{Mobile app design}
Mobile app design
We design your app at phone size: onboarding, the core flows, every empty, loading and error state, and a component set your developers can build from.
From $4,500 CAD, plus HST · Quoted after a 30-minute call for work outside a package
- Who it is for
- Startups and small businesses with an app to ship, or a live app whose first minutes are losing people.
- What you get
- Flows, onboarding, phone screens with every state, a component set and a developer handoff.
- Timeline
- Agreed in the written quote
{Examples, labelled}
Apps, labelled for what they are.
A paid engagement re-drawn at the client's request, a studio concept nobody has used, and an app under NDA.
Client work, anonymised · Product designStrideA returning student reaches one scoped, timed study session in four questions, on the first screen.
What changedNone claimed. The client asked not to be named.
Explore the project
Concept · Travel / consumer appTandemDates, budgets and a yes from everyone, on one phone screen at a time. A concept: nothing shipped, nothing measured.
What changedNone. A studio concept: nothing shipped, nothing measured.
Explore the project- Client work under NDA · no name, screenshot or figure
Mental-health app
Brand and app UI — tone, colour and interface for a product people open on a bad day.
Stage: pre-launch
Every project is labelled before you see it: client, client work anonymised, studio concept or practice. What each label means
{What you get}
What the app design covers.
Onboarding, the core flows, every state a screen can be in, and a component set your developers can build from. We design the app; your developers, or the ones you hire, build it.
Onboarding that earns the second session
The first screens, written and designed together, so a new user knows what to do next.
Core flows, end to end
The journeys that carry the app, including the paths where something goes wrong.
High-fidelity screens at phone size
Real content, thumb-reachable actions and text that reads at arm's length.
Every state, written down
Empty, loading, error and success, so nothing is guessed in code.
A component set
Buttons, cards, inputs and navigation decided once, on one spacing grid.
Developer handoff
Tokens, specs and a walkthrough call with whoever builds it.
You probably need this if…
- People install the app and never open it twice.The first minute does not show them what the app is for.
- Your developers are inventing screens as they build.It ships, then the tenth screen contradicts the first three.
- You have a web product and need it on a phone.Shrinking the desktop is not a mobile design; the job changes at thumb size.
{Worked example}
Stride's intake, screen by screen.
A paid engagement, re-drawn at the client's request: a returning user's one action, reached in four questions.
{How it works}
From the one thing the app is for, outwards.
From the one thing the app is for, outwards. Platforms and screen count are named in the quote.
TimelineAgreed in the written quote
Before the quote
Name the one job.
A call about who the app is for, what it must do first, the platforms and who will build it.
You receiveA written scope naming flows, screens and platforms, and one fixed quote.
First
Map the flows.
Onboarding and the core flows end to end, including what happens when there is no data yet, no signal or an error.
You reviewFlows and wireframes at thumb size.
Then
Design every state.
High-fidelity screens at phone size on a consistent spacing grid, following each platform's conventions where they differ.
You reviewScreens with every state, on your own phone.
At handover
Hand it over.
Tokens, specs and states written down, plus a walkthrough call, in an order your developers can ship.
You keepThe files, the component set and the handoff notes.
{Packages & prices}
Scoped by flows and screens.
Two packages with published prices: the design of a first version, and a sprint on an app that is already live. The MVP figure is a floor; the quote names flows, screens and platforms.
| Package | Price | What is included | Not included | Timing | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MVP app designFounders and small businesses designing a first version of an app to build and ship. | From $7,500CAD per project, plus HST |
|
| TimelineAgreed in the written quote | Ask about this: the MVP app design package |
| App design sprintA live app that needs a flow fixed or a feature designed, without a whole new version. | $4,500CAD per two-week sprint, plus HST |
|
| First sprintAgreed in the written quote | Ask about this: the App design sprint package |
| Deliverables | Flows, onboarding, phone screens, component set |
|---|---|
| Platforms | iOS, Android or both, agreed in the scope |
| Engagement | Fixed-scope project, or per sprint |
| Handoff | Tokens, specs, states, walkthrough call |
| Who it suits | Startups and small businesses with an app to ship |
| Price | MVP app design, from $7,500 CAD per project, plus HST; App design sprint, $4,500 CAD per two-week sprint, plus HST |
| Not included | App development and store submission |
| What moves the quote |
|
| Quoted separately, or not ours |
|
| Terms | Canadian dollars, plus HST. One project, one fixed quote, agreed before any work starts. |
Where we are not the right fit
- You need the app developed or submitted to the stores. That is not part of the design work.
- You do not yet know who the app is for. Start with a call; a product design sprint may come first.
{Before we begin}
Before you commission app design.
Price, timing, what you keep and what we will not do. Straight answers, including the limits.
Ask us something elseDo you build the app as well?
We design it and hand off to your developers, or work alongside them. If you have no developers yet, say so on the call and we will be straight about what we can and cannot cover.
iOS, Android, or both?
Whatever your users carry. The scope names the platform before we start; designing for both means the screens follow each platform's own conventions where they differ.
Can you redesign an app that's already live?
Yes, and it is often the better job: there is real usage to read. We start from your analytics and support tickets, redesign the flows that lose people first, and hand the changes over in an order your developers can ship without a big-bang release.
How much does mobile app design cost?
MVP app design: From $7,500 CAD per project, plus HST. App design sprint: $4,500 CAD per two-week sprint, plus HST. The MVP figure is a starting point: it moves with the number of flows and screens, the platforms, and whether a component set already exists. Quoted after a 30-minute call.
Do you submit the app to the App Store or Google Play?
No. App development and store submission are not part of the design work. We design to each platform's own interface conventions and hand over the files, states and specs your developers need to build and submit it.
Can we see app work you have done?
Stride is a paid engagement re-drawn at the client's request, so the name and interface are ours, not theirs. Tandem is a studio concept that nobody has used. A mental-health app is under NDA. Each is labelled before you see it.
Do you test the designs with users?
Research is sized to the decision and named in the quote. Where testing with your users is part of the scope, we run it; recruitment fees and participant incentives are not included.
{Keep reading}
Before and after the app: related work.
Related services, the sectors that buy this work, and guides that answer the questions before a call.
Last reviewed
Tell us what the app has to do first.
Tell us what you want to build in three short steps. A person on our team reads it, replies by email and, if it fits, agrees the scope and a fixed quote in writing before anything starts.