Web Design & Development Consultant
Santa Barbara, California Area
- Current
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- Principal at Silverthreaded
- Past
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- Director of Information Design at Computer Motion
- Producer at DigitalMed, Inc.
- Director of Information Design at Salus Media
- Senior Producer at Addictive Media / Netlojix Communications
- Senior Producer at Digital Media International
- Research Support Specialist at Interval Research Corporation
- Administrative Assistant at Advent Software
- Education
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- Cornell University
- Freie Universität Berlin
- Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
- Stanford University
- Recommended
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- Industry
- Internet
- Websites
Daniel L. Potter’s Summary
Daniel Potter runs Silverthreaded, a boutique web design & development studio located in Santa Barbara. The web standards movement continues to inspire the creative and technical direction of Silverthreaded. Current clients include Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Xeriton, Zoomerang, AngioDynamics, Trimedia Communications (Switzerland), FastSpring, Morpheus Software, Public/Private Ventures and The Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations (CDCBA).
Daniel started his career in market research & technology design at Paul Allen's famed Interval Research Corp. in the mid-1990s, serving as research archivist and web designer for qualitative & quantitative research conducted at Lollapalooza concerts. He contributed to the work that led to the launch of Purple Moon and the advent of girls gaming, as well as to pioneering efforts to develop video logging & parsing technologies.
He went on to become Senior Producer at Addictive Media, designing & producing two location-based entertainment (LBE) attractions for Walt Disney Imagineering and eight published PC games in the family market for Mattel Media, The Learning Company and other prominent interactive publishers. Many of these titles are still in print and have been translated into diverse languages.
Daniel holds a BA from Stanford University in Honors Humanities, an MA in Comparative Literature from Cornell University, and has also studied at the Wilhelms-Westfälische Universität Münster and the Freie Universität Berlin on Fulbright and DAAD scholarships. He is fluent in German and French.
As comfortable working in PHP as he is in Photoshop, he regularly exercises both sides of his brain, and lets yoga and meditation take care of his body and spirit. He makes a mean espresso, reads widely and listens to a lot of ambient music.
Daniel L. Potter’s Specialties:
web design & development (CSS | xhtml | PHP | MySQL) -- IA -- project management -- SEO -- Flash CS3 - DOM scripting - Ajax - database design -- graphic design -- print design -- copy writing & editing -- QA -- rapid prototyping -- branding -- requirements -- marketing communications -- html email design -- UI design -- narrative -- translation & localization -- game design -- digital video editing - training presentations - software demo screencasts - CMS & blog platforms
Daniel L. Potter’s Experience
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Principal
Silverthreaded
(Internet industry)
January 2004 — Present (4 years 8 months)
Silverthreaded offers professional, painless web design & development for corporate, small business and non-profit clients. Our areas of expertise include xhtml markup & CSS layout; PHP scripting; lightweight Ajax integration (current focus: Dojo, mootools); information architecture; content discovery & structuring; database design & development; graphics production; content development; technical documentation; DNS & hosting facilitation; and ongoing site maintenance. While boutique in size, Silverthreaded has successfully handled development & project management of large corporate web refresh projects -- planning, design, stakeholder interviews, CMS publishing, database design, resource allocation, review cycles and QA. We also have significant hands-on experience in SEO - via a comprehensive web standards approach - landing page design and screencast production.
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Director of Information Design
Computer Motion
(Public Company; 51-200 employees; RBOT; Marketing and Advertising industry)
March 2003 — July 2003 (5 months)
Taking the project management lead for the Marketing Communications department of this prominent medical device company, Daniel produced documentation, design and copy for interactive and print products. On the occasion of the company's acquisition by Intuitive Surgical, Inc., he developed a systematic communications strategy and project plan. Prior to his employment at Computer Motion, Daniel consulted for the company as discovery specialist, information architect and copy writer in a major refresh of the public web site.
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Producer
DigitalMed, Inc.
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)
October 2002 — March 2003 (6 months)
For DigitalMed, an eLearning technology and content company serving the second-largest hospital system in the US, Daniel conducted information design, project management and technology acquisition for the Learning Content Management System (LCMS). He produced detailed documentation and project plans, while managing teams and vendors.
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Director of Information Design
Salus Media
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)
August 2000 — January 2001 (6 months)
Daniel directed startup Salus Media's information architecture and content design using XML and XSLT. Salus' "LifeStyles" product comprised a suite of web-based content modules serving dynamic health and wellness programs via corporate intranets.
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Senior Producer
Addictive Media / Netlojix Communications
(Internet industry)
1999 — 2000 (1 year)
After DMI was acquired by Netlojix Communications and rebranded as Addictive Media, Daniel continued game & LBE design & project management for clients Walt Disney Imagineering and Mattel Media. He designed and produced products in the Purple Moon CD-ROM series for Mattel and acted as Senior Producer for a major interactive music attraction for DisneyQuest (Orlando & Chicago). He also produced the Addictive Media website and marketing reel, as well as Netlojix' corporate website and Intranet.
