By Arturo Echevers

Years of experience led Dana Potter to land at the University of Louisville’s Graphic and Interaction Design program.

Potter obtained her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from the University of Northern Iowa and her Master’s of Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

She previously taught studio art at Furman University and interactive digital Studies at the University of Northern Iowa.

“Making things, ideating things, is very natural to me. So, I must do that, I have to do that,” she said. 

That drive led her to enroll in the Interactive Digital Studies program at UNI. 

In that program, Potter combined computer science and design to focus on user experience. User experience encompasses the interface design of mobile apps, web pages and interactive technologies like augmented reality. 

Collaborative projects 

Potter collaborates with other artists on various projects. In them, she focuses on engaging people with media art.

Potter’s largest collaborative works are Fortepan US and the Open Air Media Festival.

The Fortepan platform is a photo archive with non-digital, printed photos from the 1900s and 2000s.  

“Like when you go to grandma’s house, and she has that album, and she wants you to look at it with her,” Potter said. “Our goal is to collect images that are representative of the everyday person’s history.” 

Potter guides students during a group critique, March 4, 2026. (Photo by Mel Banta / The Louisville Cardinal)

It began with Fortepan Iowa, but Potter and her team broadened the project. The plan is for Fortepan to reach all 50 states.  

Next year, Potter will be a Bingham Fellow, a faculty fellowship within the School of Arts and Sciences, which she will use to work on Fortepan. Her goal is to expand Fortepan Kentucky.

The Open Air Media Festival screens 12 video artworks from a nationwide pool of applicant. The event will come to Waterfront Park on June 13.

Besides her collaborative projects, Potter has previously hosted workshops that bridge the gap between AI and printmaking.

In art, printmaking uses traditional media such as screen print, etching and lithography.  

Potter knows the challenges that come up when approaching AI in the field.

“There’s a materiality to the graphic language that does not happen in AI. It can’t quite get there exactly,” she said. “It’s a good ideation tool, but it’s not a replacement.” 

Building relationships at U of L

Since joining U of L, Potter has felt very welcomed by the staff, especially since she is very active in meeting new people and making friends. 

Between her colleagues, Potter has collaborated with Professor Dan Elliott to redo the curriculum of the design programs.  

She envisions doing future cross-class projects with disciplines that, even if separate, are inherently connected. Potter gives the example of her graphic design and Elliott’s typography classes collaborating.

Her studio classes have on average 15 students, and Potter makes sure she spends a lot of time talking to them one-on-one, while also giving students the opportunity to build relationships amongst themselves.

Student work from Potter’s class. (Photo by Mel Banta / The Louisville Cardinal)

When reviewing their peers’ work, students in Potter’s classes learn how to look and understand the project. It is not only about the student presenting, but also about how the viewers interpret.

“Everyone’s on the spot. So, no one’s on the spot because we’re all working together.” 

After a semester and a half of teaching classes at U of L, Potter can say that “Students here are just like the best students anywhere.” 

Photo by Mel Banta / The Louisville Cardinal