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Marti is a senior UI/UX designer based in New York. For the past several years, he's been designing digital products for the banking, hospitality, fashion, healthcare, pharmaceutical, automotive, and software industries. Marti's past clients include Citibank, HP, Galaxkey, Meta, Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen Group, Riyad Bank, Vorwerk Thermomix, Asics, The Ritz-Carlton Group, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Al Rajhi Bank, and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Kris is a human-centered designer focused on the intersection of brands, products, and services. With several years of UI/UX, product design, and branding experience, he continues to incorporate his knowledge, experience, and understanding of design, communication, and user experience into each project. Clients range from early-stage startups—such as Dialpad and UberConference—to enterprise companies and government organizations.
Roger is a UX/UI product designer with several years of experience. He enjoys collaborating with other designers, developers, salespeople, copywriters, photographers and more in order to create an amazing product. Roger is passionate about building beautiful and meaningful products that help people in their daily lives.
As an experienced designer, Rachel builds products from ideation to launch and seamlessly integrates the brand across the customer journey. Her visual designs are creative and bold and her feedback systems are formulated with best practices in logic, ux, design systems and accessibility. For the past two decades, she’s implemented product innovation and met the business goals of organizations across a broad range of industries.
Adrien is an award-winning product designer and digital art director specializing in strategy, user experience (UX), user interface (UI), brand identity, and interaction design. For the last 17 years, Adrien has been crafting and delivering unique digital experiences for global companies and startups. Adrien's clients hire him for his UI/UX expertise, user-centered approach, strategic mindset, collaborative leadership, creativity, and effectiveness.
Mini has worked with a diverse array of clients for over a decade in New York City. She enjoys learning about different industries and their unique challenges, having worked with healthcare, finance, and technology companies, amongst others. Mini strongly believes that UX is about collaboration between the business, users, and technology. In every project, she uses various UX methods and deliverables to get the best results.
Ben has 28 years of experience helping people interact with software in user experience (UX), interaction (IxD), user research (UXR), and user interface (UI) design. He is personable, team-oriented, a process improver, a passionate design tool explorer, and a design system fanatic. He is a champion for the people confused by the web and the software they have to use every day. Ben is a forward thinker, thinking about what can be, not what is.
Silvana is a digital designer specialized in user experience (UX), user interface (UI), brand identity, and interaction design. She led the entire brand redesign of Argentina's largest supermarket, Coto, to great success. She is a creative thinker and has worked with clients worldwide. The last eight years have seen her designing websites and web and mobile apps using a user-centered approach. Attention to detail and a creative and analytical approach are her trademarks.
With over 10 years of experience creating digital interfaces, Gabriel specializes in supporting startups and large corporations through innovative B2C and B2B projects. As a trained designer, he has a holistic approach that takes into account all the stakeholders of the project, their purpose, motivation and needs within their context and timeline. With each project, his mission is to solve challenges and transform them into the most efficient digital solutions possible.
Collaborate with Csaba, a full-stack UX expert and product designer renowned for designing complex SaaS products used by millions. With extensive experience in marketing tech and AI-related solutions, Csaba masters every stage, from planning and research to wireframing, design systems, UI, and testing. As a trusted guide for startups seeking world-class designs and feature selection, Csaba's expertise ensures your product reaches its full potential.
Adrien is a French UX designer with more than 13 years’ experience in design, user experience, interaction design, and visual identity across a broad range of industries. He's had the opportunity to work with big accounts such as LEGO Education and MIT. He applies user-centered methodologies to help internal and external teams write product requirements to deliver research insights, experience maps, information architecture, and wireframes.
UX designers focus on creating meaningful and enjoyable experiences for users interacting with digital products or services. This guide to hiring UX designers features an overview of relevant skills, job description tips, and interview questions and answers that will help you identify the best candidates for your company.
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Testimonials
Michael is an incredible designer, and has been a great fit for our project. He just gets it in a way that can’t be taught. My goal was to pay Toptal to find me a high quality designer for my project, and that is exactly what happened. It was easy. Being able to see the portfolio work on Toptal’s platform is what gave me the infomation I needed to choose Michael. I have nothing but good things to say about Toptal and am looking forward to using Toptal for other projects in the future.
Edward Daniel
Co-Founder
I've worked very closely with Martina for over a year and have to say she is one of the best people I have ever worked with. Instead of simply following instructions blindly, she thinks through the task at hand, becoming a thought partner to help with whatever the project may be. Besides being super talented at design, she possesses specific qualities that make her exceptional to work with given the fast paced nature of being a startup. I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for a talented, professional designer who doesn't need much direction to hit the ground running.
