About Giles

Man(Giles) with a beard, glasses, wearing a white cowboy hat, plaid shirt, and red jacket smiling outdoors with rocky cliffs and trees in the background.

I’m a UX/UI designer who turns complex flows into clear, accessible experiences that feel effortless to use. I bring a maker’s mindset to digital work: respect the fundamentals, take pride in craftsmanship, and build things people can rely on.

Quick snapshot

  • Strengths: user flows, information architecture, prototyping, accessibility-first UI, design systems

  • Tools: Figma, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign)

  • Education: UX/UI Design, University of Utah

Recent Work
Resume
Contact Me

Skills and tools

  • UX

    • Information architecture: organize complex content so it’s scannable, predictable, and easy to verify

    • User flows: map decision points, edge cases, and “what happens next” so users don’t get stuck

    • Wireframes and prototyping: move quickly from structure to interaction in Figma

    • Usability testing: write tasks, run sessions, synthesize patterns, and iterate with clear next steps

    • Microcopy: reduce uncertainty for irreversible actions, rules, and system states

    UI

    • Visual hierarchy: make the important thing obvious first

    • Component-based UI: design reusable patterns that scale across screens

    • Responsive layouts: keep flows usable across common breakpoints

    • Accessibility-first design: prioritize clarity, contrast, and readable structure from the start

  • Design

    • Figma: user flows, wireframes, high-fidelity UI, interactive prototypes, dev-ready specs

    • FigJam: workshops, journey mapping, affinity mapping, alignment sessions

    • Adobe Creative Cloud: Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign (visual assets, iconography, layout)

    • Canva: quick concepting and lightweight marketing assets

    Project management and collaboration

    • Trello: sprint planning, task tracking, and lightweight Kanban workflows

    • Notion: project docs, meeting notes, specs, research repositories, and personal organization

    • Asana / ClickUp: cross-functional task tracking (if applicable)

    • Slack / Microsoft Teams: async collaboration and feedback loops

    • Google Workspace: Docs, Sheets, Slides for shared documentation

    Workflow frameworks

    • Kanban: WIP limits, clear status lanes, continuous delivery mindset

    • Agile / Scrum: iterative delivery, sprint planning, retros, stakeholder demos

    • Lean UX: hypothesis-driven design, rapid validation, tight build-measure-learn cycles

    • Making complex admin work feel simple: I turn settings-heavy workflows into clear steps with obvious next actions.

    • Information that’s easy to scan and verify: I redesign dense pages so people can find what matters, confirm details, and troubleshoot quickly.

    • Designing for real constraints: I account for rules, edge cases, and operational realities so the UI holds up outside of happy paths.

    • Polished UI that ships: I align work to reusable components and deliver implementation-ready specs so engineering can build with confidence.

    • Calm, collaborative iteration: I take feedback well, defend decisions when needed, and keep the team focused on outcomes.

Who I am.

  • I design interfaces that communicate clearly, guide people confidently, and earn trust over time. My focus is reducing friction, lowering cognitive load, and building clean UI that still feels human.

  • 1) Understand the job to be done
    I start by learning what people are trying to accomplish, where they get stuck, and what success feels like.

    2) Simplify the path
    I translate insights into clear user flows, strong information architecture, and interaction decisions that support real behavior.

    3) Craft the interface and handoff cleanly
    From wireframes to prototypes to system-ready UI, I aim for experiences that are consistent, accessible, and easy for teams to build and maintain.

  • I’m rooted in cowboy culture and rodeo, where repetition, resilience, and calm execution matter. Design feels the same. You practice the fundamentals, iterate with intention, and build something that holds up in the real world.

    Outside of design, I’m usually with my family, reading fantasy, or playing Dungeons & Dragons.

    My faith is an important part of my life. I’m a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I served a two-year mission in the Philippines. It keeps me grounded and focused on people and purpose.

