UI/UX Design in San Francisco, USA

UI/UX Design in San Francisco — Interfaces That Convert San Franciscoers Into Customers

Today, having a website isn't enough for a San Francisco business. Your potential client opens a smartphone on the Muni, sees three or four similar offers in Google, and decides in 5 seconds which one to engage with. If your site loads slowly, is unclear on mobile, or doesn't render correctly under iOS Safari with intermittent BART connectivity — you've lost that customer before they finished reading your headline. That's why investing in quality UI/UX design isn't a "luxury expense", it's a direct investment in revenue.

I'm Alex Filiuk, a Senior UI/UX designer with 15 years of experience and a portfolio of 130+ projects. I design interfaces for websites, web applications, B2B SaaS products, and CRM systems for businesses in San Francisco, across the US (San Francisco, LA, Boston, Austin), in Europe (London, Manchester, Edinburgh), and in Ukraine. On this page I've collected what's worth knowing for an Bay Area business owner or product manager before commissioning UI/UX design: how product design differs from "a pretty page", what the engagement looks like, how it's priced in USD, which mistakes destroy ROI, and which trends actually matter for the Bay Area market in 2025-2026.

Why UI/UX is critical for San Francisco businesses

In a city of over 8.3 million residents and a metro area of 19.3 million, with one of the most sophisticated digital-consumer populations on Earth — competition in digital is brutal. Local Bay Area brands compete not only with each other, but also with national networks (Walmart.com, Amazon, Target.com, Etsy) that have entire UX research departments and invest tens of millions in conversion optimisation. If your site is built "the way everyone built sites in 2015", you automatically lose 30-50% of your potential traffic.

What quality UI/UX delivers for an Bay Area business:

• Conversion-rate growth. Sites designed around real user scenarios convert 2-4× better than templated builds.
• Reduced mobile bounce. Mobile-first design (which is essential in SF, where most browsing happens on BART) drops bounce rate from 70% to 30-40%.
• Lower operational costs. A clear customer dashboard = fewer support calls. For a B2B SaaS based out of SoMa, that's tens of hours saved per week.
• LTV growth for SaaS. Convenient products retain customers longer. The economics of Bay Area SaaS depend on retention much more than on acquisition.
• Scalability readiness. A proper design system lets you add new features without rewriting code each time.

UI/UX vs "I just need a website": the fundamental difference

Most Bay Area businesses encounter a fundamental misunderstanding of what UI/UX is. Common scenario: a founder commissions a "site" from a freelancer or boutique agency in SF, gets a beautiful visual, launches paid acquisition through Google Ads — and can't figure out why high traffic isn't producing sales. The answer is almost always the same: the site was built without understanding the user.

Graphic design is the visual layer: colours, typography, illustration, composition. That's only 30% of the full UI/UX process. The other 70% is invisible work:

• UX research. Who's your user? What are their tasks? What barriers do they face? What do they do BEFORE arriving at your site?
• Information architecture. In what order will they search for information? How should the menu be labelled so they understand at first glance?
• User flows. What does the path from site-open to target-action look like? How many steps? Where do drop-offs happen?
• Wireframes. Screen structure without visual — to nail the logic before we start "decorating".
• Prototyping and testing. A clickable prototype tested with real users before development starts.

Without those 70%, the visual is just decoration. That's why I always insist on the full UI/UX cycle, even for small Bay Area businesses. If you already have a site that's not converting, I'd recommend starting with a UX audit — faster and cheaper than going straight to a full redesign.

Project types most-requested by Bay Area clients

Across 15 years, I've noticed that Bay Area business categories have their own digital signature. Most-common requests:

• Fintech. the Mission and FiDi-based startups — need dashboards with transaction flows, KYC/onboarding, Plaid/Stripe integration, regulatory-compliant UX.
• B2B SaaS. SoMa / Mission Bay / Hayes Valley product teams — need admin panels, role-based access, complex data tables, analytics dashboards.
• DTC e-commerce. Oakland / Marina brands — need Shopify Plus or headless storefronts, conversion-optimised PDP, mobile-first checkouts, post-purchase upsell flows.
• Media and publishing. SF-based publishers — need editorial CMS interfaces, paywall flows, ad-friendly layouts that don't kill UX.
• Hospitality and restaurants. Hayes Valley / the Mission / Oakland restaurants — need reservation flows, online ordering, loyalty programs, multilocation management.
• Real-estate tech. SoMa and the Mission proptech startups — need property listings, virtual-tour integrations, lead-capture flows, investor dashboards.
• Healthcare and wellness. SoMa medical practices and wellness platforms — need patient portals, telehealth UX, HIPAA-compliant flows.

