How are Toptal Design Strategists different?

At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our Design Strategists to ensure we only match you with talent of the highest caliber. Of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, fewer than 3% make the cut. You’ll work with design experts (never generalized recruiters or HR reps) to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics. The end result: expert vetted talent from our network, custom matched to fit your business needs.

Can I hire Design Strategists in less than 48 hours through Toptal?

Depending on availability and how fast you can progress, you could start working with a Design Strategist within 48 hours of signing up.

What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal Design Strategists?

We make sure that each engagement between you and your Design Strategist 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.

Hire the Top 3% of Freelance Design Strategists

Name: Strategy Design Services
Brand: Toptal
Rating: 4.6 (1068 reviews)

Toptal is a marketplace for top Design Strategists. Top companies and startups choose Toptal Strategy freelancers for their mission-critical design projects.

Hire a Top Design Strategist Now

No-Risk Trial, Pay Only If Satisfied.

Clients Rate Toptal Design Strategists4.6 / 5.0on average across 1,068 reviews as of Apr 25, 2024

Trusted by leading brands and startups

Watch the case study

Hire Freelance Design Strategists

View Michael

Michael Craig

Freelance Design Strategist

Strategy, Visual Design, UX Design, Figma, UI Design, Mobile App UI, Wireframing, User Experience (UX), Adobe Experience Design (XD), iOS, Mobile Design, Information Architecture (IA), Product Design,

United StatesToptal Member Since November 7, 2016

Michael is an experienced product designer who's partnered with tech companies, startups, and education companies to help them reach their goals and positively impact their customers. Michael's research-empowered design process has resulted in successful products and services that delight users.

Jacob Thomas

Freelance Design Strategist

Strategy, UX Design, Wireframing, Web UX, Rapid Prototyping, UI Design, UX Prototyping, Information Architecture (IA), UX Strategy,

IndiaToptal Member Since December 13, 2018

Jacob has over a decade of experience designing websites, apps, and other digital properties. Recently, he's led the design strategy for a neural automation AI platform, commisioned by a global IT firm. He's worked on mission-critical projects with other leading companies like Microsoft, Pizza Hut, KFC, KPMG, and McKinsey. He is also a computer engineer and likes to code data-laden interactive prototypes for more effective user testing.

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Csaba Hazi

Freelance Design Strategist

Strategy, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Gamification, SaaS, Mobile UX, Chatbots, AI Design, Responsive UI, Figma, Miro, Design Systems, Usability Testing, User Interface (UI),

HungaryToptal Member Since March 1, 2018

Collaborate with Csaba, a full-stack UX expert and product designer renowned for designing complex SaaS products used by millions. With extensive experience in marketing tech and AI-related solutions, Csaba masters every stage, from planning and research to wireframing, design systems, UI, and testing. As a trusted guide for startups seeking world-class designs and feature selection, Csaba's expertise ensures your product reaches its full potential.

Jahan Hussain

Freelance Design Strategist

Strategy, UX Strategy, Product Design, UI Animation, Design Systems, Internet of Things (IoT), SaaS Design, User Experience (UX), Information Architecture (IA), Principle, Mobile App Design, UX Design, UX Research,

United KingdomToptal Member Since July 3, 2018

Jahan is a designer from London, England, who creates value for multi-nationals, startups, and the in-betweens by utilizing his problem-solving ability and a user-centric design process. He has years of experience, including founding a boutique design consultancy and working with brands such as M&S, Nestle, King's College London, and Biogen. Jahan strategizes, designs, builds, and cultivates impactful, end-to-end solutions across the digital world.

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Benjamin van Gelder

Freelance Design Strategist

Strategy, Sketch, InVision, User Experience (UX), Wireframing, User Journey Maps, Mobile UX, UX Testing, Personas, UX Strategy, User Flows, Ideation Workshops, Service Design,

SpainToptal Member Since December 2, 2019

Benjamin has worked with leading companies such as ING, BNP Paribas, Banco Santander, or McKinsey—helping his clients to innovate through design by translating people’s needs into products or services. Partly creative, partly strategic, he’s a skilled UX/UI designer who specializes in improving UX by being, at the same time, the voice of customers and clients. Benjamin was also a TEDx speaker in Madrid, talking about design thinking in education.

Jenny Shen

Freelance Design Strategist

Strategy, Rapid Prototyping, Adobe Suite, Miro, Cross-platform UX, UX Audits, Web App UX, Mobile UX, eCommerce Design, eCommerce UI, Rapid Interactive Prototyping, Personas, User Journey Maps,

TaiwanToptal Member Since December 19, 2016

Jenny is a UX lead with a decade of experience creating world-class digital products that generate revenue and win customers. She specializes in international markets and has designed for users in 30+ countries in APAC, EMEA, and the Americas. She has helped over 40 companies solve business and user problems with UX research and design sprints. Jenny's past clients include Tencent, McKinsey & Company, Babylon Health, LA Lakers, FILA, Neiman Marcus, Crate and Barrel, and Randstad.

