Designed on assumptions
Features are built on what the team believes users want. Nobody has watched a customer try to complete the task, so the first real test is the launch.
UI/UX design services
UI/UX Design Services for UK Product Teams
Research, prototypes and design systems for web and mobile products — tested with real users before anything is built, then handed to engineers in the same team, so the design survives contact with code.
- Prototypes tested with users before the build
- Accessibility designed in, not audited in later
- Designers and engineers in one team
Why products feel hard to use
Hard-to-use products are usually a process problem.
Few teams set out to build something confusing. It happens when decisions are made without users in the room, when designs are handed over and reinterpreted, and when every feature is designed from scratch.
Where design effort pays off most
Put research and design where users make — or abandon — decisions:
- Sign-up and onboarding
- Checkout, booking and payment journeys
- Long forms that collect complex information
- Dashboards people use all day
- Anything customers phone support about
Drop-off nobody can explain
Analytics show people abandoning sign-up, checkout or onboarding, but not why — so fixes are guesses, and each redesign starts again from opinion.
Every screen slightly different
Five button styles, three date pickers and inconsistent wording. Users relearn the interface on each page, and developers rebuild the same components over and over.
Designs that do not survive the build
Polished mock-ups with no error, loading or empty states, no mobile behaviour and no accessibility thinking — so developers fill the gaps themselves, differently each time.
What we design
From user research to a working design system.
Designers work alongside the engineers who will build the product, so every design is checked for feasibility, performance and accessibility while it is still cheap to change.
User research and journey mapping
Interviews, analytics and support-ticket review to learn what users are trying to do, then journeys mapped step by step, with navigation tested through card sorts and tree tests.
How discovery works
Wireframes and clickable prototypes
Low-fidelity wireframes to agree structure, then clickable Figma prototypes realistic enough to test with users and share with stakeholders or investors.
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Usability testing
Moderated and remote sessions with people who match your users, findings ranked by severity and fixed in the prototype before development starts.
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Design systems and component libraries
Tokens for colour, type and spacing, components with every state documented, and a matching coded library in React, Vue or Angular so design and code stay in step.
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Accessibility by design
Contrast, focus order, target sizes, error messages and screen-reader behaviour decided in the design file, working to WCAG 2.2 AA from the first wireframe.
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Hand-off to engineering
Specs, states, tokens and responsive rules handed to engineers on the same team, with designers at every sprint demo to catch drift before it ships.
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How we work
Research first, then a build-ready design.
Our standard seven stages, weighted towards the front: research and prototyping come first, and usability testing happens before a line of production code is written.
- 01
Discovery
Interviews with users and stakeholders, a review of analytics and support tickets, and an audit of the current product — so we design from evidence rather than opinion.
Research findings and the problems worth solving
- 02
Strategy
We agree which journeys matter most, what success means for each — completion, time on task, support contacts — and what is in scope for this round of design.
Prioritised journeys and success measures
- 03
UX & architecture
Journey maps and wireframes, then clickable Figma prototypes tested with real users in rounds and revised before development begins.
A prototype tested with real users
- 04
Development
High-fidelity designs and components handed over sprint by sprint, with designers reviewing the build at every demo so what ships matches what was tested.
Build-ready designs and a component library
- 05
Testing
Design QA on the built product: every state, breakpoint and interaction checked against the design, plus keyboard and screen-reader checks for accessibility.
Design QA and accessibility sign-off
- 06
Launch
Production deployment with monitoring, backups and a rollback plan, followed by a handover of code, credentials and documentation.
A live, documented product
- 07
Optimisation & support
After launch we compare behaviour with the success measures, test again where people still struggle, and extend the design system as the product grows.
Post-launch findings and design system updates
Technology
The tools we design with.
Method matters more than tools, but tools decide how smoothly design turns into code. We will work in yours if you already have them.
Design and prototyping
FigmaFigJam workshopsInteractive prototypesDesign tokens
Research
User interviewsRemote usability testingCard sorting and tree testingAnalytics and funnel review
Accessibility
WCAG 2.2 AAColour contrast checksKeyboard and focus designScreen-reader testing
Design systems
Component librariesVariants and statesUsage documentationVersioned releases
Front-end frameworks
React and Next.jsVueAngularReact Native and Flutter
Platform guidelines
Apple Human Interface GuidelinesMaterial DesignGOV.UK Design System patternsResponsive web layouts
Already have designs or a design system? We can audit and extend what you have rather than starting again.
Use cases
Where design work makes the biggest difference.
Some teams need a whole product designed; others need one journey fixed, or a design system to stop inconsistency spreading.
Prototype before you commit
A clickable prototype of the core journeys, tested with target users, to validate the idea and give investors and developers something concrete to react to.
Onboarding for trial users
Research into where trial users stall, then a redesigned first-run experience tested with users and measured against the old one.
