Best UX Design Consultants in New York City

Best New York City UX Design Consultants

New York City has established itself as one of the world’s leading centers for technology, media, finance, healthcare, and creative innovation, making thoughtful UX design essential for organizations competing in a highly digital marketplace.

From startups and technology companies to financial institutions, healthcare organizations, media brands, and professional services firms, businesses across the New York metropolitan area are investing in UX consultants who can create intuitive experiences, solve complex user problems, and build stronger digital products.

At Digital Reference, we researched and evaluated UX design consultants across the New York region to identify professionals demonstrating outstanding design expertise, strategic thinking, and measurable client impact.

Through professional profiles, portfolio research, verified references, and transparency-focused talent tools, Digital Reference helps organizations discover UX partners who go beyond visual design to deliver thoughtful, human-centered experiences and lasting business value.

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🗽 Our Methodology: How We Built This List of Top New York City UX Design Consultants

This list reflects extensive research into UX design consultants operating throughout the New York metropolitan area. Rather than simply highlighting recognizable names, we focused on professionals demonstrating strong UX methodology, creative excellence, strategic leadership, and meaningful client outcomes.

Our evaluation included:

🌐 Detailed review of consultant and agency websites, UX portfolios, case studies, and design capabilities
🧠 Research into founders, UX leaders, creative directors, and senior designers through LinkedIn and public professional profiles
🎨 Evaluation of expertise in user research, UX strategy, information architecture, interaction design, usability, product design, and digital experiences
📊 Assessment of client industries, project diversity, product complexity, and demonstrated business impact
🤝 Consideration of each consultant's discovery process, collaboration style, communication, and strategic consulting capabilities
🚀 Focus on UX professionals helping organizations create accessible, intuitive, scalable digital experiences built for long-term growth rather than short-term design trends

New York City's UX design ecosystem continues to evolve as organizations increasingly recognize user experience as a core business priority rather than simply a visual design function.

Today's leading UX consultants combine research, strategy, interaction design, product thinking, accessibility, and technology to help organizations create digital experiences that are useful, engaging, and commercially effective. The consultants featured below represent some of New York City's standout UX design talent, each bringing a distinctive approach to solving user problems and helping organizations build better products and experiences.

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🌟 Digital Reference's List of the Best UX Design Consultants in New York City

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🔴 Adam Perlis

Founder, Academy UX

Adam Perlis blends media polish with UX insight — a natural pairing given his early background in creative direction and design thinking at brands like AT&T and Time Inc. As founder of B150 and Academy, a product design and branding studio, Adam leads projects that feel cinematic in polish and laser-sharp in UX thinking.

Academy isn’t just a name — it’s a mindset. Adam is a big believer in mentorship, collaboration, and education within the design ecosystem.

💡 Highlights:

🎯 Has led UX for TIME Magazine, AKQA, BASIC/DEPT, B-reel, and AT&T AdWorks Lb

🧩 Worked with brands such as Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, American Express, Verizon, AT&T, and Wish

🎓 Public speaker and educator — known for sharing processes and insights openly

🌟 Academy UX’s brand/UX hybrid approach has earned it a loyal NYC tech following

For teams looking to merge brand, UX, and growth in one cohesive vision, Adam is a go-to partner.

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🔴 Martí Bruno

Founder, Flueed Digital Studio

Marti Bruno is one of NYC’s most data-informed UX designers — with a rare skill set that fuses deep research, motion design, and high-fidelity prototyping. As the founder of Flueed Digital Studio, he's worked with companies such as Citi Ventures, Volkswagen Group, HP, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Meta. Marti brings an entrepreneurial edge to every engagement, often taking on projects that require both vision and hands-on precision.

He has spent the past decade working across digital, mobile, web, UI, interactive service, and platform design. His design philosophy centers on clarity, flexibility, and user-first thinking, and he thrives in freelance and studio environments alike.

💡 Highlights:

🧪 Combines quantitative testing with diary studies and ethnography

🎞️ Expert in motion design as a UX tool — not just for delight, but for clarity

🧭 Deep experience in both branding and digital product design

🧰 Brings a multi-disciplinary approach to interaction and visual systems

Martí's wide-ranging portfolio is a showcase of versatility and execution — hallmarks of NYC design culture.

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🔴 Tobias van Schneider

Founder & Creative Director, House of van Schneider (HOVS)

Tobias van Schneider is not just a designer — he’s a global design brand and product visionary. Based in New York City by way of Austria and Germany, Tobias is the founder and creative director of House of van Schneider (HOVS), a design studio that builds and runs its own independent products, while occasionally collaborating with high-profile partners such as NASA/JPL to brand their space missions.