Kasey Randall

Freelance Design Strategist

Strategy, User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), Mobile Design, Rapid Interactive Prototyping, Usability Testing, UX Strategy, Figma, Sitemaps, Sketch, InVision, Adobe Experience Design (XD), iOS UI Design,

United StatesToptal Member Since January 28, 2019

Kasey has over twelve years of experience helping businesses and teams develop and launch impactful digital solutions and experiences. As a successful product designer, he blends user-centric processes with business objectives to deliver exceptional results across various platforms, services, and companies. With a keen eye for core experience and an intuitive sense of design and strategy, Kasey is a driving force behind many successful digital initiatives.

Mini Kim

Freelance Design Strategist

Strategy, Journey Mapping, Sketch, OmniGraffle, UX Sketching, UX Strategy, Usability Testing, Web Usability, User Interviews, UX Research, User Journey Maps, Service Design, User Flows,

United StatesToptal Member Since March 13, 2019

Mini has worked with a diverse array of clients for over a decade in New York City. She enjoys learning about different industries and their unique challenges, having worked with healthcare, finance, and technology companies, amongst others. Mini strongly believes that UX is about collaboration between the business, users, and technology. In every project, she uses various UX methods and deliverables to get the best results.

Chris Mismash

Freelance Design Strategist

Strategy, Communication, Product Design, User Experience (UX), Information Architecture (IA), UX Strategy, SaaS Design, Digital Strategy, Technical Project Management, Figma, User Interface (UI), UI Design, UX Design,

United StatesToptal Member Since September 1, 2017

Chris is an innovation-driven product design leader with over 20 years of experience. He has a proven record of driving success for enterprises and startups alike. Chris builds and leads award-winning teams and is skilled in human-centered design, UI/UX, and product management. His entrepreneurial mindset and expertise in process optimization ensure product improvement. Chris holds advanced degrees from NC State, Cambridge, and Utah and has spoken at TEDx on design thinking.

Rodolfo Biglie

Freelance Design Strategist

Strategy, Adobe Photoshop, CorelDRAW, User Experience (UX), Icon Design, Interactive Prototypes, Creative Direction, Logotype, Logo Design, Illustrator CC, App UI, Product Design, UX Design,

Czech RepublicToptal Member Since May 27, 2016

Rodolfo's approach to design is focused on deeply analyzing and understanding the problems and needs of any given project, then executing in a way that strategically, logically, functionally, and visually delivers the desired results. The main focus of Rodolfo's work is the purpose and finding out the characteristics of the project to understand how far we can go.

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THE TOPTAL ADVANTAGE

98% of Toptal clients choose to hire our talent after a risk-free trial.

Toptal's screening and matching process ensures exceptional talent are matched to your precise needs.

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THE TOPTAL ADVANTAGE

98% of Toptal clients choose to hire our talent after a risk-free trial.

Toptal's screening and matching process ensures exceptional talent are matched to your precise needs.

Start Hiring

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

Leading a digital transformation

Building a cross-platform app to be used worldwide

Drilling into real-time data creates an industry game changer

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 Design Strategists through Toptal

Talk to One of Our Industry Experts

A Toptal director of design will work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics.

Work With Hand-Selected Talent

Within days, we'll introduce you to the right Design Strategist for your project. Average time to match is under 24 hours.

The Right Fit, Guaranteed

Work with your new Design Strategist 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.

Creative Strategists UX Strategists Digital Strategists Brand Strategists Service Designers Design Consultants Design Researchers Design Directors

FAQs

How are Toptal Design Strategists different?
At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our Design Strategists to ensure we only match you with talent of the highest caliber. Of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, fewer than 3% make the cut. You’ll work with design experts (never generalized recruiters or HR reps) to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics. The end result: expert vetted talent from our network, custom matched to fit your business needs.
Can I hire Design Strategists in less than 48 hours through Toptal?
Depending on availability and how fast you can progress, you could start working with a Design Strategist within 48 hours of signing up.
What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal Design Strategists?
We make sure that each engagement between you and your Design Strategist 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.

Tap Into World-Class Talent

Trusted Experts Only
All of our talent are seasoned experts who ramp up quickly, readily contribute as core team members, and work with you to minimize onboarding time.
The Right Fit
We have a knack for matching you with the right fit. Start working with your new hire on a no-risk trial period, paying only if satisfied.
Scale as Needed
Hire talent within 48 hours and scale your team up or down as needed, no strings attached.
Seamless Hiring
We handle all aspects of billing, payments, and NDA’s. Let us take care of the overhead while you focus on building great products.
Flexible Engagements
Choose the engagement type that suits your needs — hourly, part-time, or full-time — with the ability to change anytime.
Expert Talent Matching
Focus on your project and enjoy support from your dedicated account executive and expert talent matcher.