For each category — different design approach. What works for a fintech dashboard with 40 KPIs doesn't fit a DTC checkout that needs to maximise time-to-purchase. So I don't use templates — every project starts with its own discovery.

The engagement, step by step

I work via a transparent process that 130+ clients have completed. Each phase has a fixed deliverable that you receive in your hands. No "wait a month while I design" — you know what's happening every week.

1. Discovery (week 1-2). Deep stakeholder interview: business goals, technical constraints, Bay Area and global competitors. Audit of current site (if any): Google Analytics, Hotjar heatmaps, drop-off points, conversion. Interviews with 5-7 potential or current users (we recruit SF-based respondents). All over Zoom + Loom.
2. Information architecture (week 2-3). Sitemap, user flows, low-fidelity wireframes. At this stage we resolve structure — what content lives where, how screens connect, what steps the user takes. No colours, nothing "pretty" — just clean logic.
3. Design system (week 3-4). Tokens (colour palette, typography, spacing), base components (buttons, forms, cards), patterns (lists, tables, navigation). The library that all screens are built from.
4. UI design — key screens (week 4-5). Hi-fidelity mockups of priority screens: home, key landing pages, dashboard, order forms. Presented to you, first round of feedback collected.
5. Secondary screens (week 5-6). All remaining screens, edge states (empty, error, loading), variations for different user roles.
6. Prototype + usability testing (week 6-7). Clickable prototype assembled in Figma. Tested with 5-7 SF-based respondents (recruited via UserTesting / User Interviews / Respondent platforms), insights collected, revisions made.
7. Developer handoff (week 7-8). Dev specs prepared in Figma Dev Mode, assets exported, annotations written. If you're also commissioning development, this phase integrates seamlessly into the build pipeline.
8. Post-launch QA. I review the implementation against the mockups, document any deviations, support fixes.

Total cycle: 4-8 weeks for a website, 8-16 weeks for a web app. If you need it faster (e.g. an MVP for a Series A pitch by a specific date), we discuss expedited format or a 2-week design sprint with limited research scope.

USD pricing for Bay Area clients

Pricing is determined by project scope, not geography. An Bay Area startup, an SF Bay founder, or a London product team gets the same rates for the same deliverable. Indicative USD ranges:

• Landing page or single-page site. 2-4 screens, 1 round of research, basic design system, 3 responsive layouts. $8,000-18,000. Suits early-stage Bay Area startups validating a concept or DTC brands launching a single-product PDP.
• Corporate website. 8-15 page types, full design system, prototype, usability testing. $22,000-45,000. The most popular tier for Bay Area mid-market clients.
• SaaS product or web app. User dashboard, roles, complex logic, integrations. $50,000-180,000. Premium tier — for B2B SaaS founders, fintech startups with full product surface.
• UX audit. Quick format: existing site analysis, 30-80 found issues, prioritised recommendations. $4,000-9,000. Fits when you have budget constraints or want to assess scope before committing to a redesign.

Bay Area agency equivalents for the same deliverables typically run 2-4× higher. The savings come from removing layered agency overhead (account managers, project coordinators, creative directors stepping in mid-project), not from compromising on senior expertise.

If you're commissioning UI/UX together with development, branding, or SEO — bundled pricing is 15-25% lower than the sum of standalone services. One team running the project in a single context saves you time and reduces inconsistency risks.

Common mistakes Bay Area businesses make commissioning UI/UX

Across 15 years I've seen dozens of cases where Bay Area businesses overpaid or got poor results from typical mistakes. Top ones:

• Commissioning a "mockup" without research. Designer asks "what style do you like?" and draws a screen — without a single conversation about users. Result: pretty, doesn't sell. Fix: always start with the discovery phase.
• Voting in a "focus group" of family. "I'll show my mom, my wife, the accountant — let them vote." UI/UX is evaluated not by "I like / I don't like" but by concrete metrics: task completion, time on task, errors, conversion in test.
• Using ThemeForest templates. Bought a $50 template — got "a site". Looks like savings, actually a loss: the template is designed for an imaginary "average" business, not your Bay Area audience. Conversion will be 2-3× lower.
• Design without mobile-first. Designer shows pretty desktop mockups, mobile "for later". Mobile turns out clunky — and 70%+ of your traffic comes from mobile (more in SF, where BART commutes drive mobile usage). Lost sales.
• Design without a design system. Each screen drawn separately, no unified components. A year later you want to add a new page — turns out the project can't be extended, everything needs redoing.
• Handoff to dev without specs. Designer hands over Figma file, dev asks "How does the filter work?", "What's the hover colour?", "What's the error message?" — and starts guessing. Fix: full dev-specs package, video guides, willingness to answer questions.
• Skipping usability testing. Design ends at "client-approved", site launches — and turns out users can't find the order button. Fix: test with 5-7 respondents BEFORE development starts.

