Though user experience (UX) design has been around since the ancient Greeks, the discipline didn’t get its modern moniker until the 1990s. The term soon became a buzzword among technology companies, and UX designers proliferated throughout the industry.

UX design is the practice of designing interactions between people and computers with the goal of creating intuitive, usable, and pleasant experiences. It’s a creative endeavor, one that rode at the forefront of innovation as new digital tools emerged one after the other over the last three decades.

A UX agency is a company that specializes in UX design. Today, businesses seek out UX agencies to help them design intuitive, easy-to-use websites and mobile apps.

But here’s the rub: Today, digital tools have permeated society to the point that the need for ultra-new, creative takes on user interaction has waned. Creativity and innovation absolutely still matter, but they’re no longer the only things to focus on.

Consequently, seeking out UX agencies to serve modern digital needs feels a bit out of date.

Most businesses need more than a traditional UX agency can offer. They need advisors and partners to lend expertise for end-to-end product development, not just the user-experience aspects.

That said, you may still be interested in finding a UX agency. To help you sift through the abundance of options, we’ve compiled a list of the top UX agencies you’ll find on the market today.

Top UX Agencies

Below, you’ll find five top UX agencies and a brief rundown of their capabilities, specialties, notable clients, and locations.

Ideo

Ideo is a design company with over 23 design capabilities that combine data, design processes, and machine learning to improve the user experience.

They work with B2B and B2C companies to provide services for brands like Kaplan, Zalando, Swarovski, and American Family Insurance.

Ideo is based in Palo Alto, California, with a number of other U.S. and international locations.

Frog

Frog has over 50 years of experience working throughout different industries to improve companies’ user experiences.

They offer numerous services, such as growth and innovation strategy, product design, customer research, and content management, as well as brand strategy, design, and performance.

Frog has studios across the world with clients including Lumen, AXA, Heatworks, and Audi.

Nielsen Norman Group

Nielsen Norman Group focuses on UX training, consulting, and research. They’ve been in information technology consulting since 1988 and offer team training and UX certification.

Their customized consulting services focus on managing UX processes, digital strategy development, user research, and design methods and best practices. Some of their consulting clients include American Express, Sony, Google, Visa, and National Geographic.

Nielsen Norman Group operates out of Fremont, California, and offers online and in-person training and conferences.

UX Studio

UX studio focuses on product design as well as UX research, consulting, and training for teams. They have 40 UX design services and research experts working to create effective and efficient digital products and insightful user experiences.

The agency works with both tech startups and enterprises, including Masterstudies.com, Zignaly, KBC, and HBO. They also published an informative book on product design and UX blogs and courses. They’re based in Budapest and have partners worldwide.

Method

Here at Method, we specialize in designing and developing user-friendly, intuitive, and visually appealing digital products and experiences. We’re proud to be pioneers in the UX design space and to have built early websites during the dot-com era.

We’ve since transitioned away from the “UX agency” label. Today, we’re a digital product consultancy with UX design and software engineering at our core — meaning we’re in a unique position to meet your needs.

Our strategists, designers, and engineers thrive in simplifying the complex to help companies build what’s next through understanding customer needs, discovering new opportunities, accelerating time to market, and driving digital transformation. Together with GlobalLogic, we offer concierge service and enterprise scale across more than 60 locations in 22 countries.

Why You Need More Than a UX Agency

These days, businesses don’t need to come up with a new way for their customers to turn up volume or add to cart. Digital products now operate according to established conventions, and wholly new designs can interfere with, rather than facilitate, usability.

As an illustration, consider the auto industry. Pioneers in vehicle design created from scratch and got our society up and running. But today, manufacturers don’t debate over the optimal location for the gas pedal or turn signal. Whether customers purchase a Nissan, Toyota, BMW, or Mercedes, all the necessary mechanisms for driving appear largely in the same positions.

Otherwise, every new car purchase would present new barriers to drivers.

Today, businesses don’t need a Henry Ford to create never-before-seen designs for them. They need a team that understands trends in behavioral psychology, technology, and tools to craft personalized, individualized experiences within the realm of established industry principles.

Here at Method, for instance, we provide UX design, but we’re much more than a UX agency. When businesses partner with us for product development, they get a full-fledged digital product consultancy that collaborates on everything from ideation to strategy to software development.

For modern businesses, this broader approach provides access to expertise, tools, and resources that help increase success and improve ROI.

Choose a Top Digital Product Consultancy

Great user experience is important for a successful product, but it isn’t the end goal — it’s the baseline.

In addition to UX design, companies need products that contribute to their business goals and make a difference in their customers’ lives. They need experienced advisors in change management to help facilitate widespread product adoption.

If you’re looking for experts in UX design but want to take advantage of a more comprehensive array of services, Method can certainly help.

Our approach to UX design is flexible yet replicable. We work closely with our clients to ensure their beliefs and values are solidly incorporated into the design, even as we put our creativity and proven processes to work for them.

We work with a diverse clientele, including Synchrony, Hitachi Energy, McDonald’s, and more. We’re located across the U.S., with locations in New York, Charlotte, Atlanta, and Santa Clara, as well as London, Bengaluru, and Mexico City.

Questions? Let’s talk about the challenge you’re facing and how Method can help. Contact us today to get started.