Toptal is a marketplace for clients to find top mobile app designers from around the world. Each Toptal app designer is thoroughly vetted and trusted by top companies for their most critical mobile apps and mobile app design projects.
Chris is a UI/UX designer with over twenty years of experience in consumer and enterprise applications. He worked with Google to restructure and design their help system, created Clarizen’s enterprise mobile apps, and designed a white-label consumer mobile app for Accesso, now deployed at parks and resorts across North America. Chris specializes in structure, user flows, wireframing, and design for both mobile and web. He is especially suited for complex enterprise SaaS projects.
Oskar has acquired a unique insight into the mobile app industry and an intuition for making lovable products throughout a decade of experience. Most of his work has been focused on digital products and branding for startups and small businesses. Oskar's passion lies equally in crafting beautiful interfaces, prototyping elegant solutions, and optimizing user flows. He's versatile and can work both independently and in teams.
Anne is a creative director and senior digital product designer with 20+ years of experience and skills in visual design and UX. She's built digital products, design systems, marketing campaigns, and mobile apps. Her work with 40+ agencies includes Frog, McCann, Publicis, Havas, Digitas, JWT, Droga5, and Razorfish. Anne's clients have included JP Morgan, Birchbox, Sony Music, BMW, and A&E. As a co-founder of Sein Analytics, she built the company's financial analytics SaaS product.
Tamaz is a UX designer and product executive with 17 years of experience in UX and visual design. His expertise lies in cross-functional UX across several fields, including web and mobile app design and UX in VR experiences. His work has won Gamescom's Best VR/AR Game award and was a nominee for the VR Awards' Best VR Experience of the Year. Tamaz has also succeeded in the Grand Prix Appy Awards and the World Summit Awards Mobile, and his work has been featured in the Google Play Store.
Rob is a talented UI/UX designer with over 10+ years of experience specializing in web/mobile products. He has exceptional design skills and has worked on several large enterprise teams, designing innovative software solutions across many industries. Rob has worked on large complex projects for big companies such as Tim Hortons, Toyota, Sentry Metrics, MobileCoin, SYKES Assistance Services, Envestnet, UBS, and Empire Flippers.
Lidia is a UI/UX designer with experience in technology-driven and customer-centric industries. She loves building new products and creating beautiful, accessible interfaces that drive user engagement and adoption rates. Lidia has overseen the complete design process for mobile apps and developed responsive marketing websites across various sectors. She is passionate about partnering with startups and SaaS companies to create valuable user experiences that improve lives.
George, or Mr. Pixel, is an award-winning web and mobile lead UX and UI designer with over 18 years of experience. He has led the design efforts of the UK's only medical class one app, downloaded by more than 24 million users and rated 4.6 stars in the App Store. George has also led the design efforts of one of the world's largest banks' mobile banking apps, with 6+ million users, and raised its 1.9 rating to 4.8 in the App Store. He designs beautiful interfaces that achieve business goals.
Matt has over a decade of design experience. Since 2012, he has worked with different agencies in creating award-winning digital, print, and interactive work for brands like Southwest Airlines, Salesforce, IBM, Patrón Tequila, Samsung Mobile, and Phillips 66.
Jeremie is a senior product designer. He designs mobile apps from start to finish for iOS and Android platforms. Not only is he competent in all aspects of the design process, but he is also strong at communicating design intent verbally and visually. What makes Jeremie unique is a special blend of creativity and knowledge of technology, iOS development, and UI/UX.
Aaron is a leading product designer specializing in mobile, web, and smart TV apps. He has worked with notable clients, including Hulu, Samsung, Delta, Rally Health, The Athletic, and many startups. He is an expert in end-to-end product design encompassing user research, strategy, user experience, user interface, design systems, and visual design. Aaron fosters collaboration by partnering with product teams, engineering, and leadership to deliver intuitive, user-centered products.
Dhileep has 10+ years of experience as a product designer. For the last decade, he has worked on mobile and responsive web applications for startups and Fortune 500 companies, such as Scotiabank, Infosys, and P&G. He designed the course creator for Uzity, known as the best in the market at that time. His domain experience includes banking, edtech, ERP, fintech, and eCommerce. Dhileep's strength is conceptualizing solutions based on data and research about users and business needs.
This guide deals with mobile application design and its goal is to provide clients with information on mobile design, and help them recognize a top notch mobile designer. It touches on multiple aspects of mobile application development, some or all of which will be relevant to the specific context in which you are looking to hire.
