The 6 best UX design agencies in Australia 2023

Last update: January 2023

I’ve been working in the software industry for more than 20 years, and I’m not surprised that more often than not, my colleagues get confused when trying to find a good design agency in Australia. UX Design has changed a lot over the past decade.

I have never found a decent list of design agencies in Australia, so I gave it a thought and decided to put one together myself. The order is not really important- all of these Australian UX-UI design agencies are great. In my experience, it is more important that the design agency fits the project.

The short version of the list of Australian UX-UI design agencies:

1) Creative Navy

2) Momentum Design Lab

3) Gomeeki

4) Ustwo

5) Grazitti Interactive

6) Butterfly

Where are the agencies in my list based?

I have selected agencies that have experience working in Australia, but not all of them have a permanent office in the country. All of these companies have experience designing digital products for the Australian market and some are very successful on an international level.

Background to my list

It’s important to be clear on how I created this list of Australian design agencies. I work as an IT project manager and as a product manager for companies such as Westpac, Telstra and Coles. As a freelancer, I advise my employers on how to optimize their projects. Of course, I am also interested in start-ups. For 20 years I have worked with many teams both internally and with service providers.

I have certainly seen more than 200 pitches.

During this time I learned a lot, saw good and bad results. Of course it is important for me to have an overview of who can offer me what, whom I can rely on for specific expertise. This list is based on this experience, as well as contributions from other colleagues and information that can otherwise be found in general.

This list is certainly not complete or objective. Nobody has the key and whoever claims this will probably get a small bonus. The purpose of this list of UX design agencies in Australia is to make the search a little easier.

It is up to the reader to contact the agencies, get to know them properly and decide whether they fit the project or not.

1) Creative Navy ( 🇦🇺Australia, 🇪🇺Europe)

Creative Navy is the strongest agency in the field of enterprise apps and HMI worldwide. Worldwide, the agency has been in first place for user experience design since 2017 based on customer reviews.

What makes Creative Navy special is the robust design methodology and the feeling for complex and difficult projects. The team integrates psychology and cognitive sciences into the course of the projects.

Creative Navy is also one of the very few agencies worldwide that has experience with embedded systems or native software (automotive industry, navigation, etc.)

The agency is medium-sized and the main office is in the UK, but they do have good international expertise, including Australia.

💡Customers in Australia: Bosch, Vodafone, Rocket Internet, Socar (Switzerland) and other General Motors, Ford, OECD, Philips.

⚖️Conclusion: top agency for demanding projects.

📦Size: Medium

2) Momentum Design Lab ( 🇦🇺Australia, 🇺🇸USA, 🇪🇺Europe)

Momentum is an award-winning Silicon Valley, NYC, Sydney, & London based user experience design & development agency.

Their expertise varies from redesigning apps and websites for companies in the financial services industry to helping start-ups scale up, or deliver quality experiences for companies with a background in the healthcare industry.

They are a driving force creating the personalization and brand engagement mechanics for some of the biggest names in Customer Experience, Ad & Marketing Technology.

Whether it be retail, corporate, private banking or technology, they have a long history in creating robust internal and customer-centric digital products.

💡Customers in Australia: Intuit, Morgan Stanley, ServiceNow,VMware, Adobe, Verizon, Mastercard.

⚖️Conclusion: top agency with great expertise for financial and ad/marketing tech.

📦Size: Medium.

3) Gomeeki ( 🇦🇺Australia)

With over 10 years of experience in the business, Gomeeki is a Sydney based company. They offer a wide range of services which include Digital Strategy, Mobile App Development, UX/UI Design among others.

The products developed by Gomeeki center around three critical areas of digital engagement: messaging, data and payments, with an emphasis on e-commerce.

Their technology powers targeted and secure mobile payments, promotions and experiences, transforming the way brands and merchants engage with consumers.

The mobile solution for retailers is a virtual shopping experience that increases dwell time, removes friction from the shopping process and grows average basket size spend.

💡Customers in Australia: Aussie Farmers Direct, Penguin Books, Australian Turf Club, Get Wines Direct, Brisbane Broncos.

