My Studio 1978

When I first went into business in 1978 with the formation of the optimistically named "Dennis Moran Design Associates", I worked out of my home attic in Mt. Lebanon, PA. These were simpler times before computers, when the tools of the trade consisted of a full set of "Magic Markers", and drawer full of "Presstype", boxes full of Prismacolor pencils, gallons of Bestine Rubber Cement and the (toxic) Bestine Rubber Cement Thinner. All design work from concept through "finished art" was produced by hand. There was a magic to the work as far as clients were concerned and they respected the work far more than they do today. In these days of computers, there is a mistaken belief that design expertise comes endowed with the purchase of the latest version of Adobe's Creative Suite. Forget creative and artistic talent, knowledge of typography, color theory, art history, design theory, an understanding of psychology and perception, marketing and communication—just go by that big box of software and suddenly you are a designer!