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Technology blast from the past…
My first work computer within the Midland Fox publicity dept circa 1993, when we used Corel Draw 2 and whatever version of Pagemaker it was back then.
In a way, two different Midland Fox minibuses…
Seen here on the 11th June 1994 are Mercedes minibuses L328 AUT (Leicester Carriage Builders) & L320 AUT (Alexander), both parked inside Sandacre depot where an interesting comparison of the two bodybuilders can be seen.
A whizz back to 1990 and my BTEC diploma show
Diploma Show, Leicester School of Printing (Southfields College), Westcotes Annexe, Narborough Road, Leicester.
Diploma Show, Leicester School of Printing (Southfields College), Westcotes Annexe, Narborough Road, Leicester.
Now this really IS going back!
Between 1988 and 1990 I studied for my BTEC National Diploma in Graphic Design and these recently found photos are from my end of course diploma show (a big thanks to Deanna for finding them!).
It all seems such a blur now but what sticks in my memory is the loss of my Dad while the show was going on. Sadly he passed away before I could tell him that I passed my course, before I attempted to get into University.
Uni was not to be, so I quit my part-time job at Iceland Frozen Foods and spent 4 months unemployed. After my stint without work I started working within the bus industry at Midland Fox as a Publicity Assistant.
The graphic design world was very different then. Our Macs on the course didn’t have hard drives, so we had to carry a pile of floppies around with our project work on (very frustrating as these disks had a tendency to become corrupt easily). It was fun producing the hand made mockups, cutting out materials with a surgical scalpel and sourcing different cards and paper to produce something neat and impressive. As part of our course we even learned how to layout lead type (we were they last year of the course to do that before it was all done away with) and did a lot of “paste up” work using smelly “Cow Gum”. Of course all unheard of now.
The course covered:
- Typography
- Illustration
- Commercial and communication studies
- Computer layout/paste up
- Production of artwork for camera/print
- Screenprinting
- Offset litho printing
- Lead type make up
- Print finishing and bookbinding
- Photography
By the time I started at the bus company, I only used a few of the above skills there. My PC in my new job, by 1990 had a hard drive running Pagemaker and Corel Draw 2. Both of which miles less user friendly than todays versions.
In fact even since 1990 I have only used my computer skills to good effect and of course with new versions of progams released regularly, it is very difficult to keep up with new practices. As a result I just learn by myself and know from instinct what is right and how to make sure a job leaves me with no mistakes.
But the sad fact is that anyone can “get by” produce a flyers, posters or booklets and it is now relatively easy to muck about with photos. Mind you, there is a difference between dabbling and doing something professionally and I’m happy to say that people I know can spot the difference whenever they see a “job” I’ve been involved with.
Anyone can throw clip art and text onto a page. It is knowing how not to use clipart and how to use your imagination. My initial skills may date from 23 years ago – but the experience I’ve picked up since then has stood me in good stead.
