About

Hi, I’m Jamie Umak! It’s great to meet you. I’m an energetic, results-based designer and remote worker located in Frederick, Maryland.

Jamie Umak
White flowers in Cancún, Mexico
Me in front of a mural with butterfly wings
Me at Paisley Park with piano and guitar in background
Beautiful pie crust with roses I sculpted by hand
Purple and green plant leaves in Cancún, Mexico
Me and a white dove painted on a purple mural

The idea of interconnectivity has always fascinated me.

When I published my first web page, knowing that anyone in the world could view it that instant amazed me. I was excited by the idea of connecting to a bigger world, and I knew I wanted to become a professional designer as my career. Ever since, I’ve been designing and building software interfaces, websites, and other digital products. I’ve learned more than I ever could imagine.

Background and Experience

With 19+ years of experience designing interfaces, my specialty is creating and adding value to services and interfaces centered around the human experience. I am passionate about learning and understanding human behaviors to design meaningful, research-driven interactive products and services that make a difference. I am a critical thinker who loves to solve problems through design from the smallest to the largest scale.

My diverse background has shaped me into a well-balanced designer, empowered with insight to understand the big picture and how everything influences design. I have experience working across a variety of industries including travel, software, eCommerce, healthcare, finance, government, and non-profits. I’ve worked remotely for 14+ years, collaborating with others throughout the U.S. and around the world.

Currently, I’m the first-in-history Principal Service Designer for Humanitarian Services at American Red Cross where I lead, manage, strategize, and design services for a premier flagship application used nationally during extreme large-scale disasters.

Transformative UX and Service Design

I thoroughly enjoy the entire human-centered design process from the strategy and discovery phase to conducting user research, design and systems thinking, planning, usability testing, and iterating to create the best possible user experience. With a background in visual design, I am also skilled at creating UI layouts and HTML/CSS. Today, I love chasing difficult problems and collaborating to build a solution. The best design stories feature a measurable outcome with impact.

I believe that great design can change the world and make a difference in people’s lives. It’s a real-life superpower!

Interests

In my free time I read a lot of UX design books, articles, and blogs and am always learning something new and applying it to my work. I also love to travel, make interactive cards for the holidays, volunteer, watch the night sky, practice yoga and pilates, strength train, meditate, discover new teas, bake pretty pies, and relax at home.

My dedicated home office in Maryland (outside the Washington, D.C. metro area) where communication, collaboration, and UX design happens every day.

Design Philosophy

  • Follow ethical business and design practices.
  • Advocates for the user to create human-centered designs.
  • Creates a seamless user experience for everyone.
  • Information should be accessible and understandable to all.
  • Design is about understanding and helping people.
  • Design doesn’t need to be complicated.

Professional Approach

  • Empathetic to others and all viewpoints.
  • Listens, observes, and examines every detail.
  • Curious and investigates until an answer is found.
  • Not afraid to think big and collaborate on new ideas.
  • Asks questions and then asks more.
  • Tells a story like you would to a friend.
Jamie Umak - UX Certification Badge from Nielsen Norman Group

UX Certified through Nielsen Norman Group with UX Management Specialty

I love attending conferences and learning from others through one of the best UX training programs available.

Jamie Umak - UX Certification Badge from Nielsen Norman Group

Chapter Leader of Interaction Design Foundation Baltimore, MD

I manage the IxDF Baltimore group, mentor designers, and organize UX design meetups for 90+ members.


Recommendations from Clients, Leadership, and Colleagues

From the moment we began working together, Jamie was keenly focused on organizing the work and delivering to the high expectations placed upon her. As the project proceeded from planning to the design phase, she brought many ideas and suggestions forward which further enhanced the outcomes of the design project. I highly recommend Jamie as a design partner for those interested in maintaining high standards in the work process, client service, and the eventual deliverables.

ED H., Executive Director, Student Homelessness Initiative Partnership of Frederick County

Jamie is a talented designer and excellent employee and colleague. Jamie’s work is detail-oriented, creative, and beautiful, and she is gracious about her talents. She is pleasant, communicates well with her colleagues, is an excellent collaborator, takes initiative, has a great attitude and work ethic, is polite and considerate, and does all her work in a timely manner, meeting deadlines and efficiently balancing multiple projects. I have greatly enjoyed working with her for the past four years.

Kari P., Professional Photographer

I have been a business owner for 35 years. In 2009 I hired Jamie as a full-time designer. From day one, Jamie took on the job with professionalism, creativity, and hard work. Jamie has been—by far—the most talented, reliable, and professional employee I have ever had. Jamie worked for NatureScapes just 4 months short of 10 years. She will be missed and will never be replaced with anyone in the same league. She’s that good. Even though she worked from her home office, her work ethic, reliability, and schedule were all on point every single day of her tenure. Her design skills and creativity are second to none as is her forward-thinking of how people use our website, related interfaces, and email systems…

Greg D., President, NatureScapes

For over 3 years, Jamie has consistently surpassed management and client expectations with exceptional creativity, professionalism, and hard work. She has always been the go-to person for the more challenging jobs, and is in continuous high-demand from our project management and leadership teams. Her ability to arrive at the appropriate blend of form and function, whether staying within the bounds of pre-existing constraints or starting from scratch has repeatedly been a unique combination of capabilities, upon which we have relied many times. Seldom do we encounter an individual with as much creative talent who knows how to work in a team, how to take the lead, or work independently.

Eric D., Managing Director

Companies I’ve Had the Honor to Design for on My Career Journey

  • 7-Eleven
  • Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
  • American Academy of Ophthalmology
  • American College of Cardiology
  • American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
  • American Red Cross
  • American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
  • Becton Dickinson
  • BOK Financial Corporation
  • Elsevier
  • George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health
  • Gilead
  • Ginnie Mae
  • Guggenheim Partners
  • The Hastings Center
  • HealthMark Multimedia
  • KeyBank
  • Kohler
  • NatureScapes.net
  • New York Academy of Sciences
  • Nuvolo
  • Rimini Street, Inc.
  • ServiceNow
  • Speedway
  • Student Homelessness Initiative Partnership
  • United Airlines
  • United States Department of Agriculture
  • Weinberg Center for the Arts
  • The Wellness Community
  • Wolters Kluwer
  • And many others!

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