Enable Typography

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I'm a 58 year old graphic designer who has always done it on the drawing board and in the darkroom. I'm the part that every computer is missing. The creative, artistic mind. Thought I would be dead before I had to have anything to do with computers. The cost of living has driven me back to work, only all the tools have changed. For the last 3 years I've been parked in front of this used PowerMac 8500/120/80Mb/650Mb/OS7.6.1 learning how to make it happen. I want to create simple logos and trademarks on it, without being forced to contributing to the Adobe empire. Dosen't anybody out there have any software I can afford. Something that will allow me to do some creative typography and manipulate a few simple, colorful, little objects and keep it together in transit.

My goal is to be able to design professional logos for small companies, then present and sell them for a modest price over the internet. With my experience this should be easy, except for the fact that I don't have any of the expen$ive Quark or Adobe tools, or know how to use them. Without someone to ask about how it all works, I'm resigned to annoying everyone I think might be able to help me understanding this new way of doing the thing I do better than anyone. The folks at Apple have not been much of a resource.

It's down right embarrassing to feel this helpless when the picture is right there in my head. Consider this a plea for help, from an old man who's drowning in a sea of strange technology. If I had the tools to do the job, I could make the money to buy the tools to do the job. "Catch 22" I had to take 16 weeks of classes just to learn how to speak "Bill Gates" because I couldn't find any classes for the Mac. Now I've got the computer, the Umax 36bit scanner, the Epson 900 printer and the PostScript 3 software which I'm not qualified to install properly. By the time I get this show on the road, I'll be dead.

Someone who knows, told me to get Quark Express 4.0 and Adobe Illustrator and not the $79.95 Corel 8, but didn't tell me how to pay for it. Would that allow me to send a logo design over the internet intact and keep the prospect from using it without having to pay for it? When I find this great pool of knowledge I'll be set. In the meantime, if you think you can contribute to the redesign and education of a creative mind that I don't want to waste, please don't hesitate to contact me at: mchamm@email.com My past work speaks for itself. Any future graphic designs I might create could depend on you. One of my corporate images could be in your future. (See: corporatepress.com or go to westbros.com) It's all I have to trade, so lets make a deal. Thank you. A.L. Hamm/3/16

-- Al Hamm (mchamm@email.com), March 17, 2000


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