Toptal is a marketplace for top visual designers. Top companies and startups choose Toptal visual design freelancers for their mission critical design projects.
With years of experience in design and advertising, Steve is an art director and designer at Rethink, the world's second-largest independent advertising agency. He freelances for companies worldwide as a branding, visual, and UI/UX designer for clients of all sizes. Steve has had the pleasure of working for other advertising agencies such as DDB, Tribal Worldwide, Grand Creative, Colenso BBDO, and more. He communicates exceptionally well with his clients and has worked in teams of all sizes.
Shammer is a brand and digital designer with over ten years of experience. His breadth of skills varies from print to digital design. He defines himself as a chameleon; he can design for various clients while staying true to their brand's visual identity and extending it wherever needed or desired.
Marti is a senior UI/UX designer based in New York. For the past several years, he's been designing digital products for the banking, hospitality, fashion, healthcare, pharmaceutical, automotive, and software industries. Marti's past clients include Citibank, HP, Galaxkey, Meta, Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen Group, Riyad Bank, Vorwerk Thermomix, Asics, The Ritz-Carlton Group, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Al Rajhi Bank, and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
With over 20 years of experience in product and UI/UX design and creative direction, including experience as a digital-agency owner, Inti has extensive experience in full-cycle product design. An entrepreneurial attitude and considerable multidisciplinary skills make him a systematic thinker and a proactive problem solver with a positive attitude and passion for creating innovative, intuitive, and delightful experiences.
United KingdomToptal Member Since November 8, 2018
Samuel is a senior product designer specializing in fintech and Web3-based projects. Having worked with global advertising agencies for over a decade with clients like Adidas, O2, and Universal, Samuel has traversed roles such as art director, filmmaker, and senior creative lead before shifting into fintech. Recently, he's worked with blockchain startups to rapidly build and prototype applications that have raised several million dollars in funding.
Omer is a human-centered designer with 13 years of experience building bridges between brands and users. He specializes in visual design, UX design, motion design, user-centric design principles, design leadership, design system, prototyping, mockups, wireframes, brand consistency, and logo creation. Omer strives for the best and incorporates clients' digital strategies in his designs.
Rian calls himself a "human experience designer." He is a cognitive science researcher and a UI/UX designer with a deep insight into the human side of the user and valuable experience in UX and visual design. Since 2006, Rian has worked for clients such as Steve Wozniak (Apple's co-founder), HAR, Bosch, Booking, and Udacity. He has a master's degree in computer science, graphic design and system analysis degrees, and a postgraduate degree in neuroscience and applied psychology.
United Arab EmiratesToptal Member Since October 25, 2016
Jeffrey has been working alongside entrepreneurs to help build their businesses for more than half a decade. Most recently, he has worked with a digital agency in London called Grampy. For those two years, he traveled the world consulting with C-level executives and building digital experiences for leading brands.
Visual designers are foremost interdisciplinary experts; their expertise covers both digital and print. Their work focuses on details and their final goal is impeccable visual communication. Function and form are achieved through carefully understanding and dissecting briefs and goals from their clients, copywriters, strategists and creative directors.
... 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
What our clients think
Clients Rate Toptal Visual Designers4.4 / 5.0on average across 2,030 reviews as of Mar 19, 2024
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
improvemygun.com
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
LeanTaaS, Inc.
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
Prose Market
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
Union Station
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
Langlotz Patent & Trademark Works, Inc.
Toptal gave us access to the best designers out there. They’re not easy to find. Those designers integrated very quickly with our existing teams. They very quickly understood our business case and the value of our solution. Toptal really allowed us to focus on building the best possible product and save a lot of time on the typical administrative pains that goes with it -- specifically, finding the best talent. Toptal designers were very responsive, always online -- and that made life very easy for us. We have ambitious goals on how to grow the application and already Toptal has been a key contributor to that success.
Thierry Jakircevic, General Manager, Digital Solutions, Bridgestone Head Office, Tokyo
Bridgestone Corporation
We had an amazing experience working with our Toptal designer. In only two weeks, we accomplished what would've taken most companies 3 months to complete. We also enjoyed working with the Toptal team to make sure we were paired up with the right designer that would fit both our company culture and working style.
Ted Blosser, Head of Sales and Customer Success
WorkRamp
Dean blew us away. He ranks right up there as one of the top five designers of the hundreds I have worked with in the past. He listened, was totally professional, and came up with a 3D rotating cube design completely on his own. We didn't even ask for it, and yet it has become the centerpiece of our app and how users engage with it right off the bat. What he produced inspired all of us at Votify, and put us on track for launch and investor funding.
Michael Lawrence, Founder & CEO
Votify LLC
How to Hire Visual Designers through Toptal
1
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.
2
Work With Hand-Selected Talent
Within days, we'll introduce you to the right visual designer for your project. Average time to match is under 24 hours.
3
The Right Fit, Guaranteed
Work with your new visual 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.
At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our visual designers 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 visual designers in less than 48 hours through Toptal?
Depending on availability and how fast you can progress, you could start working with a visual designer within 48 hours of signing up.
What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal visual designers?
We make sure that each engagement between you and your visual 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 Visual Designer
Visual designers are foremost interdisciplinary experts; their expertise covers both digital and print. Their work focuses on details and their final goal is impeccable visual communication. Function and form are achieved through carefully understanding and dissecting briefs and goals from their clients, copywriters, strategists and creative directors.
