NEW YORK, Oct. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- Wix (Nasdaq: WIX), the global leader in website
creation, announces the expansion of their intensive web design
program, Wix Playground Academy, into Europe in January
2021. The Academy bridges the gap between design school and
the professional world, and helps designers elevate their
multidisciplinary design experience.
Since its inception in summer 2018, the Playground Academy has
operated out of Wix's physical location in the Meatpacking District
in New York City. However, as a
result of COVID-19, Wix successfully transitioned the program into
a digital format earlier this year. Although the transition came
with obvious challenges, pivoting to online gave the Wix team a
fresh and unique perspective.
"Launching the program virtually isn't something we would have
instinctively thought to do, as teaching design is a hands-on
experience," said Hagit Kaufman,
Wix's VP of Brand and Design. "However, with in-person classes off
the table, we were forced to find creative solutions to digital
learning. The summer 2020 program showed us that it was not only
possible to run a design program completely remote, but also that
there were advantages in doing so. Our Academy graduates have gone
on to work at top design firms and for leading brands around the
world. COVID-19 has made the job market unpredictable, so being
able to expand the Academy to Europe means being able to help more aspiring
designers and prepare them for a career in the industry."
Taught by industry-leaders in design, the Academy offers up to
40 of the best design students each cohort the rare opportunity to
expand on their design skills through workshops and hands-on
projects—at no cost to those selected. Through creative mentorship,
Wix creates a holistic environment that allows their students to
gain experience and freedom in a creative way, while also giving
them practical and professional level work.
Students develop their online portfolios, enhance their web
design skills, and learn how to showcase and promote their work.
They take courses in everything from Responsive Design, to Coding
and UX Design, to Animation, to Content Writing. Wix also plans to
digitize the field trip and get-together experiences, so that in
addition to kick-starting their careers, students leave with a
support system at the program's conclusion.
"I applied for Wix's Playground Academy because I wanted to meet
new people and be inspired," said Rajlaxmi
Jain, one of the Academy's recent graduates. "To be able to
stay connected as a community through creativity during this
pandemic has been invaluable."
The New York program spans
three months over the summer, but the European program will be
condensed to four weeks to make it more accessible. Kicking off on
January 4th and running through
January 29th, with students meeting
via Zoom five times a week between 5:00PM-9:00PM (CET). Instructors for the winter
2021 session have yet to be announced, but past lecturers have
included award-winning designers like Jessica Walsh, Debbie
Millman, Alexandra Zsigmond,
Adam Kurtz, Nicole Ginelli, and Hagit Kaufman.
Any designer or design student over the age of 18 is eligible to
apply by submitting their portfolio for review. Applications for
Wix Playground Academy Europe opened on October 18th and will stay open through
mid-December, with students accepted on a rolling basis.
Applications for Wix's summer 2021 Academy in New York (EST) are now open as well.
To learn more about the Wix Playground Academy Europe and submit
an application, please visit www.wix.com/playground/program/eu.
About Wix.com Ltd.
Wix is
leading the way with a cloud-based development platform for over
180 million registered users worldwide. Wix was founded on the
belief that the Internet should be accessible to everyone to
develop, create and contribute. Through free and premium
subscriptions, the Wix website builder and complete product
platform empowers millions of businesses, organizations, artists,
and individuals to take their businesses, brands and workflow
online. The Wix Editor, Wix ADI, a highly curated App Market, Ascend by Wix and Corvid by Wix
enables users to build and manage a fully integrated and dynamic
digital presence. Wix's headquarters are in Tel Aviv with offices in Be'er Sheva,
Berlin, Dnipro, Dublin, Kiev,
Los Angeles, Miami, New
York, Phoenix, San Francisco, São Paulo, Tokyo and Vilnius.
Learn more at Wix.com, in our Press Room and our Investor
Relations site
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Store
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SOURCE Wix.com Ltd.