We step in when a product feels like a downsized desktop app — slow, cluttered, and unfit for gestures. The result: clean, responsive, and built for thumbs.
Users get lost and abandon key actions.
Re-mapped journeys to reduce dead ends.
Tap targets feel off
or too small.
Refined touch zones based
on platform guidelines.
Nothing feels responsive
or intuitive.
Rebuilt interaction feedback
to give immediate visual cues.
Text is too small
or hard to scan.
Adjusted typography scale
and spacing for legibility.
Almost everyone who abandons an app does so before using it. Not because the product is poor. Because the opening minutes asked for effort before offering anything.
The first decision is how much can happen before an account exists. Every screen that demands a registration first loses people who were willing to look. If the app can show something useful to a stranger, it should, and the account can arrive at the moment it becomes necessary.
Permission prompts are the sharpest version of this. A request for location, notifications or the camera on the first screen is a question with no context, and the honest answer is no. Asked at the moment the feature needs it, with the reason visible, the same request is reasonable. Refusal is permanent on some platforms. A badly timed prompt is declined once and then closed for good.
Introductory tours mostly fail. They teach before anybody wants to learn. A sequence of slides describing features is read by nobody and remembered by no one. Teaching in place, at the moment a control is first needed, survives.
The empty state is the real first screen for most people, and it is usually the least designed. A blank list with no explanation asks the newcomer to invent the point of the product. Seeding it with an example, or naming the one action that fills it, is the highest-return screen in an app.
Length has to be paid for. Every step is a chance to stop. Each one should earn its place by making the next screen better. Steps that exist to collect data for someone else can wait.
Progress should be visible when the sequence is unavoidable. People tolerate five steps they can see and abandon three they cannot.
Returning users need a different opening. Somebody coming back after a month has forgotten where things were, and dropping them into the same first-run sequence as a newcomer feels like being asked to introduce yourself again.
We measure this rather than discuss it. Where people stop in the first session is a number, and it moves quickly when the sequence is shortened or reordered.
Design effort scales with logic, use cases, and states — not how many screens
you counted in Figma.
Didn’t find what you were looking for? Drop us a line at info@toimi.pro.
San Francisco clients often prioritize extensive user testing with local focus groups, which we factor into timeline and budget. We provide fixed-price proposals after a discovery call to understand your specific product goals.
Most projects span 6 to 12 weeks from kickoff to final design handoff. We begin with user research and competitive analysis — especially important in San Francisco's crowded startup ecosystem where differentiation matters. Wireframing and prototyping take 3-4 weeks, followed by high-fidelity UI design and usability testing. Mission Bay biotech clients and SoMa SaaS companies often request iterative feedback rounds, which we accommodate within the timeline. Rush timelines are possible for MVP launches targeting specific funding rounds.
We work extensively with fintech companies near Montgomery Street, healthtech startups in Mission Bay, and enterprise SaaS teams throughout SoMa. Food delivery and logistics apps serving the Bay Area market need interfaces that handle complex routing and real-time updates. Consumer marketplace apps targeting San Francisco's early-adopter demographic require polished, intuitive experiences to gain traction. Any mobile product competing in this market benefits from research-driven design that reduces friction and increases retention.
Effective design starts with understanding actual user behavior through interviews, session recordings, and usability tests. For San Francisco clients, we often recruit test participants from neighborhoods like the Marina, Sunset, and East Bay to capture diverse perspectives. We map user journeys to identify friction points, then design interfaces that guide users toward key actions with minimal cognitive load. Every screen serves a purpose — we eliminate unnecessary steps and prioritize clarity over decoration. Prototypes are tested before visual design begins.
We design native experiences that respect iOS Human Interface Guidelines and Android Material Design principles rather than forcing identical layouts across platforms. San Francisco users expect platform-appropriate patterns — bottom navigation on iOS, floating action buttons on Android. Our Figma files include platform-specific components, spacing, and typography. We account for device diversity, from iPhone Pro Max screens common in Pacific Heights to budget Android devices. Designs include light and dark mode variants since California users frequently toggle based on time of day.
Research begins with stakeholder interviews to understand business goals and technical constraints. We analyze competitor apps popular in the San Francisco market and review App Store feedback to identify common user complaints. User interviews with 8-12 target customers reveal actual needs versus assumed ones — particularly valuable for startups in SOMA without existing user data. We create personas, journey maps, and task flows before any visual design starts. Usability testing happens with clickable prototypes, allowing us to refine navigation and information architecture based on real behavior.
You get a dedicated Slack channel for daily communication and quick questions — essential for fast-moving San Francisco startups coordinating across product, engineering, and business teams. We schedule weekly video calls to review progress, gather feedback, and align on priorities. All designs live in Figma with commenting enabled, so your team can leave contextual feedback directly on screens. We share prototypes via links that work on actual mobile devices, letting you test flows during your commute on Muni or Caltrain. Calendar access ensures we never miss important milestone dates or investor demos.
We deliver organized Figma files with documented components, spacing systems, and interaction specs that your developers can reference during implementation. A style guide covers typography, colors, iconography, and responsive behavior. We remain available for developer questions during the build phase — clarifying animation timing, edge cases, or responsive breakpoints. Many San Francisco clients request design QA where we review staged builds and flag inconsistencies before App Store submission. Post-launch, we offer iteration packages to refine screens based on actual user analytics and feedback from your early adopters.
