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.

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 Writer 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.

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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.

Designing VR Games Worth Playing: 6 Key Considerations

Despite decades of hype, virtual reality gaming has failed to be widely adopted. Better design can reduce player frustration, increase comfort, and make games more immersive.

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Edward Moore

Edward is a veteran UX designer with a résumé of award-winning projects for Google, Sony, Electronic Arts, and Sega. He’s worked on iconic gaming franchises like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Sonic. In 2014, he launched a company to contribute strategic gamification and UX services to nongaming companies seeking to leverage AR/VR technology.

Toptal Design Expert

Osandi Sekoú Robinson

Formerly at Apple, Square, and a16z, Osandi has assisted teams in crafting customer-centric products, specializing in minimal compelling products. As one of Toptal's elites, he has been instrumental in reshaping organizations' problem-solving approaches for an enhanced user experience. His expertise encompasses AI, messaging, logistics, CRM, dating, crypto, branded interfaces, and design systems. Osandi is an invaluable asset to any organization seeking a proactive design leader with vision.