User experience has been one of the most covered topics in recent years, with dozens of web and mobile development agencies providing such services. In 2021, UX and UI are essential for any digital product, from mobile apps and websites to computer software. But before we take a look at different UI/UX companies, let’s understand what UI/UX design is and whether you really need it.
Basics
UX design is responsible for the features, adaptability of a product and the emotions it evokes in users. A user wants to see a simple and clear interface, which is easy to interact with. A UX designer is a so-called marketing specialist who researches user experience. He has to observe analytics, think about the connections between different elements of the interface and give technical tasks to developers. And based on the research, he creates the most effective prototype of the needed product.
Meanwhile, UI-design includes work on the graphical part of the interface: animations, illustrations, every single detail, such as buttons, menus, sliders and fonts. The main task of a UI designer is to help the user understand how to use the product quickly and without the complexities that often cause stress. Whether it’s a website, a mobile app, or a program, the interface must be both simple to use and visually appealing.
Basically, the difference between UX and UI is that the UX designer plans how the user interacts with the interface, what steps they need to take to reach their goal. And the UI designer has to plan on how these steps should look like. Figuratively speaking, UX-design is like a science, where all decisions are based on numbers and patterns, while UI-design is an art, where the designer focuses on the attractiveness and aesthetics of all elements, from fonts and colors to animation elements.
In fact, UX and UI are so closely related that the line between the two is usually blurred. This is why a good UI/UX company works on both things at the same time.
Top agencies
Now that you’ve learned the basics, you’re ready to find an agency that will bring your ideas to life. However, we know that finding the right UI/UX company can be a big challenge, so we’ve compiled a list of the top agencies for you.
The biggest – IDEO
Also it’s the oldest UI/UX company in the world.
Location: USA, the UK, Germany, Japan, China and more
Price: $500k+
Team Size: 600+ employees
Founded in 1991, IDEO is one of the most iconic UI/UX companies in the industry. They have worked on basically every tech product you could imagine – from simple websites and mobile apps to computer software and multi-platform digital projects for the last 30 years they’ve been on the market. IDEO has worked on projects in such industries as food and beverage, education, medicine and of course the computer industry. For example, it is believed that they’ve created Apple’s first mouse of the Steelcase’s Leap chair. The list of their clients include Air New Zealand, Coca-Cola, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ennova School, Ford and many others. If you are planning on launching a big project and have a solid budget to spend on design, this UI/UX company is your best option.
The most famous – Clay
Location: USA
Price: $100k+
Team Size: up to 50 employees
From Amazon to Google, Clay invents and improves UI/UX designs for large businesses and world-known companies. They’ve been in the market for 11 years, starting off by working with independent entrepreneurs and now being able to work with Coca-Cola, Sony or Uber. Nowadays their main clients are located in Silicon Valley or in the Fortune 500 ranking. So if you want to get on the list of companies like Slack, Facebook and Google, be prepared to be on a long wait list and spend over a hundred thousand on UI/UX design.
The most promising – Purrweb
Location: Russia
Price: up to $40k
Team Size: 100+ employees
This UI/UX company is for realists who can’t spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on UI/UX design, even if the company is the most famous on the market. Purrweb is an up-and-coming agency from Russia that has already done a bunch of projects from educational platforms to online health care diagnosis system from scratch. Their main goal is to help entrepreneurs from all over the world with UI/UX, web and mobile app development. Purrweb is the best option for entrepreneurs from all over the world who want to bring their idea to life, but do not have the ability to pay so much money or wait for so long. By the way, this UI/UX company can bring your idea to market in just 3 months, and you can see every step as the development process is completely transparent.
To sum up
If you’re still not sure if you need to work with a UI/UX company, please keep in mind that nowadays customers require that the software not only works, but looks presentable as well. How often have you heard that some of your friends prefer using one messenger to the other only due to the design? Or remember how many similar apps you can find in AppStore, but the prettiest one is always the best-selling. It’s all about the looks so if you want to create a website or an application, you should be way more concerned with the UI/UX design than you may think. The main purpose of UX design is to ensure that users enjoy using your website or mobile app, that interactions with your product are comfortable for the user, which can turn into a loyal customer if he’s satisfied with your product. This means that well-thought-out UI/UX design can make your product or service become more popular, and your business – more successful. Taking all of this into account, hiring a UI/UX company is a must if you want to bring your ideas to life, but it’s you who chooses which one to pick.
