How to Hire a UI/UX Designer in Lebanon (Buyer's Guide)

Somewhere between "I have an idea for an app" and "I have an app," there is a step most Lebanese founders skip or badly underpay for: the design. They go straight to a developer, describe the idea in a paragraph, and the developer builds whatever they imagined while reading it. Screens get redone twice. Buttons move after the client sees them live. The project takes longer and costs more than a fixed-price quote implied, and nobody agreed on what "finished" looked like before the work started.

A UI/UX designer's job is to remove that guessing before a single line of code is written: what screens exist, what happens when you tap each thing, and what it all looks like, agreed and signed off in advance. This guide covers what that work actually is, what a Lebanese business should expect to pay for it, and how to hire it without losing the plan halfway through.

UI, UX, and why the difference costs you money

The two get used interchangeably and that habit costs money. UX (user experience) is the structure: what screens exist, what order they come in, what happens after someone taps a button, where an error message shows up and what it says. UI (user interface) is what it looks like once that structure is decided: colors, type, spacing, icons, the visual system.

Skip UX and go straight to UI, and you get a beautiful screen for a flow nobody thought through — a checkout with no way back, a form that loses your data if you switch apps, an onboarding screen that never asks the one thing the app actually needs. Most freelancers who call themselves "UI/UX designers" do both, but ask specifically: will you map the user flows before you design any screen, or are you going straight to visuals? The honest answer to that question is the best filter you have before you hire anyone.

What you should actually receive

A real UI/UX engagement for a small-to-medium app produces, in order:

User flows. Simple diagrams showing every path through the app — sign-up, the core action the app exists for, settings, error and empty states. This is where missing screens get caught, before they are expensive to add.

Wireframes. Low-fidelity, grayscale screen layouts. No colors, no real content, no polish — just where things sit and how big they are. Wireframes are cheap to change and painful to skip, because this is the stage where you catch "wait, where does this button go" before it's baked into a finished design.

A component kit / design system. Every reusable piece — buttons, input fields, cards, navigation bars — built once, in every state (default, pressed, disabled, error), and reused everywhere. Without this, a developer builds the same button five different ways because five different screens showed it slightly differently, and nothing in the app looks consistent.

High-fidelity screens. The real thing: full color, real typography, real (or realistic placeholder) content, matching your brand.

A clickable prototype. Screens linked together in Figma (or a similar tool) so you can tap through the app before a developer writes any code. This is the single most useful deliverable for catching problems cheaply — a broken flow costs you a comment in Figma before development, and a sprint of rework after it.

For a full app UI of 10–20+ screens on Furrsati, this whole package is priced as a project, typically $1,500 to $4,000, depending on screen count, how many states each component needs, and how many rounds of revision are included. That is separate from — and roughly comparable in scale to — building the app itself: a simple cross-platform MVP with a limited feature set typically runs $2,500 to $7,500 as its own project. Budget for both stages; a beautifully designed app that was never costed to build is a common and avoidable disappointment. Our mobile app development cost guide breaks down what changes that second number.

The brief that actually works

Vague briefs produce vague designs. Before you contact anyone, write down:

• Who the app is for, in one sentence each for your two or three main users — not "everyone."
• The one action the app must make effortless. Every app has a job it exists to do; name it. Everything else is secondary.
• Screens you already know you need, even a rough list. The designer will find the ones you missed, but a starting list saves a round of discovery.
• Apps you like the feel of, and specifically what you like about them — not "make it like Instagram," but "the way this app confirms an action with one tap and a small animation."
• Platform: iOS, Android, or both, since that changes some interaction patterns (back buttons, navigation bars) even inside the same design.
• Brand assets you already have — logo, colors, fonts — so the designer starts from your identity rather than inventing one mid-project.

Our job brief guide has a fuller template if you have not written one of these before.

Reading a proposal, and who owns what

Two questions decide most of whether a project goes well.

Do you get the source file, not just images? You need the editable Figma (or equivalent) file, not PNG exports. Without the source file, every future change — a new screen, a color tweak, a different button — requires going back to the original designer or starting over. Confirm file ownership before the project starts, not after the invoice.

How many revision rounds are included, and what counts as a round? "Unlimited revisions" sounds generous and usually means the opposite — it invites endless small tweaks that never converge because nothing was ever signed off. A clearer structure: two structured rounds per stage (wireframes, then high-fidelity), with each round meaning consolidated feedback delivered at once, not a drip of individual messages over two weeks. Compare proposals on this basis rather than on the headline price; our proposal evaluation guide goes further on reading quotes like for like.

Structure the project as milestones rather than one lump sum: wireframes and flows approved, then the component kit, then final screens, then the working prototype. Each milestone is something you can actually look at and either accept or send back with specific notes, which is a much better checkpoint than "35% done."

Handing off to a developer

The prototype is not the end of the design stage — it is the handoff document. A developer building from a real Figma file with a documented component kit works faster and produces something closer to what you approved than a developer building from a verbal description or a handful of screenshots. Ask your designer to add developer notes directly in Figma — spacing values, font sizes, exact colors — so the developer is not guessing at pixel values from a screenshot. If you are hiring the developer separately, share the Figma file and the prototype link before that engagement even starts; it changes how the developer scopes and quotes the build.

Paying safely

Furrsati removes the risk on both sides of this handoff. You post your project, compare proposals from verified freelancers, fund a milestone, and release payment only once you've approved the work, with milestone funds held by Stripe until you release them. The service fee comes off the freelancer's side, so only standard card processing is added to your bill, and wallet-funded milestones carry none. Freelancers verify their identity before they can withdraw; as a client you need no verification. Payouts reach the freelancer inside Lebanon by OMT, Whish, bank transfer or USDT.

Your next step

Write down the one action your app must make effortless, list the screens you already know about, and gather any brand assets you have. Then hire a UI/UX designer on Furrsati, structure the project in milestones from flows through prototype, and keep your payment protected until you have a file you actually own.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a UI/UX designer cost in Lebanon?

On Furrsati, a full app UI package of 10–20+ screens — flows, wireframes, a component kit and a clickable prototype — is priced per project, typically $1,500 to $4,000. The range depends on screen count, how many states each component needs, and how many revision rounds are included.

Is UI/UX design the same as app development?

No, and budgeting for them as one thing is a common mistake. Design produces the flows, screens and prototype; development builds the working app from that design. A simple cross-platform app MVP is typically $2,500 to $7,500 as a separate project, on top of the design cost.

What files should I receive from a UI/UX designer?

The editable source file (Figma or equivalent), not just exported images. Without the source file you cannot make future changes without the original designer or starting over. Confirm this before the project starts.

How many revision rounds should I expect?

"Unlimited revisions" usually signals no real sign-off structure. A clearer setup is two structured rounds per stage — wireframes, then high-fidelity screens — with each round meaning consolidated feedback delivered at once, not ongoing small requests.

Do I need a UI/UX designer before hiring a developer?

For anything beyond a very simple screen or two, yes. A developer building from a documented Figma file with a component kit and developer notes works faster and builds closer to what you approved than one working from a verbal description.