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.
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Poor SaaS design can cause customers to get frustrated and flee. Follow these best practices to create a seamless software experience that users will love.
Ahsan is a lead product and UX designer who creates user-centered solutions for SaaS, enterprise software, web, and mobile applications. He has worked with companies of all sizes, from startups to enterprise multinationals like Cisco, GSK, and Western Union.
Webflow can cut website design time in half—enabling designers to devote more attention to driving traffic and boosting conversions.
Pavle is a designer specializing in UI/UX design for websites and mobile apps. His clients include large international companies such as Societe Generale and TomTom, as well as successful startups in fintech, healthcare, travel, and other industries.
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Ideally, aesthetics and functionality would merge seamlessly in digital design, but that isn’t always the case. Here, we discuss when to prioritize one or the other for the optimal user experience.
Merehan is a product designer who crafts functional and visually appealing user interfaces for education, management, health, transportation, SaaS, and e-commerce companies. She has led design workshops for multiple EU-funded projects and has given design thinking lectures at leading European universities.
Cognitive biases can skew user research, leading to design changes that don’t address your customers’ real needs. Build digital products that users will love by mitigating these common biases.
Rima is a product designer with expertise in UI/UX design, graphic design, digital marketing, and user research. She has worked across various industries to create user-focused and aesthetically pleasing digital products, and spent six years at the global software development company Volo.
Applying chatbot features to e-commerce search can increase user satisfaction while tackling the pervasive and costly problem of search abandonment. These chatbot UX best practices will help your customers find what they’re looking for.
Khatia is a product designer and researcher who has designed innovative solutions for banking, fintech, and e-commerce products. Her clients include Bank of Georgia, the payment processing software company HitPay, and Mymarket, the largest e-commerce platform in Georgia.
Don’t let inconsistent typefaces or subpar spacing impede accessibility or hurt your brand. These mobile typography guidelines will help enhance user experience and increase engagement.
Charles is a UI/UX designer and brand strategist with extensive experience in mobile-first design. He has worked with multinational companies such as Netflix and TikTok, and has also served as a creative director, supervising teams on high-level design projects, including redesigning websites and mobile apps.
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.
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.
Boost customer satisfaction and loyalty by designing a safe, consistent, and user-friendly authentication system.
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.
Gather, analyze, and prioritize the voice of the customer to unlock product design solutions that improve client satisfaction and boost revenue.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Freelance designers bring diverse skills and perspectives to projects that help clients achieve business goals without exceeding their budgets.
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.
Medical products with poor usability could harm patients and increase healthcare company costs. Prioritize usability, accessibility, and the patient experience to design effective devices.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Designers can create safer dating app UX through robust ID verification methods, reporting tools, and design features that clarify consent.
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.
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