Toptal Design Blog

The Toptal Design Blog is a hub for advanced design studies by professional designers in the Toptal network on all facets of digital design, ranging from detailed design tutorials to in-depth coverage of new design trends, techniques, and technologies.

authors are vetted experts in their fields and write on topics in which they have demonstrated experience. All of our content is peer reviewed and validated by Toptal experts in the same field.

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authors are vetted experts in their fields and write on topics in which they have demonstrated experience. All of our content is peer reviewed and validated by Toptal experts in the same field.

How Thinking Like a Designer Can Help Solve Complex Business Problems

Unclear expectations, stakeholder disagreements, and conflicting interests can lead to inferior products and unhappy customers. Apply design thinking concepts to your next project to boost alignment and success.

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Fanni Csincsak

Fanni is a lead product designer who works with finance, e-commerce, and software companies. With a master’s degree in cognitive neuroscience and a PhD in human-computer interaction, Fanni understands how design thinking can help solve problems within a range of industries. She has collaborated with clients such as Canua and AltaML.

6 Ways to Make Authentication Systems More User-friendly

Boost customer satisfaction and loyalty by designing a safe, consistent, and user-friendly authentication system.

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Mayank Sharma

Mayank is a product designer specializing in fintech and building Web3 apps and platforms. He applies his extensive knowledge of UI/UX design to blockchain, cryptocurrency, and financial exchanges.

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Voice of the Customer: How to Leverage User Insights for Better UX

Gather, analyze, and prioritize the voice of the customer to unlock product design solutions that improve client satisfaction and boost revenue.

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Atishay Goyal

Atishay is a product designer and UX expert who has worked in close collaboration with McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group on B2B and B2C products for a wide range of industries. He is the head of product design at Agility Group and was recognized as one of India’s top designers of 2023 by Siliconindia.

Beyond Text: Designing the Future of AI Prompting

Generative AI is a potent tool, but text prompting can make it hard for users to get the results they want. Four design experts share ideas for making AI prompting more intuitive and accessible to a wider range of users.

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Micah Bowers

Micah is a digital designer who has worked with clients such as Google, Deloitte, and Autodesk. He is also the Lead Editor of Toptal’s Design Blog. His design expertise has been featured in Fast Company, TNW, and other notable publications.

Designing an Intuitive Mobile Dashboard UI: 4 Best Practices

Use these tips for navigation, tables and charts, button UX, and interactivity to create a smooth mobile dashboard experience that will keep users coming back.

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Andris Suipe

Andris is a UI/UX designer who specializes in creating apps, websites, and dashboards for fintech, healthcare, and data recovery companies. He has worked with well-known brands around the globe such as Halfords, Roche, and Xapo Bank.

How to Increase Output and Innovation by Hiring Freelance Designers

Freelance designers bring diverse skills and perspectives to projects that help clients achieve business goals without exceeding their budgets.

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Daniel de Paola

Daniel is a UI/UX designer with more than 15 years of experience specializing in mobile apps for fintech, real estate, and SaaS companies. He has partnered with clients such as Royal Bank of Canada, Xello, and Rocket Homes Real Estate as a lead designer, senior product designer, and UI mentor.

Elegant Healthcare UX: A Missing Piece in Medical Product Design (With Infographic)

Medical products with poor usability could harm patients and increase healthcare company costs. Prioritize usability, accessibility, and the patient experience to design effective devices.

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Yegor Tsynkevich

Yegor is a product designer with expertise in building practical, user-centered solutions. He has worked as a product manager and UX director on innovative projects such as the phone repair service iCracked (acquired by Allstate) and a pill management device later acquired by Stanley Black & Decker. Other clients have included Polaroid, DuPont Tate & Lyle, and multiple medtech startups.

AI in Design: Experts Discuss Practical Applications, Ethics, and What’s Coming Next

In this wide-ranging Q&A, two Toptal designers delve into the influence of generative AI on design and its implications for creative thinking, user research, and entry-level designers.

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Darrell Estabrook

Darrell is a UX designer with more than 25 years of experience designing highly complex apps for companies such as IBM, CSX, and CarMax. His redesign for the IBM Maximo mobile app won the 2021 Gold Spark Design Award for product design.

