The Squarespace Client Lab
You finished the course. You hit Trophy. You've got the skills. And now you're staring at the big scary question every new designer faces: How do I actually start working with real clients?
That's exactly why we built the Squarespace Client Lab.
Client Lab is where Squarespace Design Course trophy grads get to design and build real Squarespace sites for real, paying clients with feedback from our Creative Director every step of the way. You build your portfolio with professional design direction, you see how other designers tackle the same brief, and you get a front-row seat to how a creative studio actually operates.
You get real work, real feedback, and real portfolio pieces. Plus, get a chance to get paid while you're at it!
Video
Timestamps
Slides from Video
Timestamps:
0:00:20 — Introduction to the Client Lab program and its goal: giving Trophy students real client experience to help them build confidence and land future work.
0:02:09 — Case study of the first client, Dan Buyanovsky, including his old website, the redesign process, and how the new site helped him secure job interviews.
0:07:30 — Overview of how Client Lab works: client briefs are created, students opt in, and projects are organized through Discord and project management.
0:11:24 — Walkthrough of the design phase using a Natalie Beltrán's website, including student submissions, feedback rounds, and client selection of a winning concept.
0:14:00 — Key lesson on client work: designers should balance their creative ideas with actively listening to and incorporating the client's stated preferences.
0:18:14 — Discussion of design-to-development workflow, including style guides, simplifying implementation, maintaining pixel-perfect builds, and solving development challenges in Squarespace.
0:26:44 — Eligibility, compensation, and expectations for Client Lab participants, including real deadlines, portfolio-building benefits, feedback opportunities, and the 8–12 week project cycle.
How Client Lab works
A brief drops: When a new client comes in, we turn their project into a creative brief with goals, scope, pages, design direction, and details. You'll see it announced in the Squarespace Client Lab Discord Channel
You opt in: If the project and timeline work for you, submit your opt-in, and you're in.
You design: All participants design at least one homepage in Figma as well as a short under 5 min loom that walks through your designs.
Figma Review: The Creative Director reviews all the submissions, selects the final direction, and shares feedback with everyone. Whether your design gets picked or not, you're learning and leveling up every single cycle.
The selected designer brings it home: The chosen designer does revisions with client feedback, finalizes the build for desktop + mobile, and we polish it up for launch.
Launch! 🚀 The finished site gets delivered to the client, and another designer's portfolio just leveled up.
Who can join?
Client Lab is currently open to Squarespace Design Course trophy alumni. If you've hit SDC Trophy 🏆, you're eligible. International trophy grads welcome!
① How you get paid
One designer is selected to own the final Squarespace build and gets paid from the client project fee.
Open to international students! All payments are made in USD.
If elements from your comp make it into the final direction, you get credit + feedback for your contribution.
Everyone who participates walks away with Creative Director feedback and portfolio-ready work, whether or not your design was selected.
Every round results in real experience, real feedback, and real portfolio work.
② What you get out of this
Real client work: actual clients paying for an actual site
Creative Director feedback: professional direction on your real work, beyond coursework
Portfolio gold: pieces that prove you can deliver for clients, not just complete assignments
Mini-agency experience: see how other designers think, how the review process works, how a studio actually runs
Community: improve your skills alongside other talented designers
A chance to get paid: the selected designer gets compensated
This is where you prove to yourself and to future clients that you can do the work.
③ How we roll
These are real clients with real deadlines, so we keep things professional:
Opt in = commit: If you say you're in, you submit by the deadline.
Reliability matters: No-shows or late submissions mean sitting out a cycle. We're building something that needs to be dependable.
Quality bar is high: Your work should be at or near Studio level. That's how we keep clients coming back and keep creating opportunities for all of us!
Follow submission guidelines: Submit what's asked for, in the format that's asked for, by the date that's asked for. Super simple!
We're not trying to be strict for the sake of it. We keep Client Lab reliable and professional so it keeps creating opportunities for all of us. 🤝
What you'll need
Figma: for your designs
Time: a full cycle runs about 8-12 weeks from brief to launch, so make sure you can commit before opting in
Your best work 🎖️ bring the same energy you'd bring to a paying client. Because that's exactly what this is!
Ready to design for real clients?
Join the Lab: Mention @Chelli in this Discord Thread and let her know you'd like to join Client Lab! Next, complete your one-time designer agreement (The NDA covers all your future Client Lab participation) and Chelli will add you to the Client Lab forum. If you have any issues, email chelli@ilovecreatives.com.