Life Outside of Work

Giles and his wife Kayla smiling and looking at each other outdoors with tall cliffs and green trees in the background. Both are wearing wide-brimmed hats, glasses, and casual attire.
Giles and Kayla are dancing at their wedding reception, holding hands and smiling at each other, with guests seated at tables in the background.
Giles, Kayla, and Giles' parents standing together in front of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, Kayla is in a white wedding dress holding a bouquet.
Giles, Kayla, and Giles' mom Linda smiling at the camera at the PRCA Wilderness Circuit Finals. All wearing large cowboy hats and glasses.
Two people smiling in a hockey arena, wearing Vancouver Canucks caps, with an empty ice rink and large scoreboard in the background.
Giles, Kayla, and Linda at a Real Salt Lake Game
Giles, Kayla, and Linda standing on the field at America First Field, holding a flag with a logo and a yellow ribbon that reads 'Remember ROGER'. They are smiling and appear happy.
Giles, Kayla, Linda(Giles's mom), Roger(Giles' dad), and Weston(Giles' brother) posing with Diego Luna of Real Salt Lake
Giles, Kayla, and friends on the field at night during a Real Salt Lake game after being featured at halftime, wearing soccer jerseys and scarves, with a stadium full of spectators in the background.
Giles and Kayla holding the Rocky Mountain Cup at America First Field during halftime activities. They are smiling, standing in front of a concrete barrier with a stadium and large screen in the background.
Giles with beard and glasses wearing a cap and a black vest with numerous patches, pins, and badges, standing outdoors during sunset with trees in the background.
Giles in a rice field as a missionary in the Philippines
Giles posing for a picture at the Philippines Manila Temple during his mission.
Giles presenting a hand forged incense burner to a visiting sensei at an Aikido dojo with American and Japanese flags on the wall behind them.

  • I’m Giles Sims, a UX/UI designer who treats digital work like a craft. I grew up building alongside my dad, and that shaped how I approach everything I make: respect the fundamentals, take pride in the details, and build things that last. I’ve carried that mindset into blacksmithing, freelance design, and now product design, where the work is different but the standard is the same. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.

    At my core, I design for clarity. I care about the moment a user hesitates, the point where the interface stops communicating and starts asking people to guess. My goal is to make experiences that feel intuitive on the first pass and dependable over time. That means clean information hierarchy, thoughtful user flows, accessible UI, and interfaces that help people move with confidence, especially when the workflows are complex and the stakes are real.

    My path into UX/UI wasn’t a straight line, and I’m glad it wasn’t. I started in creative work because I love building things, but I kept gravitating toward the problems underneath the visuals. I didn’t just want to make designs that looked good. I wanted to make experiences that worked beautifully. That shift is what led me into formal UX/UI training through the University of Utah, where I sharpened my skills in research, wireframing, prototyping, and user-centered design, and learned how to turn messy constraints into something clear, usable, and buildable.

    A lot of my philosophy comes from cowboy culture and rodeo. In that world, you don’t get points for flash. You get results from fundamentals, repetition, and calm execution. UX is the same. Learn the constraints. Practice the basics. Iterate with intention. Build something people can rely on.

    Some of my favorite work has been about belonging. Sports has been a big part of that, especially Real Salt Lake. Designing a stadium tifo reminded me what great design can do without a single word. It can unify a crowd, tell a story at scale, and turn a moment into a memory. That’s the kind of design that sticks with you.

    I’ve also used design for things that are deeply personal. “Team Roger” was created during my dad’s two-year battle with colon cancer. I designed the crest and supporting apparel as a symbol for my family, something that could carry strength, humor, and love through a hard season. That project taught me that design is not just communication, it’s a way to hold meaning.

    Today, I’m a Contract UX/UI Designer on Axomo (Namify), shipping Figma prototypes and implementation-ready specs for B2B SaaS admin workflows. I work closely with stakeholders, map the real-world process end to end, design for edge cases and constraints, and validate decisions through usability testing. I care a lot about building systems that reduce support friction and help users feel in control.

    My toolkit is practical and production-minded: Figma, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign), and Canva. My strengths sit at the intersection of structure and craft, user flows, information architecture, interaction design, and design systems, paired with a sharp eye for hierarchy, typography, and accessibility.

    Outside of work, my life is rooted in family. I met my wife, Kayla, in 2016, and we got married that same year. Since then, we’ve built a life together across a few states, living in Utah, New Mexico, and Texas before returning home to Utah in 2019. That stretch of moving and rebuilding taught me how to adapt fast, stay steady under change, and keep my priorities straight.

    I’m usually reading fantasy or playing Dungeons and Dragons when I’m not designing. My faith matters to me too. I’m a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I served a two-year mission in the Philippines. It keeps me grounded and people-focused, and it influences the way I try to show up in teams.

    At the end of the day, I’m here to build things that work. Clear experiences. Clean UI. Strong fundamentals. The kind of design that earns trust and holds up over time.

    Modern UX. Old-school craftsmanship.