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Testimonials
Michael is an incredible designer, and has been a great fit for our project. He just gets it in a way that can’t be taught. My goal was to pay Toptal to find me a high quality designer for my project, and that is exactly what happened. It was easy. Being able to see the portfolio work on Toptal’s platform is what gave me the infomation I needed to choose Michael. I have nothing but good things to say about Toptal and am looking forward to using Toptal for other projects in the future.
Edward Daniel
Co-Founder
I've worked very closely with Martina for over a year and have to say she is one of the best people I have ever worked with. Instead of simply following instructions blindly, she thinks through the task at hand, becoming a thought partner to help with whatever the project may be. Besides being super talented at design, she possesses specific qualities that make her exceptional to work with given the fast paced nature of being a startup. I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for a talented, professional designer who doesn't need much direction to hit the ground running.
Sahil Khanna
Sr. Manager, Marketing
Darko did a great job figuring out the user architecture for our concept, which led him to produce terrific wireframes. His knowledge of usability and design was a perfect match for the outside voice we needed to help jumpstart our project. We would certainly recommend him and work with him again in the future.
Rich Danker
Founder
Carlos has the unique talent of blending both quantitative and qualitative research to keenly identify UX challenges and opportunities. He thinks methodically, emphatically, and holistically to produce data-driven strategies and well-executed designs. Over the past 8 years of working with fully or partially distributed teams, Carlos manages working remotely far better than anyone I've encountered because of his strong communication and presentation skills. He is the first on my list the next time I need a UX designer.
Michelle Krogmeier
Project Manager
Rafael is an amazing designer. His aesthetic sense is spot on, and he seems to be able to anticipate our needs before we even know what they are. He's taken the time to understand both our company and our clientele, and his solutions are consistently in-line with our values, interests, and our customers' needs. He delivers on time (if not earlier), works quickly, is well organized, and very effective. He's a pleasure to work with, and we're very happy to have found him through Toptal.
Ethan Brooks
CTO
How to Hire Mobile App Designers 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 mobile app designer for your project. Average time to match is under 24 hours.
3
The Right Fit, Guaranteed
Work with your new mobile app designer for a trial period (pay only if satisfied), ensuring they're the right fit before starting the engagement.
Find Experts With Related Skills
Access a vast pool of skilled designers in our talent network and hire the top 3% within just 48 hours.
Typically, you can hire a mobile app designer with Toptal in about 48 hours. For larger teams of talent or Managed 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 mobile app designer, 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.
How do I hire a mobile app designer?
To hire the right mobile app designer, 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 mobile app designers for your project.
How are Toptal mobile app designers different?
At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our mobile app designers 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 with Toptal, you’ll always work with world-class, custom-matched mobile app designers ready to help you achieve your goals.
Can you hire mobile app designers on an hourly basis or for project-based tasks?
You can hire mobile app designers on an hourly, part-time, or full-time basis. Toptal can also manage the entire project from end-to-end with our Managed Delivery offering. Whether you hire an expert 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 mobile app designers can fully integrate into your existing team for a seamless working experience.
What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal mobile app designers?
We make sure that each engagement between you and your mobile app designer 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 expert who may be a better fit and with whom we will begin a second, no-risk trial.
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How to Hire a Great Mobile App Designer
This guide deals with cutting-edge mobile application design and its goal is to provide clients from the United States and abroad with information on mobile design and help them recognize the skillset of a top-notch mobile designer. It touches on multiple aspects of mobile app development, some or all of which will be relevant to the specific context in which you are looking to hire whether full-time or part-time.
Before we proceed to define what makes the best app designer, we need to be aware of the definition.
Mobile application designers focus on native mobile apps and work closely with UX and UI designers to apply their design to mobile interfaces.
Mobile designers have many names and some of them are app designers, iOS app designers, Android app designers, and so on. They usually have track records of working closely with user-experience (UX) designers and user-interface (UI) designers to apply their design to mobile interfaces. Their main focus is on native mobile applications, but they should also be able to create designs for mobile and hybrid apps.
Every mobile application designer should be aware of the difference between these three platforms.
The Challenge
Native apps live on the device and they are accessed through icons on the device home screen. Native apps are usually installed through an application store (such as Google Play or Apple’s App Store). They are specifically developed for one platform, and can take full advantage of all the device features; they can use the camera, the GPS, various sensors like the accelerometer, compass, and so on. They can also incorporate gestures (either standard operating system gestures or new, app-defined gestures). Also, it’s worth noting that native apps can use the device’s notification system, access local information like the contacts list, and they can work offline.
