Designer Life posts

This week’s guest on Toptal Design Talks is Nick Disabato who discusses value-based design, an expansion of the design process that focuses on specific business needs.

Are remote-working and freelancing viable options for designers? We interview Toptal designers to discover how they’re forging freelance careers with meaningful work for high-impact global companies.

Designers can brush up on solid fundamentals and be inspired by innovative new ideas by reading the great books and free ebooks about design and creativity on this list.

Poor client management can cost designers work and damage reputations. By proactively managing project expectations and responsibilities early, designers can build great relationships with their clients.

Designing an eCommerce site is not just about building a website to sell products, but designing a pleasant online shopping experience. This comprehensive guide walks us through the best practices.

Travel gives a fresh perspective, inspires creativity, and improves our empathy for people around the world. By making the globe your office, you can benefit from new insights and become a better designer.

Two Toptal designers engage in a lively debate about aesthetics, objectivity, and the definition of art and design.

The wearable technology revolution is shifting our long established patterns of how we utilize data in our daily lives and social interactions. In many ways, it’s a lot more personal.

Here are a few exercises that can help get your creative juices flowing, whether you’re trying to get started on a new project or find yourself stuck in a creative rut.

By leveraging new and emerging technologies like AI, AR, VR, and MR, designers have fresh and exciting opportunities ahead in designing future products.

Working as a remote freelance designer poses special challenges while presenting unique opportunities. Here, some of Toptal’s top designers share their expertise on everything from the remote work lifestyle to expert design tips.

Discover the top 13 design podcasts that will inspire you in your work and keep you focused and entertained—a nice change from your usual background music!

The relationship between art and design is often misunderstood, and although a design outcome can be artful, the process behind it is altogether very different.

From the great industrial designer Dieter Rams explaining his principle of design, to Adam Grant discussing the habits of original thinkers, we’ve curated the best of the best videos for designers. So sit back, and get cozy with some of our favorite design videos.

Like all people, designers have biases about the world. Unfortunately, many of these biases can seriously damage our quality of work before it’s too late to notice. In this article, Toptal Design Blog Editor Michael Abehsera tells us what kinds of biases designers unwittingly hold and how they can overcome them.

Today, in a world where only three percent of adults spend time learning each day, reading is a competitive advantage.

To jumpstart your learning in 2017, we’ve curated the absolute best design links published around the web in 2016. You’re welcome.

Most people know that the world of digital products, and how we design them, is changing every day. The question that we must ask then is: how will this affect the role of designers in the future?

In this article, Toptal designer Bree Chapin gives us an overview of user interactions today and how they are changing for tomorrow. Keep reading to learn how designers have to pivot and redirect their foci to create products and services that can adapt for the future.

Designers spend much of their careers developing the ability to beautifully communicate the intentions of their products. Yet, some designers fail to direct these same skills towards the communication of their own work. The ability to present your design work is fundamental for any designer, as it is often the first step to landing a job with any new client or agency.

In this article, Toptal Director of Design Danielle Reid and Toptal Design Blog Editor Kent Mundle discuss what designers can do to present their work in the most effective ways. Give the products that you make some justice, and use these tips to effectively present your portfolio.

Check out a curated collection of beautiful and futuristic travel UIs created by different designers from around the world.

Some of the designs are captured from live products, some are still in development, and some are purely concepts designed to push the bounds of what is even considered possible.

An often mentioned virtue of remote work is the freedom for individuals to construct their lifestyles as they wish. However, much of contemporary society has not yet shifted to allow for the total freedom that many desire, especially when it comes to housing. Why should outdated housing standards prevent us from living in the way we want to live?

In this article, Toptal Technical Editor Kent Mundle surveys a group of housing alternatives that apply to several different types of remote workers. The digital nomad has different needs than the young professional or the working parent, and their housing options should reflect that.

Without an office manager, or shift supervisor to look over your shoulder, or set your schedule for you, design in a remote setting can be difficult for some to manage. As well, for those who use the freedom that remote work offers, how can one ensure to find a healthy balance between life, fun and of course work?

In this article, Toptal Technical Editor Kent Mundle discusses strategies for designing in a remote setting with Lubos Volkov, Toptal Lead Designer. Lubos explains the importance of good planning, a strong will, but also the ability to break the rules and get outside when the world calls you.

Toptal Freelance Designer Danielle Reid presents a number of exciting technologies and various interfaces to interact with them, while taking a historical perspective on interactions with man-made objects that have evolved with us to where we are.

From typewriters to touchscreens and beyond, UI design is constantly evolving to improve user experience and boost productivity. Find out what the next generation of connected devices will bring to the table.