Mentorship
Mentorship is guidance from a more experienced designer who shares what they know, reviews your work and helps you see your next step. It is a relationship built on your goals, usually over several sessions.
Example. A mid-level designer meets a senior mentor monthly; each session starts from one piece of work and ends with one action for the next month.
In a 2026 survey of 119 design leaders, only 21% had a strong mentor early in their career, and 66% now mentor others.
Also called: ux design mentoring, design mentorship
Design Mentor
A design mentor is an experienced designer who advises a less experienced one on work and career. The most useful mentor for your next step has usually made that step recently, so they remember exactly where it was hard.
Example. A designer aiming for senior picks a mentor who was promoted to senior two years ago over one who has led design teams for twenty.
Also called: design career mentor, ux mentor, product design mentor
Mentee
A mentee is the person receiving mentorship. Good mentees bring a clear question and real work to every session, act on the advice and report back, which is what makes mentors want to keep helping.
Example. A mentee sends a two-line note after the session: "I moved the result to the top of my case study, here is the new version."
Also called: protege
Mentor vs Coach
Mentor vs coach: a mentor shares experience and advice from having done the job; a coach asks questions that help you find your own answers and usually works in a structured, paid programme. Many designers use both at different moments.
Example. A mentor reviews your case study and says what to change; a coach helps you decide whether you want management at all.
Also called: mentorship vs coaching, design career coaching
Design Career Coach
A design career coach helps designers set goals and work through career decisions, such as a promotion, a switch or a job search, usually over a paid series of sessions with clear structure.
Example. Over six sessions a coach helps a designer prepare a promotion case and rehearse the conversation with their manager.
Also called: career coaching for designers, personal design coach
Mentor Session
A mentor session is one meeting with a mentor; on ADPList the median session is 30 minutes. It works best with one specific question, one piece of work shared on screen and one action agreed at the end.
Example. "Here is my onboarding case study. What would you change first before I send it to recruiters?"
Also called: mentoring session for designers, mentor call
Actionable Feedback
Actionable feedback is specific enough to act on: it names what to change, where and why. "Looks good" or "make it pop" are reactions; "the total price is hidden below the fold, move it next to the button" is actionable.
Example. A reviewer marks three changes on a screen, ranks them by impact and explains the user problem each one fixes.
Also called: actionable design feedback, high-signal feedback, honest feedback on design work
Portfolio Feedback
Portfolio feedback is a review of your portfolio or one case study by someone who reads portfolios for hiring. It shows what reads as your level, what is unclear and what to fix first. Portfolio and resume review is the most booked mentor topic on ADPList.
Example. On DesignPath, a mentor review of your real work comes back in writing within 48 hours.
Also called: portfolio feedback from senior designer, case study review
Mock Interview
A mock interview is a practice run of a design interview with a mentor or peer playing the interviewer, followed by honest feedback. It is one of the most booked mentor topics, because rehearsal shows gaps that reading cannot.
Example. A candidate presents a case study in a mock interview and learns they spend twelve minutes on context before showing a single decision.
Also called: mock design interview, interview practice for designers
Peer Feedback
Peer feedback is feedback from designers at a similar level, in a team critique, a community or a study group. It is faster to get than mentor feedback and very useful for catching clarity problems.
Example. Three designers swap case studies every Friday and each leaves the top three questions a recruiter would ask.
Also called: peer review, peer critique
Accountability Partner
An accountability partner is a peer you check in with regularly to keep each other on track with goals, such as finishing a course or a case study. It works because a promise to another person is harder to skip.
Example. Two designers send each other a short Monday message: what they will finish this week and whether last week's goal is done.
Also called: study buddy
Reverse Mentoring
Reverse mentoring is when a less experienced person mentors a more senior one, usually on a new skill, tool or perspective. In design teams it often covers new AI tools or how younger users behave.
Example. A junior designer shows the design director how they use AI tools for early layout exploration.
Also called: reverse mentorship
ADPList
ADPList is the largest free mentorship platform for designers and other tech professionals. As of October 2026 it lists more than 39,000 approved mentors and 588,000 members, and every mentor has public reviews.
Example. A junior designer books a free session on ADPList with a mentor whose reviews mention specific portfolio help.
Also called: adplist mentor, free ux mentor adplist
