Natalie Rumak | Artist and Developer

About Me

Hi, I'm Natalie! I love creating interactive, creative, and human-centered products.

I currently work at Brex as a Software Engineer II on the website design systems team. In this role I have supported product launches by building new interactive components and extending our modules in our CMS to enhance our design language. My focus is supporting other teams in being able to update the site quickly and to a high standard.

I previously worked at TDSynnex as a Senior Digital Marketing Specialist / Web Developer, with a focus in developing interactive web experiences for clients like IBM, HPE, Microsoft Surface, and Dell Technologies. In this role, I often had the opportunity to explore new creative ideas through rapid prototyping and brainstorming with the design team. It gave me the chance to be a consultant for tech limitations, but also allowed me to give creative input from project start to finish.

I also previously worked in game development as an environment artist at Shiny Bolt, LLC. From painting full illustrations, to 3D modeling and animating props for the game, this role let me fully explore my creative skills and gave me experience working with some interesting programs like Maya, Zbrush, and the Unity Game Engine!

No matter what I do, I love learning new skills and applying both technology and creativity to my work.

Projects

Front-End Developer

Brex Website

As part of the website design systems team, my priority is creating a system of components and processes that make it as easy as possible for cross functional teams to launch new pages and edit existing content on the site using our CMS, while keeping our system standards and monitoring performance.

Front-End Developer

Common Unity - Manufacturing

for Hewlett Packard Enterprise

As lead developer on this project, I was responsible for developing interactive 3D web experiences that would promote user interest in HPE's campaign. Using the existing framework created for the first two Common Unity sites, I worked with the design team to enhance the experience with more interactions and enticing animations, helping us win the first 2 Tampa Bay Addy Awards for this campaign: Gold Award for "Websites and UX Design" and Best of the Bay Award for "Digital & Interactive"

Front-End Developer

Remote Reimagined

for Dell Technologies

My roles for this project include working as a technical consultant during initial concepting and as the sole developer for the site. I experimented with and applied GSAP and anime.js to create interesting transitions, progressive storytelling and micro-animations for the UI. This project challenged me to learn a completely new system for animating on the web! It also received a Silver Addy for "Websites and UX Design" by AAF Tampa Bay.

Front-End Developer

Illuminate Solutions

for IBM

A new campaign and a fresh start! I was the primary developer on this project and was given the opportunity to create the framework for the entire site. Making use of .Net components and BEM methodology for my css, I was able to write clean, reusable code that allowed for quick edits in this fast-paced production timeline. I was also able to fine-tune the 3D transitions so that interactions felt snappy and responsive.

Front-End Developer

Common Unity - IOT

for Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Another iteration in the HPE Common Unity campaign, this time focused on the Internet of Things. For this site, we created a whole new user experience based around scrolling and miniature 3D platforms. I worked closely with our 3D modeling specialist and design lead to coordinate the functionality of the site as well as for asset hand-off. Our experimentation paid off with another Addy Award, Gold for "Websites and UX Design"!

VR Developer

Extaordinary Experiences Everyday

for Microsoft Surface

Though I had never done any development for VR before, I was ready for the challenge! My role in this project included importing and lighting 3D assets, converting 2D mockups into 3D UI systems, animating the UI, configuring the controllers, and testing. Over the course of a few weeks I learned C#, how to write and integrate code in the Unity game engine, and how to deploy VR apps. I loved working on something completely new like this and learning along the way! This project won a Silver Addy in the "Virtual Reality" category!

Environment Artist

Prisma Game

for Shiny Bolt, LLC

Before I built sites, I worked in game development as an artist! I used tools like Maya, Zbrush, Substance Painter, Unity Game Engine, Photoshop, and more to create 3D assets for our game. I also was involved in digitally painting assets for marketing, for background images and as concept art. Here is one example of a 3D model I designed, modeled, and textured – a magical shield in the style of World of Warcraft!

Education

I have a Bachelor's of Science in Digital Arts and Sciences from the University of Florida. This degree was a combination of the computer science curriculum, human-computer interaction and 3D arts. I worked on a lot of interesting projects during my time at UF including a stick figure animation program using Java Swing GUI, a tutoring web app using MEAN.JS, OpenGL recreation of the Unblock me app, and a blind maze using 3D audio and Matlab.