If I could do anything I want…
i would do design!
I’d find myself wracking my brain solving the tasks at hand, drafting user journeys, plunging into panic mode due to the plethora of layout possibilities and ideas.
I’d persist in bugging and begging potential users for feedback, delving into negative scenarios, chasing users for interview opportunities, and prototyping low-fidelity designs, all while exploring and tinkering with ever-evolving AI tools.
User-centric design inherently places the user first. However, there often exists a reluctance to invest the requisite time, effort, and resources in truly understanding the users. At times, I feel akin to my favorite character, Don Quixote, as he jousted with windmills.
“To surrender dreams — this may be madness.”
My Path
I always loved art. I began taking classes at art school in Chesnau, Moldova when I was 7 years old. After finishing the art school, I went to Repin Art and Pedagogic college to pursue a degree in classical art.
When I came to the United States, I applied to many art schools and was accepted into the Yale Art Program. However, knowing very little about anything in America, I chose the art program at SJSU, graduating with a BFA in printmaking and minor in design.
I fell in love with digital art and received an AA in Multimedia and Presentations from 2 year course at Masters Institute in the heart of Silicon Valley.
My first non-waitressing job after college was a night shift position as a graphic designer and illustrator in San Jose Mercury News publication.
From there I moved to a design and advertising - brand development agency, Scree Interactive, where i learned to work simultaneously with multiple clients on a variety of tasks with extreme deadlines.
After a year working in the agency, I joined my first high tech start up (Hellobrain.com) where I perfected my UI/UX skills. Ever since then, I have been working in many prominent companies in Silicon Valley.
Art
I am obsessing with fine art: thinking about how much could be taken from the MASTERS and actually applied to all forms of the design.
Travel
I am restless. I need to move all the time:) Traveling is both liberating and humbling. Having visited 39 countries, I am looking forward to discover more.
Love of Learning
I love learning in all aspects of my life., might it be Python, Data Visualization, history lessons, AI related apps and tools, and more.
I have a special penchant for learning languages (no talent there, just a lot of passion for it). I am an avid user of Duolingo and Memrise and I am continuously amazed by design solutions that designers come up with to help users learn. Currently, I am focusing on French and Hebrew, Spanish is next.
My Hustles
I have been fashion obsessed since an early age (thanks to my mom who used to be an amazing seamstress and knit-stress). I had 3 online stores, on different platforms, buying and reselling clothes: new and used. I have learn tremendous, invaluable skills in selling, shipping, advertising, dispute resolution etc.
Equally passionate about animals (I have had them all my life from dogs, cats to reptiles, birds and cute rodents), I ran a dog ‘lodge’ from an online app, where I hosted dogs over short or long period of time. Doing that have taught me of careful observation and planning, being firm and concise and ways of understanding non-verbal expressions - when dealing with pets and lots about dealing with pet ‘parents’.
What My Colleagues/Customers Are Saying…
“Rufina Shteynberg never stopped creatively pursuing better design. Rufina provided the vision behind our design and continued innovating all the way through development, optimizing along the way.”
“Rufina gets working with developers! Couple this with her great esthetic sense as well as a tireless advocate for the end user and you have an excellent designer!”
“Congratulations! You are an honored recipient of TiVo 4th quarter 20/20 Award as part of the GameSkip IFTT Team. Thank you for making TiVo a world leader in creating the ultimate entertainment experience. Congratulations once again on your outstanding efforts!”
“Many thanks to for her endless efforts to modernize our customer facing experience in preparation for stream TV ingestion to the Support Center.”
“Many thanks to Rufina for her great designs and diligence in continuing to push things toward for this release (TiVo DVR Online) while also jumping on projects for STB, 10-foot Atom, and mobile. She has been the lifeboat of the portal platform.”
“Thanks so much for the focused effort in launching this important support pillar. You did amazing work in accelerating the support for all of the territories that launched ahead of forecast. ”
“Rufina, Congratulations on getting this done! The support site looks 100000% better than previous design. The screen shots at the very bottom look beautiful.
Great job!”
“Thanks so much for the focused effort in launching this important support pillar. You did amazing work in accelerating the support for all of the territories that launched ahead of forecast.”