A review of Gymnasium as a product design online resource - 2023 update

Hi, I’m Elle! I work as a product designer at Getaround and as an industry mentor here at Pathrise. I help our fellows land great jobs in product design through technical workshops and 1-on-1s. Check out my review of Gymnasium.

What does Gymnasium do?

Hosting a variety of free articles, tutorials, and webinars, Gymnasium is a free online product design resource with courses in UX/UI design, web design & development, and content creation. Students pick and choose from courses that cover the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, as well as design fundamentals, including user research, wireframing & prototyping, user testing, and more. They also offer skill courses on specific topics such as grid layout in bootstrap, creating a WordPress theme, Sketch for UX/UI designers, Git & GitHub, prototyping with Axure, and more.

Industry experts teach courses that focus on the most up-to-date tools and technologies. Students watch 1-6 hours of recorded lectures per class and participate in quizzes, assignments, and a final exam. All assessments are graded, so students receive feedback and corrections on their work. Those who score 85% or better on the final exam receive a certificate of completion. This can be added to their LinkedIn profile for recruiters to see.

Photo of Gymnasium as a product design online resource

While some support is available from instructors, students are encouraged to post questions related to the course material, homework, or specific concepts on the forum. This is where teaching assistants and other students discuss challenging topics and answer questions. Besides their courses, Gymnasium also provides articles, tutorials, and podcasts that offer tips for resume and portfolio building, interview preparation, networking, salary negotiation, and more.

Who is Gymnasium for?

Current and aspiring designers and web developers can benefit from the lessons curated by Gymnasium. Their short courses are good resources for those who are looking to brush up on the basics, advance their current skills, and learn new tools.

What does Gymnasium cost? How much work is involved?

Gymnasium classes are free. To register, candidates must create an account with their LinkedIn or email address. Once they sign up, students can enroll in any course and keep track of their progress via the Gymnasium dashboard.

Ratings and reviews

There are not too many reviews of Gymnasium online. But, they are frequently featured on lists of best courses and resources for web development and UX/UI design. On Reddit, one user said that “If you’re a complete beginner and want to learn web development then these courses would be a great start.”

UX Planet included Gymnasium on their list of the 56 best websites to learn something new. Similarly, a Medium blogger added Gymnasium to her list of the 30 best online course websites to learn UI/UX design. She noted that they “offer free online courses designed to teach creative professionals in-demand skills.”

Alternatives to Gymnasium

If you are looking for alternative courses and resources to learn product design, check out the following list.

Aspiring designers can also consider Designlab. This online bootcamp that teaches the necessary skills to land a job as a UX designer. Read more about Designlab in our review.
You can check out Udacity and Springboard. They are online educational platforms that students can use to brush up on the basics or advance their current tech skills. Read more about Udacity and Springboard in our reviews.
edX is one of the largest online learning platforms. They have courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Learn more about edX in our review.
Udemy, Coursera, Learn UX, V School, and Pluralsight are also online learning platforms with courses in UX design and other subjects.
Students interested in taking online self-guided or instructor-led product design courses can check out DesignerUp. Learn more about DesignerUp in our review.
A weekly newsletter, HackDesign sends design lessons to your inbox for free, which can benefit product designers at any level.
One of the most well known bootcamps is General Assembly. They offer full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on a variety of topics like software engineering, data science, UX design, digital marketing, product management, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.

More alteratives

GrowthX Academy is an online bootcamp with courses in growth marketing, UX design, and sales and business development.
Those interested in online bootcamps with tracks in product design can consider enrolling in Skillcrush, Design Sprint School, Interaction Design Foundation, Helio Training, or UX Design Institute.
Or, they can look at Bloc and Big Nerd Ranch. Both cover web dev and design, but Bloc is online and Big Nerd Ranch is on campus.
Similarly, Flatiron School, University of Arizona Bootcamps, and Lambda School have tracks in UX design, as well as other subjects.
Students can also consider Kenzie Academy. A full-time tech bootcamp, Kenzie offers in-person and online courses in 2 tracks: software engineering & UX design and front-end engineering. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
Likewise, Prime Digital Academy has full-time and part-time courses in UX design and software engineering.
UX Pro Academy has courses for beginners as well as more experienced people. Or, consider Beginex and Memorisely, UX design bootcamps with part-time courses.
Students located in the Bay Area or looking to work in Silicon Valley can check out Tradecraft, which has tracks in product design, growth marketing, engineering, and sales.
Similarly, Miami Ad School and Avocademy have marketing and design courses where students can build portfolio projects.

How does Gymnasium compare to Pathrise?

Gymnasium is an online product design resource. Their classes are for people who are interested in learning a completely new tool or furthering their knowledge in web development and UX/UI design. While they offer some job-seeking resources, they do not provide 1-on-1 support or feedback on resumes or online profiles.

Pathrise is a full service organization that helps product designers land the best job possible. Our mentors work 1-on-1 with fellows at every stage of the job search, including resume and portfolio building, behavioral and technical interview prep, salary negotiation, and more.

Advancing technical skills is a key component of landing a job as a product designer, so fellows in our program should feel free to use Gymnasium, as well as our technical workshops, to further their design knowledge.

Pathrise is a career accelerator that works with students and professionals 1-on-1 so they can land their dream job in tech. If you are interested in optimizing your job search by working with a mentor, become a Pathrise fellow.

A review of Gymnasium as a product design online resource – 2023 update