One of our print vendors stopped by the studio this morning and dropped off an old job (circa 1989) of ours that had gathered dust in a storage drawer. It was a camera-ready art board from the golden age of graphic design; it made the hairs on my neck stand up.

It was as though I was standing before an ancient torture device. It brought back memories of typesetting machines that had more codes than a national telephone directory, Rubylith masking film, and let’s not forget the dreaded wax machine. For those who never experienced it, a wax machine may sound like something used for removal of unwanted hair. However, while this machine did not remove hair, it was equally as painful, and sometimes led you to pull out your own hair. It was mess to deal with. Then there was working with Letraset® rub-on letters. This was like getting a massage from a 400 lb. gorilla, one wrong rub and it was over. Oh yes, let’s not forget the stat camera which was the size of a room and used to take pictures the size of postage stamps. If you wanted to see a comp you drew it, then colored it using Pantone® markers. The smell from the combination of markers and spray mount would invoke a euphoric trip one may have experienced at a Grateful Dead concert. As painful as it all was, it led us to a greater appreciation of the graphic design processes today. Not a day goes by that I do not worship at the altar of Apple®, thanking them for delivering me.