⚖️Conclusion: Top company in the field of retail and e-commerce.

📦Size: Medium.

4) Ustwo ( 🇦🇺Australia, 🇺🇸USA, 🇪🇺Europe)

Ustwo is a digital product design studio launching products, services, and companies since its foundation in 2004. Started as a small business in London, the company is now present in 3 other locations- New York, Malmo and Surry Hills.

They have a wide-ranging portfolio which includes digital products in the healthcare industry, productivity apps, smartwatch interface, while also offering expertise for games.

Their service lines include product design, web development, mobile app development and UX/UI design.

💡Customers in Australia: Google, Qantas, Ford, and many other companies based outside of Australia.

⚖️Conclusion: Great company for wearable app development and product design.

📦Size: Large.

5) Grazitti Interactive ( 🇦🇺Australia)

Grazitti Interactive is a digital services provider with a history of working with social media, mobile and cloud tech companies.

They use agile methodologies to deliver great results for clients who seek marketing, design or web development expertise. Their services vary from Social Media Management, SEO, SEM, Digital marketing, UX/UI design, E-commerce development, and many others.

Grazitti designs detailed, well-thought, and striking responsive web & mobile assets, but most of their work is focused on CRM consulting.

💡Customers in Australia: The Healthy Mummy, OpenTable, Wiley and other international companies.

⚖️Conclusion: Big company with a diversified portfolio.

📦Size: Large.

6) Butterfly ( 🇦🇺Australia)

Founded in 2006, Butterfly brings its know-how to clients all over Australia. At the core of their projects is transformation- taking something from what it is to what it could be.

This particular digital agency specializes in digital strategy, web development but also does some good work for companies in the need for UX design. They excel at managing digital projects — working with technical and non-technical clients.

Their brand strategy is tantalizing, as they focus a good amount of their time on creating a corporate identity that will help their clients thrive in the current market.

Great experience working with non-profits, the government or companies who provide services for the education industry.

💡Customers in Australia: Officeworks Mission Australia, QVB Sydney, National Disability Services, Monash University.

⚖️Conclusion: experts in branding.

📦Size: Medium.

What does UX Design actually bring to the table?

If you are reading this list, you will recognize that UX-UI design has its place in the digital age. But, to help you set more specific goals for the design, I wanted to give a perspective on what benefits UX design can bring.

UX Design specifically helps:

• Optimize conversion rates, not only in e-commerce but also upgrades from free accounts to premium etc.
• Minimize number of errors (e.g. with tools)
• Better design means more sales
• Features are used more
• Collect more data
• Integrate new ideas or new features
• Extension of the software to new devices
• Low training costs

When setting your goals on your design project, you should keep in mind these ideas. Even if they can’t be measured, they help you get a good overview of what to expect. My list is made up of some of the best UX-UI agencies and they all work goal-oriented.

What is a suitable UX UI design budget?

Most of the time when people ask for my advice, it’s because a design project exceeds its budget. This made me understand that planning the budget should be a point of emphasis when taking on a new project. On the one hand, in order to create a decent product, you need time and money, but on the other hand, you need to be careful not to waste any resources. And that’s just as important for large companies as it is for start-ups.

In any case, you should remember that a UX design project is Research & Development. It’s not just execution.

Therefore, you should think through each phase of the project in order for it to bring a little more certainty and clarity.

What I mostly do is that I take a little time in the beginning to create a simple concept for the product. Sometimes I do it alone, sometimes I bring external help on board. The goal of this phase is to create sketches, try out ideas and, above all, decide what should not be done or what does not fit into the product.

What I usually start with, is creating a simple concept for the product. Whether it is with it’s me alone doing it or with some external help, I take a little time and focus on this at the beginning of every new project. The goal of this phase is to create sketches, try out ideas and, above all, decide what should not be done or what does not fit into the product.

Above all, budget control means deciding what should not be done.

This usually takes a week, maybe two. Or if I get a UX agency involved, it will cost me around $ 8000.

With this initial concept, you can already develop a good budget idea, perhaps with a certainty of 80%. It is now easier to split the project into design sprints. I can also decide which modules are important to me, where you should maybe use 2 or 3 design sprints; or modules that are less important that maybe all can be pushed into a single sprint.

