The People of Cyberian Frontier

We are a small group of creative and marketing professionals serving the technical and new media needs of advertising agencies, design firms, and independent marketing professionals. We live and work in remote locations while using the power of the Internet and Web applications to seemlessly and efficiently collaborate with one another and our clients.

Patrick Harris

I got my start in the advertising and design industry as a typesetter just before the dawn of the desktop publishing revolution in the late 80's. From there I moved on to learn computer based pre-press, digital assett management and electronic publishing. I built my first Web site in the early 90's in a simple text editor and I still prefer the efficiency and control offered by hand-coding standards-based html -- even today.

On the server side I have current working experience with Perl, PHP, mySQL and MivaScript. I would classify myself as a scriptor, not a programmer - the difference being that programmers develop works of greater complexity and scope. Most of my server-side development experience continues to be basic database development - often associated with Web based components of direct marketing campaigns. Online registration systems, instant insurance quotes, searchable directories, etc..

Most of my recent work has focused on developing and deploying Web sites in open source content management systems. It is clear to me that the future of Web sites is the separation of content from interface and empowering the end client to maintain their own Web site without sacrificing the appearance and quality of the design.

Although my primary role in most projects focuses on my technology skills I am often called upon to participate in the development of marketing strategies. Especially when it involves interactive media. I strongly believe that technology can be used strategically to achieve marketing goals. And my diverse experience in the advertising industry allows me to clearly hear the goals and needs from all sides and offer new technological solutions that fulfill those needs.

Mel Shapcott

Mel is a graphic artist holding a BFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University. Over the past ten years she has designed for both print and Web, developing talents in illustration and creative identity. She embraces both digital and traditional artforms, with varied experiences ranging from stone lithography to computer animation.

Mel currently enjoys living "off-the-grid" in the Painted Desert of Arizona, where she pursues her career, as well as her passions. She is active in her community, having served as the director of the local community center and as coordinator of the first annual art festival in Concho. Mel is a skilled watercolorist, printmaker and metalsmith, who inspires art in her community as a workshop leader and instructor.