Sahil Khanna
Sr. Manager, Marketing
Darko did a great job figuring out the user architecture for our concept, which led him to produce terrific wireframes. His knowledge of usability and design was a perfect match for the outside voice we needed to help jumpstart our project. We would certainly recommend him and work with him again in the future.
Rich Danker
Founder
Carlos has the unique talent of blending both quantitative and qualitative research to keenly identify UX challenges and opportunities. He thinks methodically, emphatically, and holistically to produce data-driven strategies and well-executed designs. Over the past 8 years of working with fully or partially distributed teams, Carlos manages working remotely far better than anyone I've encountered because of his strong communication and presentation skills. He is the first on my list the next time I need a UX designer.
Michelle Krogmeier
Project Manager
Rafael is an amazing designer. His aesthetic sense is spot on, and he seems to be able to anticipate our needs before we even know what they are. He's taken the time to understand both our company and our clientele, and his solutions are consistently in-line with our values, interests, and our customers' needs. He delivers on time (if not earlier), works quickly, is well organized, and very effective. He's a pleasure to work with, and we're very happy to have found him through Toptal.
Ethan Brooks
CTO
How to Hire UX Designers Through Toptal
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To hire the right UX designer, it’s important to evaluate a candidate’s experience, technical skills, and communication skills. You’ll also want to consider the fit with your particular industry, company, and project. Toptal’s rigorous screening process ensures that every member of our network has excellent experience and skills, and our team will match you with the perfect UX designers for your project.
How much does it cost to hire a UX designer?
UX designer rates vary depending on the project scope, timeline, and the UX designer’s geography. Some UX professionals bill hourly, while others charge a flat project fee. In general, more experienced and accomplished UX designers charge more for their services. As a point of reference, Glassdoor lists the
average salary for UX designers in the United States to be $88,188 as of January 2024.
What exactly does a UX designer do?
A UX designer is primarily responsible for creating and optimizing the user experience for digital products and services. UX professionals undertake, analyze, and implement user research, develop intuitive and responsive interfaces, and ensure accessibility and usability. They also design wireframes and prototypes, and conduct user testing to refine their design concepts.
UX designers collaborate with cross-functional and multidisciplinary teams to align progressive business strategies with user expectations. Enhancing user experiences, satisfaction, and engagement is the number one goal, and skilled UX designers work hard to generate meaningful and fresh end products.
What qualities should I look for in a UX designer?
Because UX design is centered on human behavior, an in-demand UX professional will possess soft skills such as emotional intelligence, empathy, flexibility, and problem-solving. Effective communication skills are essential, no matter how big or small the product team may be. UX designers who have an eye for detail lay the foundation for assets that are user-friendly, adaptable, and accessible. Strong analytical thinking skills help with data-driven design choices, and a practical understanding of relevant design tools ensures long-term user satisfaction.
Florence is a senior product designer with seven years of experience crafting innovative user experiences and design strategies. She is dedicated to delivering results and consistently exceeds design expectations.
User experience (UX) designers play a crucial role in creating digital experiences that are intuitive, efficient, and enjoyable for users. Their expertise significantly influences how users interact with and perceive products and services across various platforms.
As companies increasingly recognize the pivotal role of UX in the success of their digital products, the need for skilled UX designers continues to rise. In fact, according to the latest research conducted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for web developers and digital designers, which includes UX designers, is projected to grow 16 percent from 2022 to 2032.
UX design requires a careful balance between soft skills—such as empathy, problem-solving, and adaptability—and technical proficiency in information architecture, prototyping, and empirical testing. It can be challenging to find—and hire—a qualified candidate who possesses this wide range of skills. In this hiring guide, we cover what a user experience designer does, how to identify a UX designer who aligns with your organization’s goals, and how to adopt recruitment strategies to help your business reach a stronger pool of qualified and competent UX design candidates.
What attributes distinguish quality UX Designers from others?
The main task of UX designers is to create seamless interactions between digital products and end users. By paying close attention to user habits, industry trends, and consumer feedback, an expert UX designer can enhance overall user satisfaction with a product, as well as its visual design.
When hiring a UX designer, it’s essential to seek out candidates who can think about the design process holistically. From the earliest stages of user research to presenting refined, user-centered designs, UX designers are uniquely positioned to serve company and client needs. Fortunately, UX candidates operate within a wide range of industries beyond the field of technology, including, but certainly not limited to, visual design, programming, psychology, and interaction design.
As a result of their diverse backgrounds, UX experts are equipped with a particular set of skills that enable them to improve the user journey while strengthening brand identity and fulfilling project requirements. A dedicated designer will commit to the following foundational UX principles:
User-centered Approach
UX design is a human-centered practice, and UX designers should work tirelessly to prioritize the needs and preferences of end users. By advocating for the user throughout the design process, UX design experts can ensure their digital products and services are functional and sustainable.