You can see how the subject of the budget becomes a little more specific. Of course, I make sure that about 20% of the resources (time, money) are available to take care of some issues.

Most design agencies usually split the cost 50–50 between UX and UI design, but in my experience, it’s more 65–35 with the higher value going to UX design.

This is how I structure the costs. The daily rate for UX Design in Australia is between $ 1000 and $ 1700, depending on the team.

There are a few lessons that I have learned over time which may sound strange at first, but:

• Even if the service provider integrates a contingency plan into the budget, it is a good idea to put something aside yourself;
• It is important to recognize that there is something experimental about product design in the digital domain, and in the end, you’re paying for the support of experts to deal with the uncertainty, not just a few pictures;
• There should be a good relationship with the agency so that you can really talk openly about money because that way you can reconcile the costs;
• Budget problems will arise at any time due to uncertainties, so one should work consciously to convert uncertainty into clarity.
• A good product manager will always take into consideration what a design sprint brings to the table in terms of added value and will guide the team in a direction that really makes the product better.

How do I choose a design agency that suits my project?

The fact that the company is listed as one of the best UX agencies does not make it an immediate good fit. Their profile and expertise must match the needs of your project. The list makes your job of finding the perfect fit easier, but when conducting an interview with a UX design agency you should clarify the following aspects:

Does the company understand my product? — Every product has its quirks and its place in the market. The design should help the product cement its place. Therefore, you should make this a point of emphasis in your conversation with the design agency.

Do the designers understand my users? — Designers learn about the user experience through user research, but they also need to show empathy to fully understand their needs. If they don’t have a good understanding on the users needs than they probably won’t be able to make their lives easier.

Do you have the same vision on what the product should be? — That may sound a little American, but until a product is finished, it has to be built. The question arises whether the design agency understands where it should go or not.

Do they have experience with similar projects? — Any industry expertise or technology knowledge should earn them an extra point in the yes column. The fact is, if someone has already built something similar, or has dealt with certain modules, that’s certainly not a bad thing.

Does their work ethic match yours? — Not even the best UX design agency can help if the collaboration does not work. Issues such as transparency, customer expectations, communication, etc. simply have to be compatible. That is probably one of the reasons why you want to have a UX agency from Australia as a partner.

Can the agency take over design leadership? — It is difficult to specifically innovate if you cannot lead processes, including responsibility for when things go wrong. It is always important to me in my projects that the design team is fully involved and not only draws.

Does their know-how match project demands? — Whether it’s technical or not, you need to make sure the design agency you pick has the necessary skills to deliver your project.

What does a good design brief look like?

It’s probably not a good sign if you go to one of the best UX agencies in the country and their briefing leaves you with unanswered questions. A good fit should be able to tell what they can or can’t offer you, and how much it will cost you.

The briefing gives you an overview of what should be achieved, what to do with it, what restrictions exist, etc.

The design briefing should, therefore, address the following topics:

Goals — Product strategy should be clear, giving you a good overview of what role design plays on the project. This is how the agency understands the context and why it is addressed at all.

Overview of the products — if there are several products on offer, it should be made clear what is handled and what is not.

How the product works — a short explanation does no harm, including modules, functions, and features. Even the best agencies need a little help.

Project status — Any ideas or sketches should be integrated into the briefings. Is there any user feedback? Is there a design that has already been tried?

What has not been done — if you have something specific in mind you must make it clear to the design agency.

What is not wanted — if certain activities are not needed, it must be clear.

Logistics — Certain details must be taken into account like start date, restrictions or what technologies are needed.

Summary — if the briefing gets long, it doesn’t hurt to underline the points of emphasis.

Tender — how should the tender work, when should the UX design agencies respond and how, what should the agencies prepare, etc.

Skills to look for in a UX design agency

Agencies are a mixture of skills meant to bring added value.

It is difficult for a company that is not design-focused to employ a good and diverse design team.

