Industry guides
UX/UI Design Internships in Singapore
UX/UI design internships in Singapore span tech, banking, government, and creative agencies. This guide covers the portfolio skills you need, top companies paying SGD 1,000–2,500/month, and how to build a Figma portfolio that gets shortlisted.
UX/UI Design Internships in Singapore
Singapore's growing tech ecosystem has created strong demand for UX/UI design interns. From government apps to fintech platforms to e-commerce sites, organisations across every sector are investing in user experience — and they need designers who can bridge research, wireframing, and visual design.
What UX/UI Design Interns Do
| Role Type | Primary Activities |
|---|---|
| UX Researcher | User interviews, usability testing, synthesis |
| UX Designer | Journey maps, wireframes, prototypes |
| UI Designer | Visual design, design systems, component libraries |
| Product Designer (combined) | End-to-end: research + wireframe + visual |
Most Singapore internships are for product designers (combined UX/UI), especially at tech companies. Specialist UX research roles tend to be at larger organisations.
Essential Skills
| Skill | Level Needed |
|---|---|
| Figma | Intermediate (prototyping + auto-layout + components) |
| User research methods | Basic (interview scripts, affinity diagrams) |
| Information architecture | Basic (sitemaps, user flows) |
| Visual design principles | Intermediate (typography, colour, spacing) |
| Usability testing | Basic |
| Design systems / component libraries | Intermediate for senior roles |
Nice to have: After Effects or Principle for micro-interactions, HTML/CSS basics for developer handoff.
Top Companies Hiring UX/UI Design Interns
Tech Companies
| Company | Monthly Allowance |
|---|---|
| Grab | SGD 2,000–3,000 |
| Sea / Shopee | SGD 1,800–2,800 |
| ByteDance (TikTok Singapore) | SGD 2,500–3,500 |
| Carousell | SGD 1,800–2,500 |
| PropertyGuru | SGD 1,500–2,200 |
| Ninja Van | SGD 1,500–2,000 |
Government & Public Sector
| Company | Monthly Allowance |
|---|---|
| GovTech | SGD 1,500–2,500 |
| IMDA | SGD 1,200–2,000 |
| DesignSingapore Council | SGD 1,000–1,500 |
Banks & Fintech
| Company | Monthly Allowance |
|---|---|
| DBS Bank | SGD 1,500–2,500 |
| OCBC (Digital team) | SGD 1,500–2,200 |
| Revolut (Singapore) | SGD 1,500–2,500 |
| Nium | SGD 1,200–2,000 |
Creative Agencies
| Agency | Monthly Allowance |
|---|---|
| BBDO | SGD 1,000–1,500 |
| R/GA | SGD 1,000–1,500 |
| Ogilvy Digital | SGD 1,000–1,500 |
| Fjord (Accenture Song) | SGD 1,200–1,800 |
Building a Portfolio That Gets Shortlisted
Your portfolio is your application — most design internship applications are evaluated on portfolio alone before any interview.
Portfolio platform recommendations:
- Figma Community (for interactive prototypes)
- Behance
- Personal website (Webflow or Squarespace)
- Notion (for text-heavy case studies)
What each case study must include:
- Problem statement: What user problem were you solving? Why does it matter?
- Research process: Who did you talk to? What did you find?
- Design decisions: Why did you choose this layout/flow over alternatives?
- Final designs: High-fidelity screens or prototype link
- Results (if available): Did usability improve? What metrics moved?
- What you'd do differently: Honest reflection signals maturity
Common portfolio mistakes:
- Showing only final screens with no process
- 8+ projects at low quality (2-3 strong case studies beat 8 weak ones)
- Missing a mobile-responsive version (many hiring managers view on phones)
- Designs that look good but solve no real problem
Salary Benchmarks
| Company Type | Monthly Allowance |
|---|---|
| Top tech (Grab, Sea, ByteDance) | SGD 2,000–3,500 |
| Banks / fintech | SGD 1,500–2,500 |
| Government | SGD 1,200–2,000 |
| Creative agencies | SGD 1,000–1,500 |
| SME / startup | SGD 800–1,500 |
Design Schools Feeding Into These Roles
Singapore has several strong design programmes that employers actively recruit from:
- NUS School of Design & Environment (now CDE — College of Design & Engineering)
- NTU ADM (Art, Design & Media)
- SUTD (Architecture and Sustainable Design, ISTD)
- Ngee Ann Polytechnic (Design & Media)
- Temasek Polytechnic (Design School)
- LASALLE College of the Arts (Design programmes)
LASALLE and NTU ADM graduates tend to go into agency and creative roles; NUS CDE and SUTD graduates trend toward product and tech company roles.
Interview Preparation
UX/UI design interviews typically include:
- Portfolio walkthrough: Talk through 1–2 case studies in 15–20 minutes. Explain your thinking, not just your outputs.
- Design challenge: Given 20–60 minutes, sketch/wireframe a solution to a brief (e.g., "Design a feature for elderly users to book a GP appointment on SingPass")
- Critique exercise: Evaluate an existing app or feature — what works, what doesn't, and why
- Culture fit and collaboration: How do you work with developers and PMs?
Practice your portfolio walkthrough out loud at least 5 times before your first interview. Timing and clarity of thought matter enormously.
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