Sean Locke

Product Designer & UX Design Instructor, General Assembly · Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Toronto-born, Berkeley alum, Los Angeles resident.

I’m a Product Designer and UX Design Instructor at General Assembly, where I’ve taught Visual Design and UX Design for 7 years to 250+ students worldwide. I’ve led bootcamps online and in-person — including GA’s first in-person UX Design Bootcamp in Montenegro — and earned a Net Promoter Score of 71 and a 4.93/5.0 instructor rating from my most recent cohort.

I develop curriculum alongside GA’s learning design team. I revamped the Visual Design curriculum — updating design principles, typography, content strategy, and visual communication frameworks — and built new AI-integrated instruction: a Design Sprint where students created custom GPTs and applications using ChatGPT, Claude, Lovable, and Figma Make, plus live Vibe Coding sessions demoing AI-driven app building in real time. I also prepared Adobe Digital Academy scholars for internships, with my cohort securing 6 paid placements at Adobe.

Alongside teaching, I’ve spent 25+ years designing products for early-stage startups — often as the first designer in the room, helping founders shape raw ideas into working platforms. I pursued an interdisciplinary major in Visual Studies at Berkeley and have continued learning from the people at Adaptive Path, ArtCenter, and General Assembly. I believe design, when done right, can shape and improve people’s lives.

Client and product work includes Eames Office, Peloton, OpenX, Siegel+Gale, TenOneTen Ventures, Blue Cedar, TeachFX, and Unbound Agents, alongside 25+ early-stage startups across B2B, B2C, and SaaS.

What is your favorite technical skill to work with on your own projects and why?

Rapid prototyping — turning a sketch into a working prototype in a few hours. I like when things move fast, and prototyping is where design, research, and storytelling all come together. That’s especially true in early-stage product work, which is where I’m happiest.

User research. It shifts students from making things that look good to making things that work for real people. Teaching them how to run a good interview, synthesize findings, and turn those insights into design decisions — that’s where they start thinking like designers. It also builds empathy, which is the most important skill in this field.

Showing students they already have what it takes to think like a designer. The tools matter, but I want them to walk away feeling empowered to solve real problems — to shift their mindset, take creative risks, and find their voice as designers.

Start building before you feel ready. You’ll learn more from small, scrappy projects than from waiting until everything feels perfect. And ask questions. Lots of them. Curiosity is your best asset.

I’ve spent 25+ years designing products with early-stage startups, often as the first designer in the room — helping founders turn raw ideas into working platforms, sometimes leading to millions in funding or major pivots. I’ve always been drawn to the messy, uncertain early stages where design has the biggest impact.

WHAT SEAN'S STUDENTS ARE SAYING...

"Really great instructor. He always adjusted as needed and would hear out students when a learning method was particularly not working with our learning style. Hes a really great listener and knows when to interject and help us grow and advance our thoughts."

"He was an amazing instructor who supported me from day one in building my knowledge and confidence. He always reminded me not to undervalue my designs and helped me improve how I present my work. He was a great resource for design tools, and his workshops during the bootcamp were really practical and useful. He even invited guest speakers for the AI workshop, which meant a lot. He constantly emphasized the power of AI and encouraged us to use it as a tool every day. He was also there to help navigate any conflicts we encountered during team projects—a great listener, leader, and someone who truly knows how to guide and manage a team."