About Me

Laura Szumylo

Hi, I’m Laura, a UX designer with 5+ years of experience working with small businesses and first-time founders.

I didn’t come from a traditional UX background. Over the years, I’ve worn many hats: photographer, small business owner, healthcare admin, and marketer. After a long string of career pivots, I discovered UX design and instantly saw how it connected everything I’d done before.

I studied UX while working full-time, squeezing in bootcamp assignments after long days in the office. It wasn’t easy, but it taught me how to adapt, persevere, and bet on myself.

Today, I’m a freelance UX designer and mentor. I’ve worked with over 200 design students and kept noticing the same issue: case studies often left out key details, not because the work wasn’t done, but because no one had clearly explained what hiring managers are actually looking for.

That’s why I started UX Gaps.

During mentoring sessions, students would ask smart follow-up questions, and I realized there wasn’t a clear, up-to-date place to send them. Most online resources were vague, outdated, or more confusing than helpful.

So I decided to build what was missing.

UX Gaps exists to fill in the parts that often get skipped, with practical advice, real-world examples, and clear guidance for junior designers and career changers. No fluff. Just the insights that actually help you grow.

Coming Soon

• Self-paced courses to build your skills

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Margins and Gutters: Spacing That Brings Your Grid to Life

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When it comes to grid-based design, margins and gutters are often the unsung heroes. While columns define where your content sits, margins and gutters define how your content breathes and interacts within that space. They create the invisible structure that guides the eye and helps users understand the hierarchy and flow of information. Understanding how to size and justify these values is a key part of designing flexible, readable layouts, especially when you’re building across multiple screen sizes. “Eyeballing it” won’t cut it when a stakeholder asks why your spacing feels off. You should be able to explain why you chose the numbers you did, and that’s what this post is all about. What Are Margins and Gutters? Gutters are the spaces between columns. They keep content from feeling cramped and ensure text and images don’t run into each other. Margins are the space on the outer edges of the grid. They keep content from hugging the edges of the screen and give your layout room to brea...
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Is Your Case Study a Barrier or a Breakthrough?

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The Art of Interviewing

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