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Senior Producer
Digital Media International
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Computer Software industry)
July 1998 — July 1999 (1 year 1 month)
For this successful interactive development studio, Daniel produced seven on-time, on-budget CD-ROM titles and two Location Based Entertainment attractions for industry-leading publishers. Major clients included Walt Disney Imagineering, Mattel Media and The Learning Company. He oversaw client relations; wrote design documents and technical specifications; handled milestone deliverables through Alpha, Beta and Gold phases; directed art and engineering production and QA; managed external animation teams; designed and implemented video projects; and led multiple web design projects.
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Research Support Specialist
Interval Research Corporation
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Market Research industry)
May 1994 — June 1996 (2 years 2 months)
For Interval Research, an innovative and influential R&D company founded by Paul Allen, Daniel contributed to a major qualitative and quantitative market research project at Lollapalooza concerts, in collaboration with market research firms ImageNet and Cheskin-Masten. Daniel conducted field research via on site and follow-up focus group interviews, Hi8 video, and photography. He presented findings in the form of a large-scale, hand-coded website documenting user experience at the Electric Carnival multimedia tent, focus group findings and field video research. He contributed to development of innovative multi-user, real-time video logging systems and led internal classes and reading groups on web design and documentary media. He hosted a workshop visit by Douglas Rushkoff, researched & reported on online communities for Thomas Dolby, and participated in the research into gender differences in play that led to the launch of Purple Moon and the advent of girls' gaming.
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Administrative Assistant
Advent Software
(Public Company; 11-50 employees; ADVS; Computer Software industry)
October 1985 — August 1986 (11 months)
Straight out of college, Daniel worked for Advent when it was tiny, doing a hundred small things. We celebrated the 500th sale at Chez Panisse. Advent is now a major corporation (Nasdaq: ADVS); it was nice to be there at the beginning of something Big.
Daniel L. Potter’s Education
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Cornell University
M.A., Comparative Literature, 1986 — 1992
Coursework with Geoff Waite, Peter Hohendahl, Susan Buck-Morss, Phil Lewis, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Richard Klein et al. Taught 6 semesters freshman writing program (self-designed courses on literature & film). Research in Paris on Chris Marker. MA exams on Benjamin, Aragon, Breton, Vertov, Kafka and Kluge. PhD dissertation topic: "Essay Film & the Art of Memory."
- Activities and Societies:
- DAAD Fellow 1988-89, Berlin
Einaudi Research Grant, Paris, 1991
Mellon Dissertation Scholarship, 1992
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Freie Universität Berlin
Germanistiik, Philosophie 1988 — 1989
Detailed research project on Alexander Kluge, media theory & the history of documentary film; coursework on Kant, Benjamin, Blanchot, Levinas, Bataille, Kittler, Bolz, McLuhan.
- Activities and Societies:
- DAAD Scholarship
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Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Germanistik, Philosophie 1984 — 1985
Research project on Walter Benjamin. Coursework in Enlightenment social theory; East German literature; Classical literature; Heidegger, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche.
- Activities and Societies:
- Fulbright Fellowship
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Stanford University
B.A., Honors Humanities, 1979 — 1984
Studied French, German and Russian literature. Heard Michel Foucault present the Tanner lectures. Lived at PhiPsi, co-operative living & rock 'n' roll fluidly merged. Worked at the Gift & Exchange division of Green Library. Shopped at Chimaera Books & Records. Saw the Clash play in Florence. Saw the Dead play at Frost. Participated in overseas programs in Tours, France and {W} Berlin. Honors thesis on Baudelaire & Mayakovsky. Owned a typewriter. Didn't own a car.
- Activities and Societies:
- Publication of Honors Thesis by Stanford University, Humanities Monograph series. Upon graduation, continued education in Germany on a Fulbright Fellowship.
Additional Information
Daniel L. Potter’s Websites:
Daniel L. Potter’s Interests:
design, web design, CSS, web standards, grid systems, information architecture, information design, SEO, typography, user experience design, user interface design, eblasts, database design, branding, corporate refresh, web redesign, stakeholder interviews, marketing communications, blogosphere, SXSW, A List Apart, podcasting, digital video production, corporate training, documentary film, essay film, media theory, Flash, Flash video, book design, PHP, DOM scripting, Javascript, Ruby on Rails, AJAX, Web 2.0, findability, everyware, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, meditation, acupuncture, yoga, massage, skiing, tennis, Feng Shui, Vastu, sacred geometry, visual anthropology, film festivals
Daniel L. Potter’s Groups:
Project Management Institute, DAAD, Fulbright, Stanford Alumni Association, Web Standards Group, Basecamp, Rigpa, Typepad, Tribe.net, LinkedIn, SXSW, eMusic, Shambhala, CSS-Discuss, Amnesty International, Berlinale Filmfestspiele, Essayfilm.net, ChrisMarker.org, Spiritual Response Association, Zaadz, Flickr, Typepad, 43Things
Daniel L. Potter’s Honors:
Stanford Honors Humanities Monograph Series: Thesis Publication, 1984
Fulbright Fellowship 1984-95, Münster, W. Germany
DAAD Fellowship 1988-89, Berlin, W. Germany
Einaudi Scholarship 1991, Paris, France
Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship 1992, Ithaca & San Francisco
Daniel L. Potter’s Contact Settings
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