Founder, Creative Director Graphita, Inc.
San Francisco Bay Area
- Current
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- Founder, Creative Director at Graphita, Inc.
- Principal and Creative Director at WildOutWest, LLC
- Past
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- Partner, Creative Director at Shantz, Martin and Partners
- Vice President at Glenn Martinez and Associates
- Co-Founder at Systems Research and Development
- Education
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- Southbank, London
- Recommended
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1 person has recommended David - Connections
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137
connections
- Industry
- Computer Software
- Websites
David Shantz’s Summary
I have had a key role in the early stages of the development of a long list of successful new ventures. I have been enthusiastically working on launching new ideas since 1983. My role has primarily been in helping to build companies by creating brand platforms that communicate real sustainable value in a way that is compelling and differentiated. Real success has been achieved when we have been able to "get it right" early on and build on the brand at every point of contact.
Graphita, Inc. (founded 2006)
Altamira Software (purchased by Microsoft)
StarPress Multimedia
MPOWER /401kForum (Morningstar)
Bohan Group (private)
CoRelation (DigiMine)
Atomic Tangerine (SRI)
Trigo (acquired by IBM)
ClearBlue Technologies (Navisite)
Actona (Sequoia - acquired by Cisco)
Encorus (Brokat/FirstData)
Velosant (Taxware/FirstData)
Navio (DRM)
Morphic
Bambu White Rum and Bulldog Gin (Angel Investor and Brand Consultant)
SRD (acquired by IBM)
I have also been responsible as senior creative director for large scale marketing initiatives for companies that we did not have a hand in starting: Hewlett Packard, Teledyne Laars and Optical Coating Labs (JDS Uniphase), BMW, Safeway Stores, Lucky Stores, Korbel, California Cooler,
David Shantz’s Specialties:
1. Derailing programmed thinking.
2. Removing nonsense to get at the real point of an action or communication.
3. I believe people are tired of dragging their eyes across little lines of written information on computer screens and are about to discover the real power of pictures for communication.
David Shantz’s Experience
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Founder, Creative Director
Graphita, Inc.
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Motion Pictures and Film industry)
August 2006 — Present (2 years)
Graphita is a developer of expressive graphical effects for digital photos. In early 2007, we introduced LiveStudio, a suite of stunningly fun to use effects featuring a dynamic interface and real-time print resolution rendering.
Graphita is founded on the principal that people have a real need to create and that they wouldn’t mind having fun doing it. We have developed an entertaining application for sharing creative visual expression, which we hope will be more interesting than mere words.
Our first version of Live Studio application is up an running: www.graphita.com We have traffic from around the world, and it's growing. Drop me a line with feedback, ideas or partnership discussions. We are currently involved with licensing and direct integrations with picture sharing sites.
Some examples of images created with Live Studio:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidshantz/sets/72157600919044373/ -
Principal and Creative Director
WildOutWest, LLC
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)
January 1997 — Present (11 years 7 months)
We are the company that is called when people get tired of the same old, programmed thinking. Our work begins with thorough, detailed research, strong strategic planning and an "anything is possible" creative approach. This approach works well with companies that want to get things done, rather than spend time shuffling documents with the consulting firms. It also works well with start-ups, who have no choice but to get things done efficiently.
Partners are directly involved with project management. Everyone gets involved with the creative process and we are religious about meeting deadlines and budgets.
We would welcome skills in: Graphic design, applied arts, copywriting, linguistics / language, market research and rustling. -
Partner, Creative Director
Shantz, Martin and Partners
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)
January 1990 — December 1998 (9 years)
Going out on your own is never easy. We began on a wing and a prayer and quickly found a few excellent clients. I deliberately changed focus from the consumer packaging I had been doing to develop a specific expertise in companies that were using technology as their primary point of differentiation. Our largest client was OCLI, now part of JDS Uniphase. We changed the way they marketed optical components and created consumer facing branding. We were fortunate to have been able to launch several important new companies: and when Alvy Ray Smith, (co-founder of PIXAR) started his new software firm, Altamira, we were able to help introduce the world to image editing with Alpha Channels. We developed several significant new multimedia products for a spin-off of WordStar named StarPress including Sports Illustrated Interactive and several innovative new titles. The partnership ultimately restructured to become what is now WildOutWest.
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Vice President
Glenn Martinez and Associates
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)
1985 — 1990 (5 years)
We were a small cadre known for creative leadership in package design, especially for developing new consumer products. I was primarily responsible for several landmark projects; The first was California Cooler - I was fortunate to have met the founders of this company at an early stage and the development of that brand was one of the first of many projects with national notoriety that I brought to the firm.
- We created the first Wine-in-a-Box for Giummarra Vineyards
- Created the first major domestic bottled water brand: Crystal Geyser
- Developed "Women's Choice" the first female condom.
- Created high value private label strategies for several major national supermarket chains: Safeway, Lucky Stores, Fleming Foods and Market Wholesale Grocery
In addition to some of the greatest California wine producers, our client list included the usual litany of major national brands. -
Co-Founder
Systems Research and Development
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Software industry)
1983 — 1985 (2 years)
We started this company as a sort of alternate MBA program, as our college funds ultimately carried the angel round. I was responsible for Public Relations and Marketing. Everyone managed fundraising. Our image was strong and our message easy to understand, allowing us to close a good deal of funding and to hire some top programming talent. We developed a platform of credibility and quickly gained traction in the marketplace. The whole process proved much more valuable than an MBA. One of the original founders, Jeff Jonas continued on, and SRD was acquired by IBM two years ago.
David Shantz’s Education
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Southbank, London
Additional Information
David Shantz’s Websites:
David Shantz’s Interests:
http://www.graphita.com/photog/m/mbr0024679/83p65309/r0112083/77c16qz3.jpg
David Shantz’s Groups:
AMA (American Marketing Association), SDForum (Software Developers Forum), SVASE (Silicon Valley Assoc of Startup Entrepreneurs), Churchill Club, PDMA (Product Development and Management Assoc.), Mashable, Demo
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SDForum member
David Shantz’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- new ventures
- job inquiries
- expertise requests
- business deals
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