Here are the key skills you should expect from one of the best design agencies:

User Experience Design (UX) — this is, of course, the core competence and you should make an inquiry about previous experiences the agency has with UX Design. UX designers create layouts, sketches, and concepts about how the software works without having to deal with colors or graphics.

User Research — There are many different methods of user research. In the initial phase, it is about understanding the users and their needs and afterward in the actual design phase, it is about testing design concepts.

Product development — this particular skill creates product concepts, i.e. which features should exist in the app, what the features do and what not.

UI design or visual design — This is all about aesthetics. Details such as colors, graphics and how the wireframes ultimately look in the end product. This is where the identity of the product comes together. In the top design agencies, however, UI Design is completely separate from UX Design.

Interaction design — this is probably the latest competence in the field of digital products. It is about conceiving the transitions and the movement of visual elements. Many apps are becoming more and more interactive and therefore an interaction designer is important.

Graphic artists — they create icons, illustrations, logos, etc.

Design Ops — Similar to Dev Ops, this is about how the design process works, how the graphic elements are maintained, the cooperation in a team, etc. As a customer, you don’t interact directly with Design Ops, unless you have a design team and you have to do it yourself to get integrated.

Project management — of course, the project manager takes care of the administrative aspects, but it should be pointed out that this role is important for the success of a project, especially if it contains only 1–2 design sprints.

What types of design projects are there?

If you are looking for the best design agency you have to think about what kind of project you have. That seems obvious, but sometimes you forget that there are other types of UX design.

Technology makes a big difference:

Native Mobile (iOS, Android) — simply mobile apps that work directly on the smartphone and where a desktop variant is not important. Mobile has certain types of UX designs that fit the screen.

Mobile web and desktop web — although Mobile web is linked to native smartphone apps, the same code usually has to work on a larger screen. Therefore, the user experience has to be created differently here.

Design for embedded systems — Few user experience design agencies have experience with such projects. These kinds of apps may be opened as a function in a browser, but are used in many other contexts and their requirements are quite unique. Native Mac or Windows — this is the classic software that works directly on a laptop or desktop, not in a browser.

Cross Platform — a mixture of all these options.

Digital products also differ in how they are used:

Sales — it’s about user experience where the user should end up buying something, which means that it’s not just about user-friendliness, but also flair. E-commerce is an example, but the same is true for services.

Consumer apps — Entertainment. These are mostly apps which require no training, also called “apps for everyone”

Enterprise Apps — Apps that are used professionally. This is a type of app where the user has a certain knowledge that is brought to bear by the user experience.

How important is the size of the agency?

In itself, the size of the agency is not important, but I learned a lot from experience:

• A small agency does not automatically mean insufficient skills to deliver a project. You do however need a minimum of 7–8 people on a team to meet current demands. Bigger is not better, and by no means smaller is worse. It might just mean that they are specialised on a particular trait or technology.
• Large agencies with more than 50 designers have an image of reliability, which is partly true, but you can never know what you will get, because you only get the top designers rarely or only for a short time. That’s why I think that these agencies are better suited to simple projects.

Is the location of the agency important?

In this list of Australian design agencies, I also present companies that have Australian projects, not just those that have an office in Australia.

The location is important in terms of culture. In an R&D project, you want a service provider who understands you and who can also understand the market or customers. That’s why I created this list.

I have had the chance to work with agencies from all over the world. Some were good, some were great, and some were learning experiences. The digital has made its mark on the current society, giving the world access to all kinds of information, but from my experience, I can definitely say the cultural differences are still there.

What can I expect during the tender?

After putting together a list of top design agencies you should get in touch with them to see your project entices them. Many of the top agencies in Australia are very busy and have the opportunity to choose the projects they work on, some might say that the project doesn’t fit their profile. So, to really know what your options are you need to make that first contact.

After the agencies have looked at the design briefing, it probably makes sense to get to know each other better in a short conversation. Exchange questions. This often helps define how the design process will go and will give you the chance to make your expectations known from early on.

Sometimes case studies are presented or a presentation is given about how the agency wants to work on the project, i.e. Strategy, collaboration, etc.

The fact is, conversations help you get a better feeling about whether the collaboration would work, especially if you have a lot of questions.