Toward this end, candidates should be able to empathize with users—especially around perceived pain points—and be proactive about implementing user feedback in design solutions, where appropriate. Skilled UX designers readily embrace critique to make iterative improvements to their designs, which leads to satisfied users and, in turn, improved reputations for companies.
Research Skills
Being mindful of user needs and expectations is a critical component of UX design, and a qualified candidate will be able to assess these areas of concern through various research-driven approaches.
Look for UX experts comfortable with conducting individual and group interviews centered on pain points, past experiences with similar products, and preferences. These can be accomplished in person or through formalized surveys and questionnaires. A UX pro will ask open-ended and unbiased questions that can be used to collect qualitative and quantitative data.
A potential hire should also be familiar with usability testing, cognitive walk-throughs, card sorting, persona development, and empathy mapping. While most candidates are unlikely to be experts in all of these methods, understanding them as a means to evaluate user engagement, gather insights, and ultimately create user-centric solutions is essential.
Collaboration and Communication Abilities
Collaborating and communicating effectively is paramount to good performance, as with any client-facing position. Often, user experience designers must work on cross-functional, multidisciplinary design teams. Knowing how to navigate such diverse spaces is one of the first steps toward creating and maintaining a positive and productive work environment.
On most projects, UX experts will encounter developers, project managers, marketers, researchers, and stakeholders. In each of these interactions, a qualified candidate will be able to communicate their design ideas clearly and effectively. Likewise, the capacity to strike a balance between sharing ideas and listening actively to input from other team members is also the mark of a highly qualified UX designer. Additionally, a collaborative spirit entails being receptive to feedback, resolving conflicts constructively, setting priorities, implementing project requirements, and managing timelines carefully to meet project goals.
In UX design, communication can take the form of storytelling, delivering engaging presentations, conveying design concepts through visual aids, or drafting design guidelines to establish clarity and consistency throughout the project. Qualified designers will leverage these tools to create products that meet user needs and business objectives.
Understanding of Business Goals
By thoroughly understanding a business’s short- and long-term goals, a UX designer can begin to align their design work to meet those objectives accordingly.
As mentioned, UX designers may work alongside a number of project stakeholders to gain insight into a business’s operation. A UX designer who attends meetings, asks thoughtful questions, and reviews marketing strategies will better understand the organization’s operations and ultimately provide more meaningful design insights. These user-centered business strategies lay the foundation for increased customer satisfaction, retention, and revenue.
How can you identify the ideal UX Designer for you?
When hiring a UX designer, you need to decide whether you need a junior or a more seasoned designer. This decision depends on a wide range of factors, such as project goals, budget, long-term vision, and workplace culture. Each designer profile comes with its own benefits and deficits. To make the most of this extensive screening process, evaluate the following points carefully to determine the type of designer who best suits your organization’s needs:
Junior UX candidates typically have limited professional experience. Often, these candidates have graduated recently or are young in their careers with only a few years of practical, hands-on learning. As a result, junior freelancer UX designers usually work on smaller, less complex tasks or assist more established designers on larger projects, providing them with firsthand experience in tackling complex design problems.
In contrast, senior UX designers have more experience within the design environment. Their industry knowledge is robust and nuanced, which enables them to create user-centric products that are more sophisticated and effective. Senior UX designers are often placed in leadership roles and can leverage their talent to make smart design decisions that can significantly impact the final product, as well as provide valuable insights and build rapport, increase articulation skills, and expand versatility.
When it comes to the allocation of company budget between junior and senior designers, bear in mind that junior UX designer costs are significantly lower than industry authorities. These candidates are often more likely to share fresh ideas and show a willingness to learn. In some ways, this may allow your business to shape itself under your design style and workplace culture.
On the other hand, senior UX designers typically command higher salaries due to their extensive experience, specialized skills, and proven track record in delivering successful and complex projects. Designers at this level can provide strategic input and quality content in a timely manner with minimal guidance and in alignment with the brand’s objectives.
Some companies find that a diverse team with a mixture of junior and senior talent is advantageous to the longevity of their UX-related endeavors. By combining the enthusiasm of junior designers with the technical expertise of more senior professionals, user experience design teams are better equipped to deliver a product that meets or exceeds user expectations.
How to Write a UX Design Job Description for Your Project
A UX designer might be confused with a UI designer, although they require separate skills. To increase your chances of finding a highly qualified UX designer, consider the following traits when writing a job posting:
Proficiency in Design Software
A strong UX candidate should exhibit proficiency in the key features of software design tools geared toward rendering user-friendly interfaces and prototypes. This includes industry standards such as Sketch, Figma, UXPin, and InVision. These tools allow designers to translate their ideas into tangible designs, collaborate across departments, and conduct user testing.
