Hire Design Directors

Hire the Top 3% of Freelance Design Directors

Hire design directors, on demand. Top companies and startups choose design directors from Toptal for creative leadership, brand identity refinement, UX/UI strategy development, cross-functional design team management, and more.

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No-Risk Trial, Pay Only If Satisfied.

Trusted by leading brands and startups

Hire Freelance Design Directors

Levi Csanyi

Hungary
Toptal Member Since May 20, 2022

Levi has over 27 years of experience in user-centered design, from high-level processes to design delivery. He has a proven track record of driving highly complex projects across many business units and disciplines and solid expertise in implementing cutting-edge technology in fast-moving and highly innovative Agile or Lean environments. Levi's strong leadership and organizational skills span coaching and mentoring designer teams in UX and UI design with excellent business partnering skills.

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Helen Wood

United Kingdom
Toptal Member Since September 11, 2019

Helen is a CXO, MD, and product manager with a true passion for design, UX, UI, and the overall customer experience. She has built and managed large UX teams for enterprise clients and, more recently, as regional head of a large digital experience agency, which is part of a 150,000-person systems integrator. She has often been brought into jobs to "rescue" problematic projects and has done so with great success.

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Lucía Merlo

Spain
Toptal Member Since October 17, 2022

Lucía is a visual designer with 15+ years of experience working with companies and museums, including IKEA, LEGO, Munch Museum, and the Museum of the Future. Alongside visual design, she brings a strategic mindset, helping define the right direction before turning ideas into clear visual communication. Lucía creates brand systems, interfaces, exhibitions, illustrations, motion, and visual guidelines with a focus on clarity, originality, and impact.

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Valentino Laz

United Kingdom
Toptal Member Since September 22, 2025

Valentino is a senior motion designer and creative lead with 15+ years of experience creating motion graphics, CGI, UI-led animations, product explainers, campaign visuals, and brand storytelling for fintech, SaaS, entertainment, and enterprise clients.

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Mike Dekker

Australia
Toptal Member Since June 29, 2017

With 18+ years of industry expertise, Mike is a seasoned independent product design consultant specializing in guiding businesses through defining, designing, and transforming digital products. His skill set, including product discovery, UX/UI design, prototyping, and UX audits, aligns user needs with business requirements for impactful results. Mike brings a unique blend of skills, ensuring comprehensive and effective solutions for his clients.

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David Fotherby

United States
Toptal Member Since March 12, 2017

David has created exceptional, user-centered products for some of the top Fortune, healthcare, retail, and entertainment businesses worldwide. His approach of putting the user at the center of product design ensures that clients have a clear insight into their market potential and the technical requirements needed.

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Jonathan Vaughan

United Kingdom
Toptal Member Since November 13, 2019

From delivering a million pizzas in six months to the sale of the world’s most expensive car, Jonathan has accumulated a breadth of experience in the decade he’s worked in UX. He’s designed products and services used and loved by millions for Bentley, McDonald’s, Gucci, Expedia, and Unilever. As an award-winning experience director, he’s delivered world-class, multi-channel projects for R/GA, Huge, POSSIBLE, Publicis.Sapient, and VMLY&R.

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Patchaya Proud Khomna

Singapore
Toptal Member Since November 30, 2022

Patchaya is a senior designer in advertising agencies and production houses. She delivers high-quality work across multiple design disciplines and has collaborated with global brands including Pepsi, Oreo, Diageo, Heineken, Mondelez, Unilever, L'Oréal, Mastercard, Shell, P&G, and Carlton & United Breweries. Her expertise spans product and graphic design, as well as motion graphics and B2B presentations, with a focus on building cohesive brand identities aligned with business goals.

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Mark Leeks

United Kingdom
Toptal Member Since July 7, 2020

Mark is a lead UX designer with over 25 years of experience. He is a versatile, expectation-crushing professional, passionate about creating innovative, user-focused product designs. He is best known for developing the easyJet booking engine used by 45 million customers each year. His most recent web solutions have been for banking, insurance, and luxury brands. Mark combines strategic, aesthetic, functional, and creative approaches to deliver award-winning products that deliver results.

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Jarne Uytersprot

Belgium
Toptal Member Since February 13, 2019

Jarne is a digital designer based in Antwerp with a decade of hands-on experience creating apps, websites, and other digital stuff with forward-thinking teams and individuals worldwide. He believes that successful remote work relies on communication, feedback, active voices, initiative, and inspiration from one another. Recently, Jarne's been building a startup from scratch in Amsterdam, together with the talented lads at oneUP.

