Sami Syrjä

I work at the intersection of UX thinking and visual design, with a focus on structure, clarity, and usability. My approach design is to understand complex problems through research, iterate with users, and create interfaces that are intuitive and visually pleasing.

My work spans the full product lifecycle, from discovery and problem framing through prototyping, interface design, user testing, and iteration. My design decisions are grounded in research and structured problem-solving while balancing user needs with product and business goals. I work closely with developers throughout implementation, treating design as a collaborative process.

I have over 20 years of design experience: more than 15 years in high-end moving image design, followed by over five years focused on UX and UI design. During that time, I’ve focused primarily on XR product design. At Glue, my work included redesigning the product’s user interface and designing the Hand UI. I’m currently working on other XR projects under NDA.

Designing across both spatial and traditional interfaces has broadened my approach to navigation, hierarchy, accessibility, and interaction design. My background in moving image design also continues to influence how I approach interface design. That experience taught me that clarity and credibility come from deliberate design decisions rather than visual decoration.

I hold a Master’s degree in design from LAB University of Applied Sciences. My thesis developed the RBL Framework, a structured method for defining interface elements through clear semantic roles. It was evaluated with XR design practitioners and later co-published as a practitioner article, reflecting my interest in making design decisions explicit, systematic, and user-centred.

Alongside my design practice, I use AI tools to support research, ideation, prototyping, and content generation. I’m also actively exploring AI-assisted design and development workflows through personal projects, using my own expertise and judgement to evaluate, refine, and integrate the results.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss how my experience could contribute to your team’s work.