My Freelance Graphic
Design Career
Q: Why did
you become a graphic designer when you were a writer?
ME:
During my freelance writing career, I doubled up as a graphic designer. I saw
the potential to earn more money per project by combining my freelance skills.
Q: What projects did you design?
ME: I designed
brochures; newsletters; newspapers; magazines, sales letters, book covers,
business stationery; catalogs; political ads, banners and signs; calendars; and
press kits.
Q: How did you develop your skills as a graphic
designer?
ME: Probably as far back as the early 80s when I
was creating graphics and images on my Commodore 64/128 computers for
BBS’s. Later I upgraded my computer to a PC/Windows and bought my first
design/layout program. I think it was called Microsoft Publisher. I used this
program for a year or so to design and layout my clients’ materials. Later
I began using Adobe products: PageMaker, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc., as these
programs made it easier to streamline the commercial printing process. In
college I majored in journalism with a minor in graphic design. What I learned
in college helped me, but I taught myself most of my design skills.
Q: Do you still do graphic design work?
ME: Yes,
for myself. Everything you see is done by me. If you visit my websites, I
designed them.
Q: What software do you use
today?
ME: Not much has changed. I still use a high-powered
PC/Windows computer, even though working on a MAC for graphic design is better.
I use InDesign for layout; and Photoshop and Illustrator for graphic design
work. When I design websites, I use RealDraw for drawing, layout and graphic
design, and then I export the finished design into Photoshop where I adapt the
design for HTML layout. I continue to use HotMetalPro as my HTML editor. Even
though the program is old, it is easy to use and provides all the tools I need
to design websites with simplicity.
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