Virtual Consultations

Make an Appointment

We are now offering 15-minute, 30-minute and 60-minute virtual appointments!

You will be asked to upload a draft of your project or share it with us via a link to a cloud-based file sharing program (such as Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.). See “Sharing Your Project with DesignLab” below for help on how to do this.

Video projects:
If you have a draft you would like us to view prior to your appointment, please export it as an MP4 or other non-editable format and upload or provide us a link to the project in the appointment scheduler form. We cannot access your iMovie, Premiere Pro, or Final Cut files.

Audio projects:
If you have a draft you would like us to listen to prior to your appointment, please export it as a WAV or MP3 file format and upload or provide us with a link to the project in the appointment scheduler form. We cannot access Audacity, Audition, or Garageband files.

All Other Projects:
We encourage you to upload or provide a link to a draft of your project when making an appointment.

Make an Appointment

Note: Appointments must be scheduled at least 1 hour in advance.

Consultation Support

Does a Virtual Consultation Work for your Project?

While we encourage everyone to meet with us however they are able, we recognize that some projects are easier to work with in virtual consultations than others. We ask that you upload a draft of your project or share it with us via a link to a cloud-based file sharing program (such as Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.). We typically do not recommend making a virtual consultation if you are working on a video or audio project, or other projects that are not easily shareable. If you do plan to make a virtual consultation for a video or audio project, see “Sharing Your Project with DesignLab” below to learn how to export your project so we can view it.

Communicating During Your Consultation (including Troubleshooting)

What does it mean to consult?
We want your consultation to feel like a conversation, where we will ask questions of you and expect you to ask questions of us. Learn more about what a consultation looks like here.

Taking Notes:
During your appointment, we encourage you to take notes however you feel comfortable. We will not have notes to share with you after your appointment, so it is important that you take and save your own notes. If you’re looking for a notetaking software, we recommend Google Keep (virtual post-its) or Microsoft OneNote (virtual notebooks).

Troubleshooting:
Please bear with us, as we are all learning how to conduct consultations. Here are some helpful steps for if you’re having difficulty accessing Zoom meetings:

If you are experiencing difficulty connecting, please first try exiting Zoom and trying to re-open the application. You may also need to try to restart your computer.
Email the DesignLab consultant directly to let them know you’re experiencing technical difficulties so they do not cancel your appointment. They will work with you via email to get you connected.
We encourage you to search the UW-Madison’s Zoom Knowledgebase (kb.wisc.edu/zoom) for steps to connect.

Following up with DesignLab after your Consultation

You will be receiving communication via our staff’s direct DesignLab email. We encourage you to contact them prior to and during your appointment time using that email (especially for trouble connecting). After your appointment, you may also direct any follow-up emails to that email or to designlab@wisc.edu.

You are also welcome to make another DesignLab appointment for more help!

How to share audio files:

You will need to export your editable file to an MP4, MOV, or other compressed video file that we can view. Below you will find instructions for iMovie, Premiere Pro, and Final Cut Pro. Once you have exported the file, you can share the file with us using any of the cloud-based file sharing services listed above.