A design system for an ageing UI
An audit of the existing interface, a consolidated component library and a plan to roll it out screen by screen rather than in one risky redesign.
Screens staff use all day
Case-management, operations and admin tools redesigned around real workflows, cutting clicks, re-keying and training time.
Accessible application forms
Long applications, claims or referral forms broken into clear steps, with plain-English guidance, sensible validation and accessibility built in.
Basket and checkout journeys
Friction removed from basket, delivery and payment steps, validated in usability tests before release and measured after it.
Relevant work
Products we have designed and built.
A selection of client projects related to this work. Each case study covers the brief, the approach and the stack.
All case studiesFinance · Analytics
Modernize
Revenue analytics dashboard with multi-source data and automated reporting.
ReactNode.jsPostgreSQLD3.js
Read the case studyHospitality · SaaS
Teppe
Restaurant operations platform: QR ordering, kitchen displays and loyalty.
ReactNode.jsStripeFirebase
Read the case studySocial · Mobile
Pademi
Social discovery app for events, meet-ups and friend introductions.
React NativeNode.jsSocket.ioPostgreSQL
Read the case studyWhy Techsleight
What working with us is actually like.
No inflated numbers — just how we run projects, and what you can hold us to.
Product engineering, not ticket-taking
We ask what the software is for before we estimate it — and we will tell you when something should not be built, or should be bought instead.
AI where it earns its place
LLM features, retrieval and automation built with evaluation, guardrails and cost controls, and plain software where that is the better answer.
Full-stack under one roof
Design, frontend, backend, mobile, cloud and QA in one team, so nothing falls between suppliers.
UK-focused delivery
UK business hours, estimates in pounds, and a contract with a UK company. Our engineers are based in the UK and India.
Flexible engagement
A fixed-scope project, dedicated developers or a monthly retainer — and you can move between them as the work changes.
You own everything
Code, IP, cloud accounts and documentation are yours from day one. We sign an NDA before discovery if you need one.
Support after launch
We stay on for fixes, upgrades and new features, or hand over cleanly to your in-house team with the documentation to match.
FAQs
Questions we get asked.
Straight answers on scope, cost, timelines and how we work. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
What is the difference between UI and UX design?
UX design decides how the product works: what users need, the steps they take, the structure and the words. UI design decides how it looks and feels: layout, typography, colour, components and interaction details. A good product needs both, and we do both in the same team.
How much does UI/UX design cost in the UK?
It depends on the number of journeys and how much research is involved. Design work often begins inside a discovery sprint from £2,000, which can include research, a clickable prototype and a round of usability testing. Larger design phases and design systems are then quoted as fixed-price projects.
Do you test designs with real users?
Yes. We recruit participants who match your users — often from your own customers — and run moderated or remote sessions on the prototype. Findings are ranked by severity, and the prototype is revised before development starts.
Can you design for accessibility?
Yes. We work to WCAG 2.2 AA from the first wireframe: contrast, focus order, target sizes, error messages and screen-reader behaviour are decided in the design file, not left to developers. That is far cheaper than retrofitting accessibility after launch.
Do you work in Figma?
Yes. Everything we produce lives in Figma files shared with your team, with components, variants and tokens set up so your own designers — or a future supplier — can carry on the work. We can also work inside your existing files and libraries.
Can you work with our existing brand guidelines or design system?
Yes. We audit what exists, keep what works and extend it — new components, missing states, accessibility fixes — rather than replacing it for the sake of it. Your brand stays yours; we make it work consistently across every screen.
Can you design without building the product?
Yes. We can hand a build-ready design to your in-house team or another supplier, with specs, states and tokens documented. The advantage of using us for both is that designers and engineers resolve problems together during the build rather than through a ticket queue.
How long does a UX project take?
A focused piece of work — research and a tested prototype for one or two key journeys — usually fits into a few two-week sprints. A full product design or a design system takes longer and is planned properly after discovery.
What do we receive at the end?
Research findings, journey maps, the clickable prototype, final designs for every agreed screen and state, and a documented component library in Figma — plus coded components if we are also building. All of it is yours.
How do you know if a redesign has worked?
We agree measures before designing — task completion, drop-off at key steps, time to complete, support contacts — then compare them before and after release using analytics and follow-up testing.
Start a project
Have a product or journey that needs design work?
Tell us what you are designing, or which journey is losing people. We will suggest where research would help most and what a first design phase could include.
What happens next
- 1A senior engineer reads your brief within one working day, and replies with questions or a first view.
- 2A 30-minute call to understand the goal, constraints and what good looks like — no sales script.
- 3A written proposal with scope, milestones, team and a GBP estimate you can take to your board.
Techsleight Labs is a trading name of Krapton IT Consultancy.
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