I enjoy technology as much as I enjoy art. I also enjoy problem solving and persuasion. I love propaganda. And that is exactly what graphic arts is – propaganda. An attempt to sway a population to see things the way you want them to.

I got into graphic arts from two paths. One was from being a photographer in a printing company, the other was frustration with flaky people.

I was a studio photographer for a printing company in Utah that specialized in wedding announcements.  I don’t sit still well, so when I didn’t have anything to do in the studio, I would go over to the print shop and watch and learn pre-press press operation and color management. I was hooked and fascinated. Apple was just starting to really take over the printing industry and our company prided itself on being technologically advanced. I asked if I could help and was put to work in my downtime type setting wedding announcements in QuarkXPress.

I really enjoyed it and learned all that I could about the printing business and process. One day, the company owner being impressed with my growth gives me an ultimatum: quit school and come on full-time or quit there. He thought he was giving me a choice to drive me into the company for a future he envisioned for me, but school is and was important. I wasn’t going to squander that.

I quit and pursued a job in the graphic arts lab at the U. My primary job was to punch print tickets for the students printing their projects. However, I dove into learning everything I possibly could about the software. Within the year, by the time I had to leave because it was the end of the semester, I was teaching other students how to use the software and how to set it up for printing. I immediately looked for a specific job, working in a pre-press business.

I worked in a pre-press shop for exactly one year.  One of the worst companies I had ever worked for before. But the knowledge of how to take the software and get it on the press, and the contacts I made while there, were immeasurable. I quit to freelance.  By the time I left Utah, I was teaching at a local community college based on my portfolio.

I freelanced for 12 years and loved every minute of it, but saw the writing on the wall as far as the industry was going. Same thing happens to photography – too many people watering down the industry and destroying the ability to make a decent living at it.

The following link will take you to my portfolio site. Just remember, it is tongue in cheek. I designed it essentially to mock all the other “fluff” design sites. It’s propaganda that a graphic artist is selling, so my site is anti-fluff that you typically see on other graphic design sites. Enjoy.

Soldot Design