Responsive web applications are not real applications; they are really websites that, in many ways, look and feel like native applications, but are not implemented as such. They are run by a browser and typically written in HTML5. Users first access them as they would access any web page: They navigate to a special URL and then have the option of “installing” them on their home screen by creating a bookmark to that page. Web apps became popular when HTML5 went mainstream and people realized that they could obtain native-like functionality in the browser.
Today, as more and more sites use HTML5, the distinction between web apps and regular web pages is blurring. For instance, there are no visible browser buttons or bars, although the site runs in Safari (when accessed from an iPhone). Users swipe horizontally to move on to new sections of the app. And, thanks to browser caching, it’s even possible to read the newspaper offline.
HTML5 vs. Native Apps vs. Hybrid Apps
A lot of features are available in HTML5. It possible to access some sensors, implement the tap-to-call feature, and even other functions, such as the device’s camera API. However, few web apps and websites take advantage of these possibilities.
Mobile app developers must be aware of the difference between these native and hybrid apps, as well as HTML5 apps.
There are, however, native features that remain inaccessible (at least for now) in the browser:
The notification system, running in the background
Sensor input such as accelerometer information (other than detecting landscape or portrait orientations)
Complex gestures
Of course, one can argue that many apps (native or otherwise) do not take advantage of those extra features, anyhow. But if you really need those native features, you’ll have to create a native app, or at least a hybrid app.
Native mobile apps provide fast performance and a high degree of reliability. It’s important to note that most mobile video games are native applications. We all know that video games are among the most popular mobile applications, and many of them need to utilise the hardware in the most efficient way in order to ensure smooth gameplay and a good user experience.
Hybrid apps are part native apps, part web apps. Because of that, many people incorrectly call them “web apps.” Like native apps, they live in an app store and can take advantage of the many device features available. Like web apps, they rely on HTML being rendered in a browser, with the understanding that the browser is embedded within the app. Often, companies build hybrid apps as wrappers for an existing web page; in that way, they hope to get a presence in the app store without spending resources on backend app development. Hybrid apps are also popular because they allow cross-platform development and thus significantly reduce development costs: The same HTML code components can be reused on different mobile operating systems.
Tools such as PhoneGap and Sencha Touch allow people to design and code across platforms, using the power of HTML. Doing justice to many of these topics would warrant posts of their own. Nonetheless, this guide is intended to provide, at least, a meaningful overview of key issues and topics relating to mobile application design. Furthermore, every good mobile application designer should be aware of all the terms used in this article.
It’s not unusual for a client to demand native apps rather than responsive web applications. In order to provide a different and unique user-experience on each device, many clients will require a native application.
Q: Native, Web App, or Hybrid: Which Should You Choose?
To summarize, native apps, hybrid apps, or web apps cater to the needs of the mobile user. There is no best solution; each has its strengths and weaknesses. The choice depends on each client’s unique needs.
Q: When designing a new application, what are the most important questions you need to know?
What is your app’s main goal?
What are the most important sections in your app? How many are there?
What kind of actions should be available to the user throughout the app?
Who is your direct and indirect competition, if it exists?
Which features and functions do you want to include in your app?
With the answers, the designer should be able to start searching for the best design pattern for the new application. Maybe the best question to ask when starting a new design would be: “If you came home angry and stressed out, looking to buy a cinema ticket, how you would like to application to work?”
The same question can be adjusted to any real-life situation and mobile app. If the application design works when the user is frustrated, then the application is probably well designed.
Q: What do you need to consider when designing for iOS, Android or any mobile platform?
When people are about to use something, they have already expectations (we call them mental models). For example, most users will buy a certain smartphone because they like the design principles behind its operating system, the appearance, or how the device works. So, the most important thing to consider when designing for iOS, or another mobile platform, is to consider vendor guidelines. While iOS and Android app developers need to stick to vendor guidelines, the basic logic behind each application should be identical, regardless of vendor.
Designers should not try to reinvent the wheel by implementing some unexpected elements within the application. In order to provide an extraordinary experience, designers should experiment with improved user flow and interaction design. In the application industry, this is a standard; Apple does it, Google does it, and Microsoft is no exception.
Q: When designing for a diverse set of users who will engage with your products, what do you need to consider?
Along with device platform guidelines, the designer should consider accessibility guidelines for a range of users. Design for people who are young, old, power users, casual users, and those who just enjoy a quality experience. Embrace these accessibility guidelines as you would any set of design constraints. They are part of the challenge of creating amazing products.