Tobias is known for his bold, minimalist aesthetic and thoughtful product philosophy. He’s the co-founder of Semplice™and Carbonmade™, two platforms that have become staples for creatives looking to showcase their portfolios. More recently, he's focused on growing mymind™, an AI-enhanced private platform for storing thoughts, inspirations, and digital memory — what he calls a "mind palace."

💡 Highlights:

🎨 Founder of HOVS, a studio that builds its own creative products from the ground up

🌌 Collaborated with NASA/JPL to brand and visualize space missions

🧠 Creator of mymind, a private digital space for creative thinking and mental clarity

🖥️ Co-founder of Semplice and Carbonmade —portfolio tools trusted by thousands of designers

🖊️ Shares deep thoughts on design, independence, and creativity through his writing and platforms

With nearly two decades of building tools that empower the creative community, Tobias continues to lead by example. His work is not only beautifully crafted — it champions intentionality, autonomy, and design with a point of view.

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🔴 Jonathan Chan

Design Director & Co-Founder, Prototypical

Jonathan Chan is a cross-disciplinary UX leader and the Design Director and Co-Founder of Prototypical, a user experience agency that blends strategy, design, and technology to solve complex digital problems. Based in New York, Jonathan’s approach is anchored in research, precision, and high-functioning team collaboration.

At Prototypical, Jonathan helps shape the agency's design ethos, leading multi-disciplinary teams through UX architecture, UI systems, and product strategy across enterprise and startup clients. His deep portfolio includes enterprise dashboards, SaaS platforms, and scalable mobile solutions.

💡 Highlights:

🚀 Co-founded Prototypical to focus on experience design at scale

🔍 Applies research and usability testing to validate UX decisions

🛠️ Designs for complex, data-heavy platforms with clarity and structure

🤝 Known for his calm, organized leadership style and commitment to collaboration

Clients consistently commend Jonathan for his ability to deliver elegant UX solutions under pressure — a rare skill that makes him a trusted consultant in high-stakes environments.

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🔴 Kevin Park

Associate Professor and Director of UX/UI Design, New York Institute of Technology

Dr. Kevin Park is part practitioner, part academic — a UX research leader who bridges the gap between theory and real-world application. Based at the New York Institute of Technology, Kevin conducts usability studies and teaches user experience design to the next generation of professionals.

With decades of experience in UX research methodologies, he’s become a trusted voice in HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) both in academia and industry.

💡 Highlights:

🧠 Leads academic research into cognitive load and interaction behavior

🖥️ Consultant for UX evaluation in complex systems like medical interfaces and IoT

📘 Published author and frequent conference speaker

🎓 Deeply invested in shaping inclusive, ethical UX practices

Kevin’s impact is felt across product, pedagogy, and practice — an embodiment of UX’s evolution in NYC.

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🔴 Firat Parlak

Founder at Awesome

Firat Parlak is the founder of Awesome, a UX and product design studio that lives up to its name. With over a decade of leadership in UX, Firat has established himself as one of NYC’s most well-connected and forward-thinking design voices. His approach is uniquely product-minded — grounded in iteration, experimentation, and business value.

Firat isn’t just a designer — he’s a facilitator of momentum. He often works with early-stage startups and fast-scaling companies to bring ideas to market faster, smarter, and with greater impact.

💡 Highlights:

💼 Clients include Fortune 500 companies like Google, Bose, and Samsung as well as NYC-based startups

🤝 Deep focus on stakeholder alignment through workshops and design sprints

🛠️ Specializes in helping clients get from MVP to Version 1 with lean UX strategy

🎤 Active community builder with UX roundtables and startup mentorship

His team at Awesome operates like an extension of the companies they serve, and it’s that collaborative spirit that continues to set him apart.

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🍎 Using Digital Reference to Find the Best NYC-Based UX Design Consultants For Your Needs

From global design icons to community-focused researchers, this list is a celebration of what UX in New York really means.

It’s not just about aesthetics. It’s about intention, structure, accessibility, and the belief that better digital experiences lead to better human ones.

At Digital Reference, we believe that spotlighting consultants like these helps bring transparency to an often-confusing hiring process. If you’re a founder, PM, or HR lead, our curated expert roundups and guidance can help you make better design hires — without needing to become a UX expert yourself.

If you’re a UX consultant yourself, consider joining the Digital Reference network. We’re building a platform that supports great designers with visibility, vetted leads, and a community that respects the craft of UX.

👇 To learn more about what we do and how we do it, check out:

• Best Fractional Chief Product Officers in New York City
• Best UX Design Consultants in the USA
• Best Fractional CPO Services in the United States

Stay tuned for updates to this list as the NYC UX landscape continues to evolve in 2026 and beyond.