Methodology
How the rankings are made
Every ranking on Product Design Journal follows the same method: four criteria and one shortlisting process.
Four things we judge
Shipped products
We start from live software. A studio needs products in the category that real users can open today, and unreleased prototypes don’t count toward a ranking.
Case study depth
We read the case studies each studio publishes. The strongest ones explain the decisions the team made and what changed after launch.
Research practice
We look at how a team tests ideas before build, and whether the findings visibly shaped the product.
Engagement fit
We note published minimums and the kind of client a studio is set up for, so each list matches the reader it’s written for.
How a studio makes a list
Each list starts with a shortlist of studios that have shipped products in that category. We read every studio’s published case studies and compare the work against the four criteria above.
A studio’s place on a list reflects how well its shipped work fits that list’s reader. It can sit near the top of one list and not appear on another.