What we offer
Structured learning for interface design that goes beyond surface-level tools
Novabelu runs focused online seminars on user interface design — covering layout logic, interaction patterns, visual hierarchy, and the reasoning behind design decisions. Each programme is built for participants who want to understand the craft, not just replicate templates.
Seminar programmes
Three distinct tracks, each addressing a different stage of UI design understanding — from foundational visual logic to complex interaction systems and critique-based refinement.
Visual Foundations
A structured introduction to the principles that make interfaces readable and coherent. Covers spacing, typographic hierarchy, colour relationships, and grid logic with direct application to screen-based work.
- Grid systems and alignment
- Typographic scale in UI
- Colour theory for screens
- Spacing and visual rhythm
- Component anatomy
Interaction Design
Focuses on the logic of states, transitions, and user flows. Participants work through realistic interface scenarios — form behaviour, navigation patterns, error handling — and learn to reason through design decisions rather than copy patterns.
- State and transition logic
- Navigation architecture
- Form and input patterns
- Error and feedback design
- Prototype-driven critique
Design Critique Lab
A peer-review format where participants bring real projects and receive structured feedback from peers and a facilitator. The focus is on developing critical vocabulary and the ability to identify specific problems rather than vague impressions.
- Structured critique methods
- Design vocabulary building
- Live project review
- Facilitator-guided sessions
- Iterative revision cycles
How the seminars are structured
Each seminar runs across four weekly sessions of ninety minutes each. Sessions combine a short presentation segment with extended discussion and hands-on review. Participants are expected to bring questions, drafts, or problems from their own work — the seminar is not a lecture series.
The online format is deliberate. Participants join from across the province, which means the group regularly includes people working in different industries — product companies, agencies, municipal services, education — and that variety sharpens the discussion considerably. A designer working on a government portal and one working on a consumer app will disagree productively about what "clear" means.
The goal is to leave each session with a sharper question, not just a confirmed answer
Between sessions, participants have access to a shared workspace where notes, references, and work-in-progress are collected. There is no automated feedback or AI-generated assessment. Responses come from the facilitator and from peers in the group.
Vera Okonkwo
Lead facilitator. Fourteen years in interface design across product and agency contexts. Runs the Critique Lab and the Interaction Design track.
From registration to first session
The path from enquiry to active participation is short. There are no entrance assessments or prerequisite certifications — what matters is that you have work to bring and questions worth discussing.
Choose a track
Review the three programme descriptions and identify which stage of your practice you want to develop. If you are uncertain, the contact page includes a short questionnaire that helps clarify the fit.
Register for the next cohort
Cohorts open four times per year and are capped at twelve participants to keep discussion manageable. Registration closes one week before the first session.
Receive the pre-session brief
Three days before the first session, participants receive a short document outlining the session structure, what to prepare, and how the shared workspace is organised.
Attend and contribute
Sessions run live. Recording is available for participants who miss a session, but the value is in the real-time exchange — the questions that come up mid-discussion are often the most useful part.
Cohorts are small by design
Twelve participants per cohort is a deliberate constraint. Larger groups produce shallower discussion. The current schedule lists upcoming cohort dates and remaining places for each track — worth checking before the next registration window closes.
View programme details