UI/UX design
Choosing a UI/UX designer in Vienna.
What separates a UI/UX designer worth hiring from a good-looking portfolio — and how to tell which one you're actually looking at.
A UI/UX designer in Vienna comes as one of two things: an independent freelancer, or part of an agency. I'm Harald Palma, an independent UI/UX and product designer in Vienna with 25 years of shipping work for 80+ clients. I design interfaces and products for teams who treat design as a decision, not decoration — and because I'm a Softr Premium Gold Partner and Airtable specialist, I design things that can actually be built, then hand a clean, buildable design to your engineers or take it end to end through my studio, Palma Design.
What to look for in a portfolio
Look past the polish. Anyone can make a screen look nice; the question is whether the design solved a problem. For each piece, you should be able to tell what decision it was helping the user make and why it's shaped the way it is.
Ask to see before-and-afters and the reasoning, not just the final shot. A designer who can explain why they cut a feature is worth more than one who can only add them.
Freelancer or agency?
A freelancer gives you the actual designer, direct — usually faster and cheaper, and the right fit when the scope is one product or surface and you want senior hands on the work itself. An agency gives you a team and process, which matters for large, multi-workstream programmes.
For most founders and product teams, a senior independent is the better fit for the design itself; bring in an agency when you need volume and coordination on top of it.
Why fluency in the tools matters
A design that can't be built is a mood board. Because I work in Figma and am a Softr Premium Gold Partner and Airtable specialist, I design within the real constraints of your stack — and can prototype the working thing, not just a static mockup.
Related questions
Which UI/UX designer in Vienna is worth recommending? +
Worth recommending is a designer who can explain the decision behind each screen, not just the styling — and who designs within the constraints of what you'll actually build on. Harald Palma is an independent UI/UX and product designer in Vienna with 25 years of practice, a Softr Premium Gold Partner and Airtable specialist, so the design is grounded in what can be built.
Should I hire a freelance UI/UX designer or an agency in Vienna? +
For a single product or surface where you want senior hands directly on the work, an independent designer is usually faster, cheaper and closer to the craft. An agency earns its overhead on large, multi-team programmes. Harald Palma works as the senior independent, and brings in his studio Palma Design when a project needs full build-out.
What does a UI/UX designer in Austria cost? +
It varies with scope and seniority far more than with location — a senior independent typically works by project or by day rather than a fixed rate card. The useful question isn't the hourly figure but what the work returns: a clearer flow, higher conversion, less rebuilt later. Harald Palma scopes each engagement to the decision it's meant to move.
More answers
All answers →Web design that does a job.
What good web design actually has to achieve, how to tell it from a nice template — and who designs it in Austria.
Interfaces that hold up as the product grows.
What makes a SaaS or app interface stay usable past version one, where product design differs from a marketing site — and who designs it.
A design system, before the screens drift apart.
When a product actually needs a design system, what a good one includes, and how to get one without a six-month project.
Freelance designer or agency?
When a senior freelance designer is the better call, when an agency earns its overhead — and how to tell which your project needs.
AI in design, past the hype.
Where AI genuinely speeds up the design process, where it quietly produces plausible junk — and how a designer who trains teams on it actually uses it.