A portrait photo of the designer

Kaila VanSumer

Senior Product Designer

I’m Kaila, a Senior Product Designer and team lead with 8 years of experience across research, CX, and product design. I hold a B.Sc. in Psychology and have been designing software professionally since 2019.

Projects

UI Design Showcase

A collection of high-fidelity screens from products, websites, and concepts I've worked on over the past 5 years.

Case Study: Supplier Link

Lead product designer for a 9 month design effort and the co-creation of a design system to support a suite of products for group travel planners. Our work resulted in a successful website and MVP launch with a steady adoption of users.

Case Study: ExamKrackers

Lead product designer and strategist for a 3 week discovery focused on evaluative research and rapid prototyping. Our research resulted in a backlog of UX opportunities prioritized by value and effort.

Case Study: KindKiosk

Solo designer for a 1 week project to evaluate and improve the UX and visual design of an MVP iPad app before bringing the product to market. My work resulted in $350k in leads at the first conference alone.

Writing

The cost of waiting

March 9, 2025

About

As a designer, my work is hypothesis-driven, methodical, and user-centered. I believe good UX is accomplished through collaborative, iterative prototyping and testing of ideas and solutions. I love working cross-functionally to explore the boundaries of what’s possible and delivering design that helps users and impacts key metrics for the business.

As a leader, I believe in taking responsibility, giving credit to others, and getting the best out of a team through individual support, encouragement, and recognition. I work hard to create psychological safety by communicating clearly, modeling expectations, and facilitating open dialogue.

As a human, my approach to life is enthusiastic and joyful. I value craftsmanship, family, personal achievement, wellness, presence, and introspection. I love people, and I love this work. Coffee and hiking are also great.

Skills

User Research Workshops Information Architecture Wireframing Prototyping Usability Testing Interaction Design UI Design Figma Accessibility HTML CSS Tailwind CSS Javascript GitHub Design Systems

Links