Also, although not design software, per se, and not necessarily a requirement for most user-experience design jobs, basic HTML and CSS knowledge can benefit your organization’s needs. Candidates with these technical skills deserve additional consideration.
Knowledge of UI Design Principles
Knowledge of user interface (UI) design principles is an integral part of a UX designer’s skill set. While UX focuses on the overall experience a user has with a product, UI design deals with the specific look and feel of the interface. UX designers with demonstrated knowledge of concepts such as determining informational and visual hierarchies, prioritizing usability, and crafting a captivating user narrative will be strong candidates.
Accessibility and inclusivity are also key components of UI design. A thoughtful UX designer will be committed to implementing standards such as alternative text, color contrast, semantic markups, and responsive design into their work as called for in project requirements.
Expertise in Responsive Design
A UX job description should highlight the importance of responsive design experience. A dedicated designer will display competency in creating user-centric designs that remain visually striking across an expanding continuum of devices and screen sizes. Knowledge of adaptive layouts, fluid grids, media queries, usability testing, and performance optimization allows a UX designer to generate dynamic digital products.
Command of Wireframing and Prototyping Techniques
Experienced designers use wireframing and prototyping techniques to communicate design concepts in equally constructive and methodical ways. Successfully visualizing a digital application allows stakeholders and developers to feel confident about the direction of the design project. An expert UX designer will use these systems during design reviews or team collaborations, prompting meaningful discussions around product use, development, and implementation. Interactive designer experts, who apply UX fundamentals to make design decisions, also require knowledge of prototyping tools to visualize how digital products respond to user actions.
What are the most important UX Designer interview questions?
To help you have productive conversations and make well-informed decisions during the UX designer hiring process, consider asking the following questions:
Describe a project where you had to ensure that the user experience was accessible and inclusive for all users, including those with disabilities. What steps did you take to identify potential accessibility barriers, and how did you address them in your design?
A successful UX design candidate will be well versed in the relationship between accessibility and the digital experience. Strong candidates will also be able to demonstrate how these standards have been implemented in past projects. Look for responses that address conducting research and testing with users with disabilities, directing accessibility audits of existing designs, integrating accessible design principles such as semantic HTML or ARIA screen readers, or staying abreast of legal requirements with regard to accessibility standards.
Please walk me through the certifications and courses you have taken in the field of UX design. How do you believe these learning experiences have contributed to your skill set and demonstrate your value as a designer?
As with any journey toward continuing education, one size doesn’t fit all. The ideal candidate will have sought certifications and courses from reputable organizations. Of course, different programs meet different needs, and certain courses taken by newer UX designers may diverge from those taken by established professionals. However, the candidate must clarify why they chose to pursue that specialization.
Some more esteemed programs include Google UX, the UX Certification or UX Master Certification from Nielsen Norman Group, or the UX Design Bootcamp from Springboard. And while certificates are a valuable part of the learning process, so is hands-on application. Look for answers addressing how these certificates translated to real-world projects that helped flesh out a candidate’s design portfolio.
Share a project where you had to understand the needs and perspectives of users. How did you go about building empathy for the users, and how did this understanding influence your design decisions throughout the project?
While UX design is centered on human-computer interaction, man takes precedence over machine. Empathy requires active and engaged listening, which is useful when conducting user interviews or surveys. Note which candidates allow empathy to guide them when gaining insight into pain points and project goals. Does this designer prioritize features and content based on user needs? How does this designer discuss language choice and visuals based on user preferences or motivations?
How do you work with cross-functional teams, such as developers and product managers, to ensure successful project outcomes? Can you provide an example of a situation where you had to advocate for a particular design decision? How did you handle any disagreements?
Of course, the responses to this question will vary significantly. The key is to listen for answers that emphasize a collaborative spirit. Is the candidate open and receptive to feedback? Is communication clear, concise, and inclusive? Is there a willingness to compromise when a singular decision can’t be reached? Can the candidate think outside the box for dynamic solutions? While a successful project is always noteworthy, the care and compassion extended to coworkers and users are equally important.
Why do companies hire UX Designers?
Companies hire skilled designers to generate products and services that place a high premium on overall user satisfaction. Using their expert design skills, UX professionals can ensure that digital products are intuitive and user-friendly, and find a balance between customer needs and business objectives.
UX designers leverage research and user testing to make design decisions supported by qualitative and quantitative data sets. If this process is successful, customer satisfaction is enhanced, brand loyalty is increased, and additional revenue is generated. Companies that invest in UX hires signal their dedication to innovation, client relations, and long-term growth.
