Long before today’s sleek Macs, cloud workflows, and drag‑and‑drop design tools, graphic production was a very different world. And 35 years ago, I was living right in the middle of it.
Back then, I worked at Starlog Publications, a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures, on Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine (click to see the entire publication). It was my first real step into the world of professional publishing, and as the newest hire, my name sat at the very bottom of the masthead — a badge of honor for a rookie eager to learn.
What made that era unforgettable wasn’t just the pop‑culture excitement of working on a Star Trek title. It was the way the work was done.
This was before the desktop publishing revolution.
- Before Photoshop. (although it existed)
- Before InDesign, or QuarkXpress
- Before “Command‑Z” could save your day.
Every page of the magazine was built entirely by hand.
We used X‑Acto knives, waxers, T‑squares, rubylith, stat cameras, and paste‑up boards. Headlines were set on phototypesetters. Images were physically cropped and positioned. If something was off by even a hair, you didn’t nudge it with a mouse — you lifted it, trimmed it, re‑waxed it, and tried again.
It was meticulous.
It was slow.
And it taught me everything about precision, layout, and craftsmanship.
Those early experiences shaped the way I approach design today. Even with all the incredible tools we have now, the fundamentals remain the same: clarity, balance, storytelling, and respect for the craft.
The technology has changed — dramatically — but the eye for detail never goes out of style.
And that’s the foundation The Graphic Guy is built on: decades of hands‑on experience, from the analog era to the digital frontier, always focused on producing work that’s clean, thoughtful, and built to last.
If you ever want to talk shop about the old days of paste‑up, or how modern tools can elevate your brand today, I’m always happy to dive in.
