My father was many things, but for this brief memory he was a business owner, designer, artist and engineer. These Prismacolor markers were remnants from his large collection.
My mom was a business teacher at the local technical college, and wasn’t available during the day to pick me up from elementary school if I was sick, or had an early dismissal. Dad was my go-to parent.
I’m sure it was a challenge for him to break away from work as well, when the school office unexpectedly called that I was sick again. But he was the boss. I was at his office often, and comfortable spending time with him. His employees were always very sweet to me too.
As a young girl, while waiting for him to finish work, I sat in his orange upholstered Eame’s task armchair. It was on wheels! I loved sitting in that big chair. Not only because orange was my favorite color, but I felt cozy in the depths of its high armrests, rolling around and spinning, careful not to interrupt him or disrupt his drawing instruments.
A loupe. A drafting compass. Mechanical pencils. Blue Non-Photo Pencils. Koh-i-noor Rapidograph pens. Pen nibs. Ink. A kneaded eraser, which was always fun to pull and stretch, like Silly Putty. All neatly organized in their own compartment on the side tray attached to his huge drafting table.
Various circle and drafting templates, a proportional scale and rulers hung on the tabouret behind me. The dog-eared Letraset Reference Manual was in position, ready for use.
Neatly displayed on top of the tabouret were rows and rows of Prismacolor markers. Standing at attention, waiting to be quickly selected for the next layout. The marker set always looked so modern and colorful. I arranged them by color.
Of course, I wanted to play with those markers anytime I visited his office. Sometimes I could use them, but usually I had a special metal tin of markers “just for me.” “My” thinner markers fit in my small hands better anyway, so I was happy. He also set me up with tabloid sized paper, carefully positioned under the sliding parallel bar on the drafting table. I was content hanging out in his office while he worked.
Dad taught me how to use an architect’s scale ruler before I even attended university. I worked for him during my summer breaks at his outdoor media agency, City Outdoor Advertising. At first, I worked in the sign shop, cleaning paintbrushes, prepping screens for screen printed signs or gigantic logo decals for semi trailers, I painted beer signs and massive billboards. I practiced the craft of hand lettering. Whenever I smell paint or “turps” (turpentine), my mind is instantly transported to my dad’s shop.
But after graduating from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire with a BFA in Advertising and Graphic design, I worked in the office. Here I was again, years later, perched at his still mammoth slanted drafting table, but now designing logos and using his Prismacolor markers to create layouts for environmental signage, billboards, fleet vehicles, electric signs, neon, all things sign related. And sometimes still spinning in that same chair. But it fit me better, my arms comfortably resting on those same high armrests.
Many illustrators and storyboard artists still use markers as a medium. But most graphic designers use Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Procreate and other programs to create images, rough comps (comprehensive layouts) and the finished digital art work.
I feel fortunate learning the more hands on mediums and also adapting to the digital version.
At the foundation the design skills, experience and principles that are needed are the same, we just use different tools.
After my dad’s passing, there were a lot of tools to sort through. So many tools. I kept his markers. Over the years, many of the markers dried up and were thrown away, but I saved this one section of his collection as a designer’s artifact.
And a sweet little memory of working for my dad.
