Biography

John Sharp is a creative director, information architect, and graphic designer for entertainment, arts, and educational projects. He is also a partner in the small design and technology company, Supercosm. He has been involved in art and design for 18 years in a variety of media, including: interactive media, print design, motion graphics, writing, and radio and club DJ work.

John entered the world of design by printing T-shirts on his parents' kitchen table and mixing tapes in high school. College life and the music scene in Athens, Georgia consumed John. He photographed bands, designed posters for town clubs, hosted a punk rock radio show, and helped start a dance club scene.

From this experience, two passions emerged—a love of graphic design and a fascination with the creation and presentation of media experiences. Today, John helps clients entertain, educate, and organize. Past clients include the Dia Art Foundation, Electronic Arts Intermix, Matthew Barney, Microsoft, The New 42nd Street, PBS Online, Scholastic, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts. His work has been recognized by ID, the Art Director's Club, and the Webby Awards.

John received a BFA from the University of Georgia, and an MA and PhD candidacy in the History of Art from Indiana University. He has taught in the graduate Design & Technology Program at Parsons School of Design and is currently a faculty member in the Interactive Design and Game Development program at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Projects

3D&I

What is design? To give 9 – 12 year olds a head start in answering this time-honored question, the Doc Tank, Pentagram, and Supercosm developed 3d&I to teach kids about design. A complex mix of Flash, HTML, and Java, 3d&I includes design simulations, stories about design and designers, and an online forum for kids to discuss and display their designs. 3d&I is part of a grant initiative of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to create educational online experiences for kids.

Matthew Barney Database

The creation of Matthew Barney's artwork encompasses innumerable props, media, documents, plans, drawings, and objects. And then, there are the artworks themselves: photographs, drawings, films, installations, etc. To help keep track of everything, Supercosm worked with Matthew's staff to develop a comprehensive database. The project was built using Java, SQL, Resin, and HTML to allow Barney and his staff global access to their invaluable tool.