Best App Designers

What a good app design package includes

App design gigs are usually priced by the number of screens. Check that the package states:

• Screen list: every screen and state to be designed.
• Platforms: iPhone, Android, tablet, or all.
• Design system: colors, fonts, buttons and reusable components.
• Prototype: a clickable version of the main flows.
• Assets: icons and images exported for developers.
• App icon and store screenshots, if included.
• File access: the editable design file, not just images.
• Revisions and delivery time.

How to brief an app designer

1. What the app does and who uses it.
2. The main tasks users complete, step by step.
3. Wireframes or sketches, if you have them.
4. Brand files: logo, colors and fonts.
5. Apps you like, with notes on what you like about them.
6. Technical constraints from your developer, such as the framework used.
7. Accessibility needs: text size, contrast and screen reader support.

Ask for the less exciting screens too: error messages, empty lists, first-time use, lost password. They are where users most often get stuck, and developers who have no design for them will improvise.

Share the design with your developer before approving it. They can flag anything that is expensive to build and suggest standard components that look almost the same but take a fraction of the time.

What drives the price

• number of screens and states
• one platform or several, and tablet layouts
• a full design system versus individual screens
• custom illustrations, icons and animations
• prototypes, app icon and store screenshots
• the designer's experience with apps like yours

Red flags

• A portfolio of single showcase screens with no complete apps.
• Only the main screens designed, with no error or empty states.
• Designs delivered as images, with no editable file.
• Tiny text and low-contrast colors that are hard to read.
• No thought for platform conventions or how the app will be built.

For research and user flows before visual design, read our UX design guide. To build the app, see our mobile app development guide. For the app's logo, our logo design guide explains which files you need.

Think about how the design will grow. Ask the designer to build reusable components, such as buttons, cards and form fields, instead of drawing every screen from scratch. When you add a new feature later, your developer or another designer can assemble screens from the same parts, and the app keeps a consistent look. A small component library costs a little more at the start but saves time on every future update, and it makes it far easier to bring in a new designer later.

Quick pre-order checklist

• I have a full screen list, including error and empty states.
• The platforms and design system are defined.
• I will get the editable design file and exported assets.
• My developer will review the design before approval.
• Text size and contrast are readable.