Q: Why are application icons so important for an application and what should be considered when designing the icon?
Beautiful, compelling icons are a fundamental part of a good user experience. Far from being merely decorative, icons play an essential role in communicating with users. Focus on a unique shape; some icons have many colors or they feature gradients, but they all start with a simple shape. That allows them to be recognizable at a distance and at a glance. Icons are seen in a range of different sizes. They are large in the App store, get small on the home screen and even smaller in the notification centre and in groups. Make sure your design scales well and is clear at any size.
The designer should also test the icon on different wallpapers; while it might look great against a traditional backdrop, iOS raindrops for example, there’s no guarantee it looks great on all wallpapers. And try grouping your designs into folders to evaluate how they look.
Q: How to design an intuitive user-interface and still achieve the “Wow!” effect.
Intuitive means easy to understand or operate without explicit instruction. The designer should always use different visual treatment for icons that are “tappable” and icons that are used as indicators and are “non-tappable.” Once a coherent system for distinguishing tappable from non-tappable icons is in place, the designer needs to follow it throughout the mobile app. In order to achieve the “WOW effect,” the designer should play around with unique shapes (for example custom made icons), animations, and then present them in a whole new way.
For example, the paper plane is now widely recognized as the “Send” icon. When it was first introduced, it was probably a little bit confusing for a user. “What is this paper plane? What does it have to do with email?” In many applications, the “Save” icon is an image of the extinct floppy disk. A life buoy icon could be used, instead. Once users understand or discover the meaning of a new UI element, it becomes “intuitive” the next time.
Three Components of the “Wow!” Factor
If the designer is limited by brand guidelines, the “Wow!” effect can be achieved in other areas.
Let’s imagine that we have a beautiful and expensive pen. But if it doesn’t write well, we will probably abandon it and go for an ordinary pen that suits our purpose. Fancy, eye-catching design cannot always help an ineffective product, so we must always think about designing an experience that pleasantly surprises the user by helping him to achieve the intended task faster and efficiently.
It is important to note that “Wow!” factors depend on the concept from the UI/UX/visual designer being well executed by the programmer.
Q: Should we use gestures in our mobile application and how will they affect User Experience?
With the integration of gyroscopes and motion sensors, smart devices are able to detect movement. With this, the interaction between the user and the device extends beyond the click and tap, bringing real-life gestures to the screen.
Users are intuitive about gestures. When asked how to delete an item, users tried to move the item out of the screen regardless of age, sex and gender. Enhancing the user experience with fewer taps or scrolling allows applications to become more interactive.
Force Touch technology does not enable truly new gestures, it is simply an extension of gestures we are already familiar with. It will help designers and developers to add a Z-axis in order to provide more depth of information on a top layer without touching or overcomplicating the Information Architecture underneath.
Q: How many fonts are recommended and what is the best practice with typography while designing mobile applications?
Reducing the number of fonts on a screen can reveal the power of typography. Instead of using different typefaces and leveraging different characteristics (e.g. italics, bold, semi-bold), different font sizes can better differentiate discrete areas of content. Embracing a singular typeface across an entire app drives consistency not only for branding but also across channels — e.g. app, mobile site, website — thus optimizing the mobile elements across the omnichannel experience. Also, users prefer the simplicity of having one typeface while scrolling for relevant content.
Q: What are micro-interactions and why should we use them?
Micro-interactions are small, visual enhancements (for example, an animation or a sound) occurring around a use case. These scenarios may include completing a transaction, flagging an item, or prompting a pop-up message. Such interactions are subtle, but they differentiate the product by pointing the user’s attention to the right element.
Micro-interactions may be leveraged as a signal to prompt the user while accomplishing a task (adjusting a setting, for instance), thus creating a small piece of content such as a pop-up message. Apps with well designed micro-interactions are considered easier to use, more fun, and more engaging by their users.
Final words
Before designers choose to create something from an app idea, they must conduct market research in order to learn what’s out there and what they have to do to create a unique and successful design for their target audience. Audiences will differ depending on if it’s an eCommerce, social media, or another type of app.
The biggest difference between a development project for a mobile application and a desktop application, or even a website, is context. This is what makes mobile apps so powerful. Each Android or iPad/iPhone app is used for its own purpose, at a specific time and place. There are several ways to accomplish the same action for mobile, and it’s up to you, the designer, to design and choose the most effective way.
(If you are looking to expand your mobile development team with iOS or Android developers and refine the development process further, we also have an application developer hiring guide that is more focused on helping you hire mobile app developers through Toptal’s development services.)