Best UX Design Agencies in Manchester (2026)

Introduction

Manchester has one of the largest UX and digital product scenes in the UK outside London, and the 10 agencies below cover most of the ways to buy that work, from network-owned experience teams to small independent product studios.

The city’s demand comes from the sectors that grew up here: retail and e-commerce, financial services, healthcare, media at MediaCityUK, and a dense layer of SaaS and fintech scale-ups. That shows in the work. Code, founded in Manchester in 1999, now sits inside WPP and trades as a WPP Media brand from the WPP campus on New Quay Street. DEPT runs a Manchester team of around 200 people from Bridgewater House. Apadmi, at Salford Quays, was a finalist for four Lovie Awards for its app work, and several of the independents on this list have shifted from websites towards product strategy, discovery and AI features over the last two years.

Every agency here has a working studio or office in Greater Manchester in 2026, checked against its own site. We looked for user research, product and service design, and recent named client work, and kept overlap with our other Manchester lists low. The list is unranked, since the right partner depends on the size of the product and how much engineering you need alongside the design.

The best UX design agencies in Manchester

1. Code

WPP Media · Spinningfields · codecomputerlove.com

Code was founded in Manchester in 1999 as Code Computerlove and was later acquired by EssenceMediacom North, so it now sits inside WPP and describes itself as a WPP Media brand. It calls itself a CX, innovation and AI agency, working through human-centred design, product thinking and lean, agile delivery. The team works from the WPP Manchester campus at 1 New Quay Street.

Its client list mixes long relationships with large brands. Code is one of seven global agency partners to the BBC, and Hillarys credits it with helping the business grow over more than 20 years. Other work includes UX, product design and conversion work for Asda, service design for the car dealer group JCT600, and an Alexa skill for Save the Children. Its design blog also publishes practical guidance, including an updated 2026 guide to designing for autism.

2. DEPT

Part of DEPT · Piccadilly · dept.global

DEPT is a global digital agency with more than 4,000 people, and its Manchester office at Bridgewater House on Whitworth Street has a team of around 200. Its Experience practice covers product design, UX and UI, alongside engineering and growth marketing teams.

Clients named on its Manchester page include Google, Nikon, eBay, END., OVO and ME&EM. DEPT has been named Agency of the Year at the Webby Awards and has won Agency of the Year at the Lovie Awards twice. Because the network is large, ask which parts of a project will be run from Manchester and which from other offices.

3. Apadmi

Apadmi Group · MediaCityUK (Salford Quays) · apadmi.com

Apadmi is a mobile specialist with a Manchester team at Anchorage Two on Salford Quays, plus offices in Edinburgh, London, Amsterdam, New York, Wroclaw and Colombo. Its work covers app design and development, loyalty programmes, app store optimisation and AI features. It was a finalist for four Lovie Awards for its app experiences, and it published a 2026 Mobile Customer Loyalty Report based on more than 1,000 consumers in four European markets.

Named clients include Domino’s, the NHS, Co-op, Yeo Valley Organic, Carlsberg and the BBC. It suits brands whose main customer experience lives in an app and needs ongoing optimisation after launch.

4. Hyperact

Independent · Deansgate · hyperact.co.uk

Hyperact is a product transformation partner with offices on Deansgate in Manchester and in Leeds. It sells product strategy, discovery and delivery, dedicated product teams, UX and UI reviews, and product training, so the design work tends to sit inside a wider product engagement.

Case studies include relaunching the regtech platform RiskSmart in ten weeks, moving the fintech thinkmoney to a modern stack and mobile app, defining a phased improvement plan for returning customers at the insurer Tempcover, and launching two new products for Dstny. It fits teams that want help with product decisions as well as screens.

5. AND Digital

Privately owned · Piccadilly · and.digital

AND Digital builds digital products and platforms through cross-functional teams of engineers, designers, architects and product managers, and coaches client teams as it goes. It organises its people into “Clubs”, and two of them, Club Jemison and Club Kilburn, are based at 117 Portland Street in Manchester.

Experience design is one of its listed capabilities, alongside product strategy, data, AI and mobile. Named case studies include Google Digital Garage, British Airways and the motor retailer Lookers. The coaching model suits organisations that want to build their own in-house UX and product capability over time.

6. Corporation Pop

Independent · Northern Quarter · corporationpop.co.uk

Corporation Pop has been combining creativity and technology in Manchester since 1991, so it has worked through several generations of digital platforms. From its base on Shudehill it designs and builds mobile apps, AR and VR experiences, websites and games, with UX and UI design running through each project. Its focus sectors are digital health, entertainment and education technology.

Clients include the BBC, an NHS foundation trust in Manchester, Future Publishing and UNILAD. Health projects include a postnatal depression app, a mental health support tool and a portal for a paediatric chronic fatigue clinic. Its awards include a Big Chip Award and a Venturefest North West Digital Innovation award.

7. Square Owl

Independent · Deansgate · squareowl.co.uk

Square Owl was founded in Manchester in 2014 and builds complex digital products from an office at 77 Deansgate. Its process runs through five phases (understand, specify, prototype, build, improve), and it sets WCAG 2.2 AA as its default accessibility standard. It holds ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials certification.

Named work includes platforms for BCL Legal and the PR and media technology company Synapse, and a property licensing platform. It now works mostly with public sector, healthcare, finance and other regulated clients, where a written specification before design and build matters.