Pragmatic Pixel Perfection: A Manifesto for Balancing Design Quality and Speed

Product teams face a dilemma: Achieving pixel-perfect design requires significant time and resources, but rushing to launch can result in mediocre products. This UI guide explains how to design excellent products while balancing quality and speed.

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Damir Kotorić

Damir is a digital designer who has created payments systems at Booking.com, open-data portals for Australian state governments, and the search experience at Envato Market. He has also facilitated design sprint workshops at Harvard University, been a lead UX instructor at General Assembly, and led AR/VR design at Archimedes Digital.

Swipe Right: 3 Ways to Boost Safety in Dating App Design

Designers can create safer dating app UX through robust ID verification methods, reporting tools, and design features that clarify consent.

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Kate Margolis

Kate is a digital product designer and UX/UI consultant who specializes in user-centered design and user research. She has partnered with companies such as Hertz, Jaguar Land Rover, and the dating app Thursday.

Designing for Tomorrow: Addressing UI Challenges in Emerging Interfaces (With Infographic)

Seasoned design experts offer insights into the latest UI trends—and provide tips for overcoming design challenges for emerging interfaces like augmented and virtual reality, voice and gesture control, and haptic feedback.

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Christopher Holloway

Christopher is a Senior Editor at Toptal with 13 years of experience researching and writing about how technology transforms sectors like banking, business, manufacturing, and healthcare. He was previously the business and technology editor at AméricaEconomíca and has developed content for Sony Pictures, Johnson & Johnson, Mini, and LATAM Airlines.

Why Design Teams Need Psychological Safety

What is psychological safety, and why do your designers need it? Digital designer Alejandro Velasco explains how to create a workplace environment that increases creativity, productivity, and talent retention.

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Alejandro Velasco

Alejandro is a digital product designer specializing in user-centered design, UI/UX, and developing visual and interaction languages. He operated as the senior designer on projects with New Relic, Telefónica, and Personio. Alejandro has a master’s degree in industrial and product design from the Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan.

The Ultimate UX Guide for Designers and Organizations

This comprehensive UX guide provides helpful tips, insights, and resources for aspiring creatives, seasoned designers, and business leaders who want to understand how user experience design can strengthen their organization.

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Stewart Pressney

Stewart is a UX designer who specializes in prototyping and web app design. He has worked with clients such as The Clorox Company, CBRE, and Altium, and developed an award-winning design and prototyping workflow for industries including healthcare, education, and e-commerce.

Mastering Another Dimension: An Isometric Illustration Tutorial

Isometric illustrations improve user experience and engagement—but they’re time-consuming to create. This tutorial teaches designers an easier, faster way.

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Majo Puterka

Majo is a digital product designer who has worked with clients such as Fantasy Interactive, Zypsy, and Studio Echt. He specializes in UI design for apps, motion graphics, and illustration.

Advance Your Organization’s UX Maturity With User Personas

User personas help companies increase UX maturity and establish more effective design practices—improvements that may grow revenue and create positive ripple effects across organizations.

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Florence Dairo

Florence is a senior product designer with experience in building and scaling design systems, crafting design strategies, and developing user personas. She specializes in working with innovative startups, including Polywork, Carbon, Amplified Payments, and Shop-Ware. She is the Toptal Community Leader for Nigeria and a Toptal Design Mentor.

5 Signs Your Product Strategy Is Broken—and How Designers Can Help Fix It

A good product strategy aligns team efforts, cuts costs, and encourages long-lasting conflict resolution. Three Toptal product design experts discuss how product strategies get derailed and what designers can do to help get things back on track.

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Christian Adolphus

Christian is a product designer, product owner, user researcher, and Webflow developer. He led the design team at Chaka, a financial solutions platform, and worked as the founding product designer at SquadPal. His product experience spans B2B, B2C, and SaaS enterprise software.

Toptal Design Expert

Paula Barcante

Paula is an award-winning UX/UI designer, advisor, and illustrator with more than six years of hands-on experience in making complex interfaces delightful and user friendly. She has made a significant impact in large corporations, such as Amazon, Zillow, Google, as well as startups. Her mission is to create efficient, beautiful, innovative, and high-quality experiences for the greater good of society.