Great products start with great design. At 5labs, we craft user interfaces that look stunning and user experiences that feel effortless. From early-stage research and wireframing through to polished prototypes and tested design systems, our Edinburgh team builds digital products that people genuinely enjoy using. We work with startups, established businesses, and enterprise teams across the UK.
A beautiful interface means nothing if people cannot use it. That is why our design process always starts with understanding your users, their goals, their frustrations, and the context in which they interact with your product. Based in Edinburgh, 5labs brings together user research, visual design, and interaction design to create digital experiences that solve real problems and deliver measurable business results.
We work across web and mobile platforms, producing everything from initial user journey maps and low-fidelity wireframes to high-fidelity prototypes ready for development handoff. Our designers use Figma and Adobe XD to build collaborative design files that keep your team aligned throughout the process. Every interface we create is tested with real users before a single line of code is written.
Looking to bring your designs to life? Our web development and mobile app development teams work hand-in-hand with our designers to ensure pixel-perfect implementation. For online shops, our ecommerce development team can turn your UI designs into conversion-optimised storefronts.
Research-driven design that puts your users first
We conduct interviews, surveys, and competitor analysis to understand who your users are and what they need. This research forms the foundation of every design decision we make.
From rough sketches to interactive prototypes, we map out every screen and user flow before committing to visual design. You can click through and test the experience before development begins.
Our designers create clean, modern interfaces that reflect your brand and guide users naturally through your product. Every colour, typeface, and spacing decision is intentional.
We build scalable component libraries and style guides that keep your product consistent as it grows. Your development team gets a single source of truth for every UI element.
Every interface we design meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards as a minimum. We test colour contrast, keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, and focus states to ensure nobody is excluded.
We put your designs in front of real users and observe how they interact. Testing reveals friction points early, saving development time and producing a product that people find genuinely intuitive.
A structured approach from research through to developer handoff
We interview stakeholders and users, analyse competitors, and review existing analytics. This phase produces user personas, journey maps, and a clear picture of the problems we need to solve.
We organise content and functionality into a logical structure. Site maps, user flows, and card sorting exercises ensure that navigation feels natural and users can find what they need quickly.
Low-fidelity wireframes define the layout and hierarchy of each screen. We focus on structure and functionality at this stage, keeping visual details for later so we can iterate fast.
We apply your brand identity to the wireframes, creating polished, high-fidelity mockups. Typography, colour palettes, iconography, and imagery all come together into a cohesive visual language.
Interactive prototypes let you click through the full experience. We conduct usability tests with real users, gather feedback, and refine the design until it performs exactly as intended.
We deliver annotated design files with specifications, assets, and component documentation. Our designers work alongside your developers during implementation to ensure nothing is lost in translation.
Industry-standard tools chosen for collaboration and precision
Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch. We build interactive prototypes with realistic transitions and micro-interactions that let stakeholders experience the product before development begins.
Hotjar, Maze, UserTesting, Google Analytics. We combine quantitative data with qualitative user feedback to validate design decisions and identify areas for improvement.
Figma component libraries, Storybook, Zeroheight. We create living design systems that stay in sync with your codebase and scale with your product as it grows.
Bring your designs to life with these complementary services
Common questions about our design services
UX (user experience) design focuses on how a product works and how users interact with it. It covers research, information architecture, user flows, and usability. UI (user interface) design focuses on how a product looks, including typography, colours, spacing, and visual hierarchy. Both disciplines work together to create products that are both easy to use and visually appealing.
Design costs depend on the scope of the project. A focused UX audit or redesign of a few key screens might start from £1,500, while a full design project covering research, wireframing, visual design, and prototyping for a complex application typically ranges from £5,000 to £15,000. We provide a detailed quote after understanding your specific requirements.
Yes. User research is a core part of our process. We conduct stakeholder interviews, user interviews, surveys, competitive analysis, and analytics reviews. For existing products, we also run usability tests and heuristic evaluations to identify problems and opportunities before redesigning.
We primarily use Figma for UI design, prototyping, and design system management. We also work with Adobe XD and Sketch when client teams prefer those tools. For usability testing we use platforms like Maze and Hotjar. All design files are shared with your team for full transparency and collaboration.
Absolutely. We regularly take on redesign projects for websites, web applications, and mobile apps. We start with a UX audit of your current product, identify pain points and drop-off areas, then design an improved experience grounded in data and user feedback rather than guesswork.
Yes. Accessibility is built into our design process from the start, not bolted on at the end. We design to WCAG 2.1 AA standards as a minimum, covering colour contrast, text sizing, keyboard navigation, focus indicators, and screen reader compatibility. We can also help you meet AAA compliance if your project requires it.
A typical design project takes 4 to 8 weeks depending on complexity. A simple website redesign might take 3 to 4 weeks, while a full UX research and design project for a complex application could take 8 to 12 weeks. We provide a clear timeline during the proposal stage so you can plan your development schedule accordingly.
Yes. We create comprehensive design systems that include reusable components, spacing and typography scales, colour tokens, iconography, and interaction patterns. These systems ensure visual consistency across your product and speed up both design and development work as your product evolves.
Free Consultation | Research-Driven Design | Edinburgh-Based Team
⭐ Trusted by Businesses Across Edinburgh & the UK
