"Dave changed the way I approach building products...It wasn't just about tools or methods, it was about unlocking better ways of thinking."
João ConceiçãoLead Product Designer @ PandaDoc
SYSTEMS THINKING FOR DESIGNERS WITH DEADLINES
Become the designer who builds systems, not just screens. Learn the concepts, methods, and language of product-focused systems thinking you can actually use on Monday morning or while staring down a deadline.
Change how you think about design?
Right now, you design with screens, colors, words, boxes. After System Design Lab, you’ll design the hidden system underneath that makes or breaks a product.
If you change your thinking, you can’t go back.
Leveling up systems thinking for teams at
"Dave is not only an expert at what he does...he can break down the complex concepts and ideas around systems thinking in ways that make them less daunting to start applying to my everyday work."
Kristin TerpezaContent Designer @ Audible
"Doing one of Dave's courses changed how I design and with it, the trajectory of my career. I can't recommend this enough!"
Sophie BenjaminLead Conversation Designer @ Canva
One of the most in-demand DESIGN skills HAS almost nowhere to learn it...
45+
of hiring managers name systems thinking — alongside collaboration and product strategy — a top 5 skill for the AI era.
Source: Figma, 2026 Design Hiring Study~55%
of current senior design job postings mention system thinking.
Until now
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Teams moved fast before AI, now they're moving even faster. PMs are shipping prototypes that get on the roadmap. The system underneath the UI used to always be owned by a human, but now is being left to the robots. With System Design Lab, you'll be able to design not just screens, but consistent systems that don't cause more design debt.
Go from purveyor of pixels to sage of systems
Explore your path to sage
Why learn from me?
I’m Dave Connis, founder of System Design Lab, and I didn’t learn what I teach in a bootcamp or classroom.
When I started my tech career in code, object-oriented programming gave me a systems thinking mindset that I’ve spent years trying to develop and apply in real fast-paced day-to-day product design work. When I wanted to learn more, systems thinking content was so boring and academic I lost interest fast or didn’t feel like I was smart enough to understand how to apply it. I tried certification programs and courses, all of them were so comprehensive that it felt like I was getting quantum mathematics when my day-to-day reality only had space for addition and subtraction.
After 10+ years in UX and design, System Design Lab is what actually worked. It’s not comprehensive frameworks that breakdown the moment a PM says “this needs to be done by tomorrow.” It’s not abstract theories that require PhDs to apply, or feel too ambiguous to use on Monday morning. It’s practical everyday thinking that changes what you see when you look at a product.
SDL is for designers who don’t need another framework or academic theory, but a perspective shift in how they see and design products. It’s practical systems thinking that you can apply when you’re staring down a deadline in the trenches of a flow with 5+ stakeholders telling you different requirements.
- 10+ years in UX, content design, and product design
- Contributor, 97 Things Every UX Practitioner Should Know (O'Reilly)
- Multi-course author, UX Content Collective
- Former design system lead