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01

NAME

James Pollack

ROLE

Interactive Artist & Technologist

EMAIL

james@jamesbpollack.com

01

You want to know about

James B. Pollack

I'm a creative person with big ideas.

Design

Make it lovely.

I have a Master of Fine Arts, the terminal degree in Digital Arts and New Media.

Develop

Experienced JavaScript pro.

I've built apps for Smart TVs, web, mobile, AR/VR, and interactive installations.

Write

Words are powerful.

I studied English at Yale University, where I was mentored in fiction by John Crowley and digital literature by Jessica Pressman.

Research

Explore the undiscovered.

I find my way through prototyping, scenario planning, and strategic innovation.

Services

What they've all had in common is added value:

I help agencies and startups by shipping apps, building internal tools, prototyping new concepts, crafting design systems, and writing documentation.

Experience

  • 2005 - 2009 Studied English Langauge and Literature (BA) at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Francis Bergen Memorial Prize in Poetry. Yale IDEA Awards, First Grand Prize Winner (w/Noa Kaplan). Multiple time Sudler Fund recipient, directed plays including "Dark Knight: The Musical", "Closer", and "The Beauty Queen of Leenane". Silliman College. Yale Rugby.
    2009
  • 2010-2011 Digital art piece "mush" blogged about by The New Yorker in a post titled "Mush Triumphant". Interactive version of "Sphiros" displayed in Providence, RI as part of the Electronic Literature Organization's annual conference. "The Harp Aeolian" appeared in 2011 at Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco.
    2010
  • 2012 Graduate Studies Program, Singularity University at NASA Ames Research Center. Certificate in Accelerating and Exponential Change. The Graduate Studies Program brings together a diverse group of the most accomplished experts in academics, business, and government with the top graduate and post graduate students and entrepreneurial leaders from around the globe for an intense 10-week summer experience.
    2012
  • 2010 - 2013 Received the Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Digital Arts and New Media at University of California, Santa Cruz. Regents Fellowship. Member, Expressive Intelligence Studio in the Jack Baskin School of Engineering. Member, Playable Fictions Research Group. Teaching Assistant: Advanced Electronic Music, Muppet Magic - Jim Henson's Art, Intro to Theatrical Design, Introduction to European Visual Culture, Northern Renaissance Art.
    2013
  • 2012 - 2019 Built dozens of experiences for agencies and startups - including apps for Smart TVs, web, mobile, AR/VR/mixed reality, and interactive installations. Created SaaS products: oneclickupgrade.com, promovideomaker.com. Started making interactive filters and lenses.
    2019
  • 2020+ I want to work with smart people on difficult problems.
    Now

Cover letter

STORYTELLING AND CODE: The stories we tell, to ourselves and to others, determine how we experience the world around us. We can affect the world by using our imaginations.

When I was young I wanted to be a wizard. You could find my head buried in any book with a dragon. I dreamed of having magical powers.

Code is the closest thing I've found to magic: if you say the right words in the right order, things happen in the real world.

How I Like to Spend My Time

Research

Prototyping

Building

Reflection

Interactive
50%
Front End
20%
Documentation and Community
20%
Backend / Infrastructure
10%

Get in touch

I'm interested in working with smart people on difficult problems.

QUESTIONS: You send them, I'll respond in kind.
BUSINESS INQUIRIES: Let's do business.
NETWORKS: Yale Alum, UC Santa Cruz Alum

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