2025-2026 UI/UX trends I apply for Bay Area clients

• Accessibility-first. WCAG 2.2 AA isn't a "bonus" anymore — for NY State and SF, ADA + Section 508 compliance is legally required. Every site I deliver to Bay Area clients is compliant by default.
• Dark mode native. 50%+ of Bay Area users use dark themes. Sites designed for both modes simultaneously, not "we'll add dark mode later".
• Microinteractions. Small animations that give the interface "life" and signal system state. Without overdoing it — only where they help the user.
• AI-driven personalisation. The interface adapts to user behaviour — recommendations, dynamic navigation, smart defaults.
• Speed as a feature. Loading speed is part of UX. Designs optimised for Core Web Vitals — Lighthouse 90+ across all metrics, served from Vercel edge or AWS CloudFront for sub-100ms response from Bay Area users.
• Mobile-first, not "mobile-friendly". Different approaches: mobile-first means mobile is the primary version, not an "adaptation" of desktop. Especially critical in Bay Area where BART browsing drives mobile share.
• Privacy by design. NY SHIELD Act + emerging state privacy laws. Privacy compliance built into the architecture, not "added later".

Cases — UI/UX for Bay Area and US clients

My portfolio includes 130+ projects. Among them: B2B SaaS interfaces for US founders, dashboards for SoMa fintech startups, DTC brand sites for clients across the US and Europe. I've worked with SF, San Francisco, LA, Boston, London, Manchester, Edinburgh-based clients, plus Ukrainian companies. This breadth lets me see how a local Bay Area business can compete with national and international players — and how UI/UX becomes a tool of that competition.

For specific examples, check the "Projects" section or reach out via the contact form: I'll prepare 5-10 most-relevant cases for your specific niche, showing not only final screens but also the working process — research notes, wireframes, prototypes, usability test results.

What you receive after the UI/UX project completes

• Figma file with full design system: tokens (colours, typography, spacing), components, variants, patterns.
• Hi-fidelity mockups of all screens in three layouts: mobile (375 px), tablet (768 px), desktop (1440 px).
• Clickable Figma prototype for stakeholder demos, investor pitches, or testing.
• User flows and sitemap in Figma or Miro — so you and your team understand product logic.
• Usability test report: issues found, recommendations, session recordings (with respondent consent).
• Dev specs: Figma Dev Mode, exported assets (SVG, PNG), state and animation annotations, video guides.
• IP transfer: all source files transferred to you on final payment.
• Post-launch support: 30 days of free questions, minor adjustments, technical consultations.

Other services for San Francisco businesses

UI/UX design is part of a product ecosystem. If you're planning a serious digital launch or redesign, consider a comprehensive approach:

• Web development — from landing to full corporate site or e-commerce.
• Mobile app design — native iOS/Android interfaces.
• Mobile development — design implementation in React Native or natively.
• Branding and logo design — so your site is part of a cohesive visual system.
• UX audit — fast assessment of an existing site with concrete recommendations.
• CRO — A/B testing, analytics, iterative funnel improvements.
• CRM/ERP/SaaS design — complex B2B interfaces for internal systems.
• E-commerce — specialised online stores with full catalog and checkout.
• Product strategy — positioning and roadmap before design starts.
• SEO — so your brand is found in Bay Area and US search.

UI/UX design in other US and EU cities

I work not only with SF. If you have offices in multiple cities or are planning regional/international expansion — we'll create a system that scales:

• Los Angeles — entertainment, creative agencies, e-commerce.
• San Francisco / Bay Area — B2B SaaS, deep-tech, AI.
• Boston — biotech, ed-tech, university spinoffs.
• Austin — startups, gaming, tech.
• London — fintech, B2B SaaS, creative.
• Berlin — startup ecosystem, ed-tech.

Full list of locations on the "Service Areas" page.

Ready to discuss UI/UX for your Bay Area business?

If you have a specific request — fill out the contact form or reach out via the email/Telegram in the footer. The first call is free, up to 60-90 minutes. We'll discuss your business, product goals, indicative budget in USD, and timeline. If you have an existing site, I'll do a quick express-review and show 3-5 issues that can be fixed in the first week, even before signing a full engagement.

Ready to build for your San Francisco business an interface that actually works: reduces bounce, raises conversion, retains users for years. Not just a "pretty Figma file" — a working product instrument grounded in research, validated against real users, ready for production launch.