyles, and style-guides, goal-driven design thinking, how to keep projects lean, making things look good CSS, layouts for variable screen sizes, visual design tools, branding, server-side rendering, scripting with PHP, content management systems, interaction and integration with JavaScript, client-side rendering, build-tools, frameworks, user testing, working with clients, value pricing, work-life-balance, your responsibility as a designer, and most importantly – how to learn whatever is next for you.

Throughout the process, you’ll learn to write about your approach to problem-solving, build your own blog and website, and complete real client projects with a real team – for your portfolio.

Some aspects of the design process will call to you. I’ll make sure that you have what it takes to answer it.

This course is all about timing. It requires 2-3 hours of focused time each day – but the magic happens when you’re in transit, eating breakfast, or talking to a friend.

6 Days a week:

• you’ll receive a new lesson
• Each morning – we’ll have a check-in and discuss –
  • What you did yesterday
  • what you’ll do today –
  • and we’ll address any blockers
• Each lesson
  • is written out with diagrams and examples for you to read
  • AND has a video like this – where I go over the topic and the concepts
  • How you build your schedule is up to you –
    • But at some point each day – you’ll sit down and work through the lesson challenges
    • You’ll have access to our shared chatroom where you’ll talk to me and your team and even share your computer screen to get help
    • We’ll set up plenty of video meetings, so we all work on things together and ask any questions
• DFTW isn’t a “follow along and copy the teacher” type, of course. You’ll be deciding what to design and build / and the collection of concepts we’ll teach will be your tools
• We will also be building real client projects
• You’ll be able to find what areas you are most passionate about – and I’ll help you craft a portfolio to show your unique value

I don’t want you staying up all night trying to cram and memorize things. This pace is about building a mindset and changing your frequency. You should set up a consistent learning/lesson schedule and show personal responsibility in following through each day.

• Some people want to learn to be “developers.”
  (who often don’t know what that means) (this could be kids just out of school / or people who aren’t already in this industry)
  • Pros / they don’t have any bad habits + they’ll be easy to keep excited.
  • Cons / they don’t know how to choose between the options + it’s hard to explain because they don’t know anything about it yet.
• There are people with experience – learning online – who have hit a wall
  • Pros / they are ready for help!
  • Cons / they have bad habits and might fight the pacing
• Some people are visual designers / or project managers – who want to pivot and add more lucrative skills (programming) – or generally become more valuable to the team (social media production artist
  • Pros / they know the value of this / 20-40k pay bump… easy
• People who want to learn “web design” or “UX” – (usually don’t know what that means… but – heard it was lucrative – and “think apps are cool.”
  • Pros / they know the value of this / 20-40k pay bump… easy
  • Cons / they might not want to learn this much programming (but they need to)

The private education sector for “coding” is angled toward “Full-stack web developers” and “UX” designers right now. When people hear about the super high paying jobs in “Tech,” they are usually located in expensive cities – and salaries of 120k – 170k. People tell me they want to work at Google, but none of them have been able to explain what they think they’d do there – if they did. It’s a brittle mental model when you start.

You’ll learn all about what “full-stack” means – in the course / but those jobs are for people who don’t need directions. Most of the people coming out of boot camps just don’t really have that much experience – yet. The industry is changing. It requires designers and not just ‘coders.’

Throughout our course – you’ll learn more about yourself and the design process – and figure out where you fit. There are entry-level jobs from 70-100k all over the world for many different roles – and especially for people with a critical thinking foundation.

The truth is – that every job and every industry are so different that you do most of your learning on the job. The core foundation is what we teach here – so that you can excel in your unknown future career or business when you get there.

Starting in a junior role is just smart. You don’t want to be responsible for big projects or large code bases in your first position, do you?

So, the answer – is: you can get a job that’s right for you. And – while I will not guarantee you anything – your writing, your experience, your portfolio — the confidence and character that you develop during this 6-month course — will put you on top of the stack. Provide value, and you will be highly valued.

Students are accepted based on personality and enthusiasm. If you’re a jerk, or you’re boring – It’s not in my best interest for you to become a designer – because / I’ll have to use the things you design. So, it’s not about technical skill. Design is about communication – and creative ways of reaching goals.

We don’t have a pre-screening technical test because that would be counterintuitive to our teaching process. We believe in experience over aptitude.

Based on goals and interests, students are divided into diverse teams. Being on a team of people who are all the same – doesn’t lead to nearly as much learning. Since most of the design process is a learning process itself – we all end up all teaching from our unique perspectives.

DFTW is a personal experience. We are not just showing you some code and letting you follow along – and then pushing you out the door. While this course is “part-time” in a sense, it’s imperative that everyone on the team shows up – and does the work. Your heart and focus are essential to the success of the group as a whole. If you aren’t dedicated this is not the right course for you!

After our beta-testing is complete – the final tuition for our 6-month course – will be ten thousand dollars. We offer a range of limited partial scholarships and can help line up financing options.