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Praveen Singh

United States
Toptal Member Since July 20, 2023

Praveen specializes in driving organizational success through innovative business models. With over two decades of experience leading teams in diverse industries, she excels in designing services that work for the business while delighting customers. Praveen's expertise lies in creating seamless and memorable customer experiences with a profound commitment to uncovering deep customer insights.

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Discover More Design Directors in the Toptal Network

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Toptal in the press

... allows corporations to quickly assemble teams that have the right skills for specific projects.

Despite accelerating demand for coders, Toptal prides itself on almost Ivy League-level vetting.

Our clients
Creating an app for the game
Conor Kenney
Creating an app for the game
Leading a digital transformation
Elmar Platzer
Leading a digital transformation
Building a cross-platform app to be used worldwide
Building a cross-platform app to be used worldwide
Drilling into real-time data creates an industry game changer
Drilling into real-time data creates an industry game changer
Testimonials

How to Hire Design Directors Through Toptal

1

Talk to One of Our Client Advisors

A Toptal client advisor will work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics.
2

Work With Hand-selected Talent

Within days, we’ll introduce you to the right design director for your project. Average time to match is under 24 hours.
3

The Right Fit, Guaranteed

Work with your new design director for a trial period (pay only if satisfied), ensuring they’re the right fit before starting the engagement.

EXCEPTIONAL TALENT

How We Source the Top 3% of Design Directors

Our name “Toptal” comes from Top Talent—meaning we constantly strive to find and work with the best from around the world. Our rigorous screening process identifies experts in their domains who have passion and drive.

Of the thousands of applications Toptal sees each month, typically fewer than 3% are accepted.

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FAQs

  • Typically, you can hire design directors with Toptal in about 48 hours. For larger teams of talent or full end-to-end project delivery, timelines may vary. Our talent matchers are highly skilled in the same fields they’re matching in—they’re not recruiters or HR reps. They’ll work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics, and match you with ideal candidates from our vetted global talent network.

    Once you select your design director, you’ll have a no-risk trial period to ensure they’re the perfect fit. Our matching process has a 98% trial-to-hire rate, so you can rest assured that you’re getting the best fit every time.

  • To hire the right design director, 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 design directors for your project.

  • At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our design directors to ensure we only match you with the highest caliber of talent. Of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, fewer than 3% make the cut.

    In addition to screening for industry-leading expertise, we also assess candidates’ language and interpersonal skills to ensure that you have a smooth working relationship.

    When you hire design directors with Toptal, you’ll always work with world-class, custom-matched design directors ready to help you achieve your goals.

  • You can hire design directors on an hourly, part-time, or full-time basis. Toptal can also manage the project end-to-end based on your specific requirements as part of our Consulting and Services offerings. Whether you hire a design director for a full- or part-time position, you’ll have the control and flexibility to scale your team up or down as your needs evolve. Our design directors can fully integrate into your existing team for a seamless working experience.

  • We make sure that each engagement between you and your design director begins with a trial period of up to two weeks. This means that you have time to confirm the engagement will be successful. If you’re completely satisfied with the results, we’ll bill you for the time and continue the engagement for as long as you’d like. If you’re not completely satisfied, you won’t be billed. From there, we can either part ways, or we can provide you with another design director who may be a better fit and with whom we will begin a second, no-risk trial.

Toptal Lets You Hire Fast,
With Unparalleled Success

  • Trusted Talent Only

    Trusted Talent Only

    Our talent network is composed of thoroughly vetted professionals who ramp up quickly, function as essential team members, and deliver results.

  • Precise Matching

    Precise Matching

    Our experienced talent matchers specialize in identifying talent that fits your needs. They work to understand your exact requirements and hand-select the best professionals for your project.

  • Seamless Hiring

    Seamless Hiring

    We handle all aspects of billing, payments, and NDAs, streamlining the hiring process so you can focus on innovation, not overhead.

  • No-risk Trial Period

    No-risk Trial Period

    We want to be sure your engagement is a total success, so we offer a no-risk trial period. Work with your new hire for up to two weeks and pay only if you’re satisfied.

  • Effortless Scaling

    Effortless Scaling

    We help you scale your team up or down as needed, with quick and efficient hiring in under 48 hours.

  • Flexible Engagements

    Flexible Engagements

    Our flexible engagement models allow you to choose the engagement type that suits your needs and adjust it anytime: hourly, part time, or full time.

Top Design Directors Are in High Demand.

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