D. Ivan Alcantara was born in Valparaiso, Indiana on March 5, 1973, the youngest of three brothers. His father had come to the United States from Honduras in the 1960's, and his mother had lived in Indiana for most of her life. Ivan studied piano in early childhood, and most of the way through grade school. When he was in the 5th grade, his mother gave him her old saxophone, having played herself when she was in school.
Ivan continued studying music through middle school and high school. At North Side High School, he was a member of the marching band, concert band, and jazz band, eventually playing first chair tenor saxophone in the Wildsiders, the top jazz band in the school. He went on to win several awards for outstanding improvisational skill.
After graduation in 1991, Ivan enjoyed a much needed summer vacation. The following fall, he began his studies at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana where he double majored in general music and studio arts. While at DePauw, he was a member of the DePauw University Concert Band, and the DePauw University Jazz band, where he continued as a regular soloist. The jazz band performed off campus, and had a number of paid gigs at nearby venues. Ivan also performed in many recitals with a saxophone quartet, a group festively called "The Lizards."
During his senior year at college, Ivan wrote a great deal of original music, and found a way to combine his visual and aural interests. For his senior project, Ivan produced an hour-long performance piece, including choreography, sculpture, spoken word, and live performance of several pieces he had written during the year. This performance piece was videotaped and broadcast on the University's television station, and was the highlight of Ivan’s time at DePauw. He graduated in 1995 after a successful, albeit busy, college experience.
After graduation, Ivan was involved with a Fort Wayne based rock ensemble called Xenolith. The band performed original music almost exclusively, although they were known to play a handful of cover songs. While involved with Xenolith, Ivan acted as the chief lyricist and lead singer, and also played keyboards and saxophone. Xenolith performed various gigs at local pubs, but unfortunately, the group disbanded in early 1998.
In 1999, Ivan was hired by Apollo Design Technologies in Fort Wayne. There he worked primarily as an illustrator, designing gobos for Apollo's catalog. It was his first experience working in computer based graphic design, and it launched his current career.
In the fall of 2000, Ivan relocated to the Tampa Bay area where he worked for Concurrent Technologies Corporation, a company providing distance learning courseware for the Chief of Naval Education Training (CNET) and Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR).
In October of 2003, Ivan had the opportunity to work for EarthLink, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia. There, he worked in EarthLink's training department as the chief graphic consultant. It was Ivan’s duty to unify the look and feel of all EarthLink training materials. He played a significant role in the selection of EarthLink’s first Learning Management System, subsequently designing the look of its primary user interface. In addition, he worked on EarthLink’s certification program, designing icons to unify EarthLink’s eLearning with its Instructor Led Training.
In March of 2007, Ivan returned to the Tampa Bay area, this time to Palm Harbor, Florida. Later that year, he acquired work with Thomas Sign & Awning Company where he served as a graphic artist in sign design. In 2009, he was given the task of creating training documentation for the use of a new intranet tool to create branding books, booklets with before and after pictures of all exisiting signage at a given site, and the proposed replacement signage. He was later placed in charge of the branding book team, and was resposible for training new employees in the use of the new tool.
In March of 2012, Ivan returned to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he currently resides.
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