Hi there. I know some of you, do not have the patience, desire, or time to read this entire blog. I do understand; however, your presence is welcomed, if only for just a few minutes, and I hope you take away a glimmer of nostalgia of “ I do remember that!”
I want to give you a little lesson and share with you my “weird” passion, i.e., creating and designing all kinds of documents for online, printing and distribution. A strange passion, to say the least, however, my brain power is on a high level when I am on a job creating and designing any type of printed document. I love the challenge of using space, texture, color, lines, balance and emphasis to create a piece that will be visually appealing and eye-catching, pleasing my client. Arranging ideas and information on paper is therapeutic for me. Isn’t it ridiculous, someone who really enjoys doing this type of work all day? Yes, I know, weird but let me continue with a little nostalgic remembrance.
Desktop publishing for me began on its arrival in the mid-eighties. I purchased my very first computer – a Radio Shack Tandy 1000SX. What excitement! It had no hard drive, no mouse, 2 disk drives using 5 ¼ floppy disks. Does anyone remember using those things? A Radio Shack salesman delivered the computer to my home and set it up for me. I was in seven heaven; thus, began my love affair with computers and everything and anything I could produce by using one of them. A printer from Radio Shack also accompanied this computer. I was set to go. During this period of time, cut and paste was the norm, I mean literally using scissors and glue! I would then copy the images to the pages so that copies of the layout could be made by Office Depot or Kinkos. I was so impressed with the finished results! My first newsletter, printed for an organization, was done just this way, and my clients were quite pleased. Today, it is hard to imagine producing acceptable work in this manner. Would I do that now? Why would I?
In the late nineties, my love or desire for creating and designing flyers, brochures, event programs, souvenir booklets, cards, etc, increased when I purchased my first Mac. This was pure, unadulterated bliss, because now I could do so much more with graphics and laying out documents for printing. Was I proud and excited! You betcha! I very excitedly purchased a dot matrix printer and loads of continuous-form paper (believe it or not, I still have some on hand). I soon found out, however, to produce a better-looking copy, I would need another type of printer, so I purchased a daisy wheel printer. It was much slower in speed and could not print graphics, but the text print was of a much better quality. Super cool! I was set. I later graduated to laser & Ink Jet, however, that came much later. I purchased clipart magazines where I could cut out images and paste them onto my typeset pages, then off to “Kinkos” so copies of the finished product could be made. LOL, I was so proud!
Since I was employed at a large university, I was able to get more than my share of customers/clients. Preparing different types of documents were not easily done, nor was software readily available for the ordinary person during this era. I was fortunate in that programmers on my job created programs for my office’s computer needs. I took advantage of their talent. During this period, I received training in “Word Processing,” Graphic Design, and Web Design. Web Design was challenging but rewarding. I came away, well-educated in doing what soon would become my life’s past-time and hobby. I enjoy this work. I was quite busy, working full-time doing a job I enjoyed, and working part-time doing a job that enjoyed. My job duties allowed me the special training needed for creating special publications for office use and distributions. I learned a lot. Those were the good “old” early years.
Now days, with the current software for Desktop Publishing, almost anyone can generate their own copies of flyers, brochures, business cards, forms, memos, and any other document that has previously required a skilled designer. However, and it is a BIG however, do almost “anybody” have the sense of design to produce a truly appealing, professional looking document, that could get the attention of the people they are trying to impress. I would say NOT! There is still a need for skilled designers to produce eye-catching, professional documents.
Okay, so now, I want to share with you my Line of Vision for any project that I take on. It could be a flyer, brochure, booklets, presentation, whatever. My process begins by choosing the appropriate software to use. Then first in line is considering the purpose – the Concept, next, how will I design it – Design, next the Layout, now Editing, then Typesetting, next my five-step Proofing, finally it is ready for Printing, and then hurray, Final Product, ready for the client.
So, where do we go from here?
Check out my next upcoming blog, as I break down the process of creating and designing a product.