8 + 2 Apps with Great Design: INSAIM Agency Founder Explains Why

A great user interface (UI) is not just about aesthetics; it’s about providing users with a seamless, intuitive, and engaging experience. In this article, I’ll walk you through eight apps with outstanding UI/UX design, explain why they excel, and outline the common themes that contribute to their success in the best application UI design.

Airbnb: Simplicity Meets Functionality

Why it excels

Airbnb offers a sleek and minimalist design that guides users effortlessly from discovering a property to booking it. The app balances visuals with functionality, ensuring users can browse, filter, and book without friction. The use of white space, large imagery, and clear call-to-action buttons keeps the experience stress-free.

Key takeaway

Airbnb’s success lies in its ability to maintain simplicity while supporting a complex task like property booking. The app’s interface focuses on reducing cognitive load, ensuring that every interaction is easy to follow. This places it among the best app UI designs in the market, showcasing great app design principles.

Spotify: Personalization and Fluidity

Why it excels

Spotify’s UI is all about personalization. From custom playlists to suggested content, the app tailors the experience to each user. It combines simplicity in navigation with deep functionality, enabling users to explore new music easily. Its dark-themed interface helps content stand out, and its minimalistic controls make it easy to enjoy music without distractions

Key takeaway

Spotify’s blend of personalization and fluid navigation makes it one of the most engaging apps. As one of the best mobile app UI examples, it offers tailored content and maintains consistency across devices, ensuring users stay connected to what matters most. Spotify is undoubtedly among the best UX mobile apps for its seamless user experience.

Dropbox: Clean, Intuitive Design

Why it excels

Dropbox prioritizes a clean and intuitive design, which is critical for an app centered around cloud storage. Its drag-and-drop functionality, seamless syncing, and clear organization make managing files feel effortless. The minimalist interface ensures users can quickly locate, store, and share files without any learning curve.

Key takeaway

Dropbox’s focus on simplicity allows users to accomplish their goals—whether sharing documents or accessing files—without unnecessary complexity. As a best app UI, it enhances overall productivity, which is why Dropbox is often cited in lists of top app designs and most well-designed apps.

Slack: Collaboration with Clear Structure

Why it excels

Slack combines a colorful, friendly design with robust functionality. Its UI is intuitive, guiding users through channels, direct messages, and integrations with ease. The clear separation of workspaces and channels reduces clutter and helps users manage communication in a structured way.

Key takeaway

Slack’s strong structure and easy navigation make collaboration seamless. Its use of color and clear differentiation between channels helps teams stay organized without feeling overwhelmed, making it one of the apps with great UX. Slack exemplifies best app interface design by balancing usability and design clarity.

Headspace: Calmness in Every Interaction

Why it excels

Headspace’s UI is designed to reflect the very essence of its purpose—calmness and mindfulness. The app uses soothing colors, simple animations, and a minimalistic design that reduces stress. The onboarding process is gentle, guiding users through meditations and routines without overwhelming them.

Key takeaway

Headspace proves that UI can have an emotional impact on users. As one of the best UX mobile apps, its design promotes calm and mindfulness, creating an environment that encourages relaxation and focus. It ranks highly among the best app user interface designs for its ability to merge simplicity with purpose.

Google Maps: Real-Time Functionality with Simplicity

Why it excels

Google Maps delivers a powerful yet simple user experience. The app handles a vast amount of information—real-time traffic data, location details, transit options—yet presents it in an easy-to-digest way. It uses a clear hierarchy of information, where essential actions like searching or starting navigation are always accessible, while more complex options remain available without cluttering the interface.

Key takeaway

Google Maps excels by balancing complex data with usability. Its UI ensures that users can find what they need quickly without feeling lost in a sea of options, which is crucial for navigation. This app ranks among the most well-designed apps and is considered one of the best user experience apps for its practical, data-driven design.

Medium: Typography and Focus

Why it excels

Medium’s UI stands out for its focus on content readability. By using clean typography, white space, and a distraction-free environment, the app ensures that readers can fully engage with the content. The interface is minimalistic, with clear calls to action for clapping, commenting, and sharing, making it easy to interact without breaking the reading flow.

Key takeaway

Medium proves that simplicity and a focus on content are key to a great user experience. As one of the best UX design mobile apps, it creates a platform where users can engage deeply with articles, making it a best app interface design and a good app UI design.

Pinterest: Visual Discovery and Engagement

Why it excels

Pinterest is designed for visual exploration. Its grid-based layout, infinite scroll, and seamless navigation between pins and boards make it easy for users to discover, save, and organize content. Pinterest’s UI allows users to dive into creative content effortlessly, with a clean interface that highlights imagery without clutter.

Key takeaway

Pinterest’s visual focus and user-friendly layout encourage engagement. Its intuitive grid system and seamless navigation help users stay inspired and organized while browsing content. Pinterest ranks high among the best mobile app designs and coolest app designs for visual discovery.