8. CTI Digital

Independent · St Peter’s Square · ctidigital.com

CTI Digital has been building websites for more than 20 years and works from South Central on Peter Street. UX and UI design and conversion rate optimisation sit within its web design and build team, alongside CMS, e-commerce and app development, and it runs digital marketing and AI teams under the same roof.

It suits larger e-commerce and content sites where UX improvements need to connect directly to build, hosting and marketing. Ask to see recent case studies in your sector, and who in the UX team will lead research.

9. Userism

Independent · Ancoats · userism.agency

Userism is a digital design and development agency at Beehive Mill in Ancoats, built around user experience and human behaviour. It covers UX design, web and app design and development, e-commerce, product information management and systems integration.

Its work leans towards manufacturers and B2B businesses. Recent projects include user research for James Robertshaw, a North West manufacturer, an e-commerce build for the golf course supplier Pinseeker, and a Pimcore system for Tractel that manages more than 120,000 product listings.

10. Designed For Humans

Independent · Manchester · designedforhumans.tech

Designed For Humans is a Manchester UX and UI agency that focuses on inclusive, accessible digital products, with services across UX and UI, brand, research and start-up support. It holds 2025 and 2026 Clutch badges as a top user experience and product design company in Manchester.

Projects include UX, brand and AI work for the recruitment platform Hike, an accessibility-led redesign for Gaia Learning, and an MVP app for Blake Mill. It is a small team, which suits start-ups and early-stage products.

What to look for in a Manchester UX design agency

Start with how much of the product you want the agency to own. Manchester has a clear split between studios that design and hand over (or design and build a contained product), and consultancies such as Hyperact and AND Digital that embed product teams and coach yours. Neither is better in general. The choice depends on whether you have product managers and engineers in-house.

Ask to see research, not only screens. A good UX agency should be able to show how it recruited users, what it learned, and what changed in the design as a result. For regulated sectors such as health and finance, which are big in Manchester, check accessibility standards and security certifications early.

Check who will do the work and where they sit. Network agencies such as DEPT and Code can draw on large teams across several offices, which helps on big programmes, though it is reasonable to ask how much of the work stays in Manchester. Smaller studios in Ancoats or the Northern Quarter usually put senior designers on every project.

Finally, agree how design files, prototypes and research recordings will be shared and reviewed. UX projects produce a lot of material across Figma, research tools and slide decks, and feedback often arrives in scattered threads. A single place for the latest prototypes, research findings and sign-offs makes long product engagements easier to run.

How Fabric helps UX design teams

Fabric gives a UX team one workspace for research, design files, client feedback and product knowledge, with AI search across all of it. The UI/UX agency setup is built around one space per client or product, with briefs, research, prototypes and decisions kept together.

Research recordings are a large part of UX work. Fabric transcribes uploaded audio and video, so interview and usability session recordings become searchable, and search works by meaning across documents, images, PDFs and connected apps such as Google Drive and Notion, with results that jump to the right page or timestamp. Similar search finds related screens and references from an existing file. On a canvas, teams can embed Figma files next to research notes and journey maps.

For client reviews, any file or folder can be published as a web page and shared with password protection, and link analytics shows when each named stakeholder opened it. Clients can leave threaded comments through a shared link without signing up, and annotations cover highlights and comments on PDFs and documents. Reviewers can also leave timestamped comments on video and draw on images. There is more on running design reviews in how to get client feedback on a design.

On Team plans, self-writing docs keep a page for each client up to date from meetings, Slack and the workspace, covering decisions, deliverables and open items. Fabric uses AES-256 encryption, is CASA Tier 2 verified, and does not use customer data to train AI models.

Password protection and link analytics are included on Pro and Team plans, and self-writing docs on Team plans. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best UX design agency in Manchester?

It depends on the product and on how much engineering you need. Code and DEPT bring network scale and long client histories, Apadmi specialises in mobile apps, and Hyperact and AND Digital embed product teams. Smaller studios such as Corporation Pop, Userism and Designed For Humans suit contained projects and start-ups.

What happened to Code Computerlove?

Code Computerlove was acquired by EssenceMediacom North, which is part of WPP. It now trades as Code, a WPP Media brand, and works from the WPP campus on New Quay Street in Manchester.

How much does a UX design agency in Manchester cost?

Fees vary widely by scope. Small studios often price discovery or UX review work as fixed projects, while product consultancies tend to charge for dedicated teams by the sprint or month. Ask for a costed discovery phase first, which gives both sides a clearer view of the full build.

What is the difference between a UX agency and a design agency?

A UX agency focuses on how a product works for its users, through research, information architecture, interaction design and testing. A design agency usually leads on brand, identity and visual communication. For brand and multidisciplinary studios, see our list of the best design agencies in Manchester.

Which Manchester UX agencies specialise in apps?

Apadmi, at Salford Quays, focuses on mobile apps for retail, financial services and health brands. Corporation Pop designs and builds apps alongside AR and VR work, and AND Digital and Hyperact both run mobile product work within wider engagements.

Related lists

UX design agencies in other cities: New York · London · Los Angeles · Chicago · Toronto

More in Manchester: Creative agencies · Design agencies · Branding agencies · Marketing agencies · Advertising agencies · Social media agencies

Run your UX team on Fabric: Fabric for UI/UX agencies · Fabric for product design agencies · Best design feedback tools