Toptal Design Expert
Brands Still Matter: Brandless Boom to Bust
The future of branding was no brand at all, and Brandless represented the best the movement had to offer. Until it didn’t. What happened? We share takeaways that no designer or business should ignore.

Micah Bowers
Micah helps businesses craft meaningful connections through branding, illustration, and design.
Who's at the Helm? – Dissecting the Qualities of Design Leadership
Should designers lead? Can design leadership be defined? What leadership style gets the best results? We present six design leadership profiles and examine the pros and cons of each.

Sara Vilas Santiago
Sara is an innovative design leader that has driven growth for more than 100 multinational corporations, mostly in the financial sector.
Want Great UX Design? Drop Your Ego.
It’s essential for designers to recognize when an inflated ego starts to interfere with their work. Learning to overcome ego and foster creative collaboration is vital to creating great UX designs.

Cameron Chapman
Cameron comes from a design background and is the author of two web design books: Color for Web Design and The Smashing Idea Book.
The Higher Ground – A Guide to Design Ethics
An ethical approach to design is built on questions, not preconceived notions of right and wrong. But what questions should we ask, and how do we classify our answers?

Micah Bowers
Micah helps businesses craft meaningful connections through branding, illustration, and design.
Remote Working As a Freelance Designer
We chat with Toptal Design Lead Lubos Volkov—who’s worked remotely his whole career—about tips and strategies for balancing life, work, and the pleasure of a remote setting.

Luboš Volkov
Luboš is Toptal’s Lead Product Designer, and along with his team has led all design initiatives at Toptal since 2012.
World-class articles, delivered weekly.
By entering your email, you are agreeing to our privacy policy.
Yours Truly, Freelance Design Advice
It wasn’t easy, but you looked uncertainty in the eye and made the biggest bet of your career. Now what? We’ve got an encouraging word for new freelancers and anyone who’s braved self-employment.

Micah Bowers
Micah helps businesses craft meaningful engagement through branding, illustration, and design.
Pinterest for Designers – An Overview
When it comes to social media for designers, the first site that comes to mind is Instagram. But designers shouldn’t overlook the second-most-popular image-based social network: Pinterest.

Cameron Chapman
Cameron comes from a design background and is the author of two web design books: Color for Web Design and The Smashing Idea Book.
The Art of Virtue Signaling: Why so Many Brands Get It Wrong
Many brands overshoot the subtleties of virtue signaling. They preach, posture, and alienate the people they’re trying to impress. We explore how companies can bang their virtue drums better.

Micah Bowers
Micah helps businesses craft meaningful engagement through branding, illustration, and design.
The Origins of Bad Logo Redesigns
A logo redesign without controversy is like a workout with no sweat. It’s possible, but is it impactful? We scrutinize high-drama logo updates and ask why they caught fire in the public arena.

Micah Bowers
Micah helps businesses craft meaningful engagement through branding, illustration, and design.
Expert Perspectives on the State of Design Education
Aspiring designers have more educational opportunities than any time in history. Do the available options provide worthwhile design training, or are they simply clever money-making schemes?

Micah Bowers
Micah helps businesses craft meaningful engagement through branding, illustration, and design.
How to Transition from UX Designer to UX Consultant
What does a UX consultant do? More importantly, what does it take for a UX designer to become a consultant and thrive?

Micah Bowers
Micah helps businesses craft meaningful engagement through branding, illustration, and design.
A Day in the Freelance Life: Getting to Know Toptal Designers
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.

Micah Bowers
Micah helps businesses craft meaningful engagement through branding, illustration, and design.
The Ultimate Guide to E-commerce Website Design
Designing an e-commerce 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.

Yej Lee
Yej is an award-winning app designer with multi-platform experience spanning iOS, Android, wearables, responsive web, and more.
Art vs Design – A Timeless Debate
Two Toptal designers engage in a lively debate about aesthetics, objectivity, and the definition of art and design.

Miklos Philips
Miklos is a UX designer, product design strategist, author, and speaker with more than 18 years of experience in the design field.
Wearable Technology: How and Why It Works
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.

Antonio Autiero
Antonio is a digital art director and UX designer with experience in information architecture, brand development, and product design.
Creativity Exercises to Boost Your Designs
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.

Bree Chapin
Bree’s a passionate designer and problem-solver with 10+ years experience in product and UXUI design for web and native mobile applications.
World-class articles, delivered weekly.
Toptal Designers
- Accessible Web Designers
- Adobe After Effects Designers
- Adobe Illustrator Experts
- CAD Designers
- Canva Designers
- Data Visualization Designers
- E-commerce UX Designers
- E-commerce Website Designers
- Fintech Designers
- Graphic Designers
- Illustrators
- Interactive Designers
- Landing Page Designers
- Logo Designers
- Mobile App Designers
- Mobile UX Designers
- Photoshop Experts
- Presentation Designers
- Product Designers
- Prototype Designers
- Responsive Web Designers
- Shopify Designers
- Startup Designers
- SVG Designers
- UI Designers
- UX Designers
- Video Editors
- Visual Designers
- Web Designers
- Webflow Designers
- WooCommerce Designers
- WordPress Website Designers
- View More Freelance Designers
Join the Toptal® community.