They design big and small branding projects from the ground up, create and develop campaigns, lead a team of designers, provide quality art and creative direction, and design apps, websites, and onsite digital experiences.
Visual designers create big and small branding projects from the ground up.
In-depth knowledge of typography, iconography, color, space and texture are essential for creating a great visual experiences that inspires, engages and excites both offline and online users.
Design is subjective, therefore, when being interviewed, designers need to show insight, courage and their thought process; the reasoning behind the decisions and processes is sometimes more important than the result itself. The result of design work is a combination of many factors: Creative and art directors, clients, public and project goals.
This way we can learn more about, and from, the designer and understand the way s/he works.
When discussing “visual design” in these circumstances, it’s not, and cannot in any way be simply how something looks. Function and form should be questioned during all stages of the design process.
When evaluating a visual designer’s portfolio, it is necessary that context and ideation behind a project is shown and explained. Reviewing a portfolio is just the first step of the screening process and helps us determine a designer’s approach.
The Challenge
Visual design is the process of visual communication and creative problem-solving through the use of type, space, image, shape, line, texture, color, material. A great visual designer is capable of creating a meaningful, effective, attractive and inspiring visual representation of ideas and messages. The design process doesn’t only rely on form, and a given problem or a brief, but the study of the problem, research, and analysis will give the solution and form to the project.
Visual Designers work closely with UX and UI designers, graphic designers, web designers, product designers, copywriters, strategists and clients. They have a variety of design skills and are capable of translating insights, briefs and data into cohesive, straightforward visual communication that adds value.
Visual designers are interdisciplinary experts. They provide quality art and creative direction.
Collaborating with UI designers to ensure consistent brand application
Guiding visual identity throughout a company and product
Execution and Analytics:
Coordination with UI/UX Designer(s)
Coordination with Developer(s)
Coordination with copywriter(s)
Coordination with Art and Creative Director
Tracking Goals and Integration
Analysis and Iteration
Print management
These sets of skills can be translated in various mediums and platforms for which they should deliver:
Concept
Strategy
Naming
Copywriting
Photography
Development
Design
Logo
Visual identity
Web design
Illustration
Editorial (books, magazines, brochures etc.)
Packaging
Signage and wayfinding
Type design and lettering
Information design and visualization
Of course, not every designer will cover all fields, but it’s the understanding of these particular fields and the ability to direct and guide the design process that sets apart great designers.
It’s vital to evaluate visual designers’ soft skills and their design process.
Specialization among designers is common; they can be pragmatic, rational and minimalist in their approach, but that doesn’t mean their output is necessarily so. Their work can be driven by illustrations, or they can use an organic and free approach to design problems, solving them as they emerge. This is why it is vital to examine a designer’s thought process.
When interviewing senior visual designers, it is important to evaluate their soft skills and their design process. This set of questions will help determine if a designer is a fit.
Q: Can you tell us more about your design background?
There is no correct answer here. Finding out more about the designer’s background can mean from his general introduction can provide us with relevant information about the design school the candidate attended, past/current work positions, design experience, problems and projects that s/he found along the way. The interview can be structured more towards the end, adjusting questions along the way, based on information revealed by the designer.
Q: Why did you become a designer?
When discussing this theme, the energy, and imagination behind the answers will give you an idea of the designer’s character and spirit.
Q: What is your design approach?
The design process is essential to how design candidates develop and create their work. Insight and the way they work can distinguish their quality. As the design process becomes more thorough, the results become more elaborate and detailed.
Also, the design process is often limited by budget and time, and a useful insight would be how s/he and the design teams that s/he has worked with in the past handled various situations and briefs.
Q: How would you describe your design research?
When discussing design research, it is necessary to cover all the angles that the candidate understands, and explain the reasoning why s/he decided to use a particular technique, tool, or way of thinking to achieve a result.
Nevertheless, if a designer received the data via the client, copywriter, strategist, or UX designer, it will be necessary to conduct further research that will confirm the designer’s statements, possibly upgrading the outcome.
Q: What software do you use, and when?
Standard skills are a must, from Adobe to Sketch, but look for the extra during an interview. Processing, illustration, animation, video, art skills, and the like that bring extra potential to specific clients and projects.
Q: What field, industry, type of work do you prefer?
From digital to print, 360 solutions, from social causes to luxury designers, pinpoint the candidate’s interests and preferences, and build up the talk to personal goals, projects goals and things they want to do and create but hadn’t had a chance to do.
Q: What do you think of (x) project?
Suggest a few projects, or ask a designer to select a project and then dissect it. The candidate should be able to pick it apart. Listen for the answers that explain context, goals, references, influences and pure aesthetics as well as identifying problems, solutions, and outcome of the chosen direction. If the candidate can elaborate with quick solutions to a set of specific problems, that’s even better.
Q: What areas of your work or personal development are you hoping to explore further?
Discuss areas of personal development, with emphasis on visual design. How would the designer become even better, branch out into different areas and expertise of the design spectrum?
Q: How would you describe your work and your influences?
Look for elaborate and interesting stories, search for passion for design and design thinking. References to history, design history, art, culture, music and architecture are useful when describing choices, intentions and solutions.
Q: Portfolio critique: Please explain three best projects from your portfolio
The candidate needs to explain the entire design process, the decisions, ideation, context, why’s, do’s and dont’s, by describing the production and execution of a specific project. Question the designer’s decisions to discover details of projects and the reasoning behind these decisions. Ask how the designer would have made those projects even better.
