Creative Services

Creative Services.

The "art department" of the Richmond Newspaper in the early 70's. Vinyl floor, large casement windows, and metal cubicles containing artist with drawing boards, ink, pens, exacto knives, tape, and other ancient tools. A merge of metal 50's technology and wooden history.
A slow pace, since every item had to be hand created. Drawn on paper with pen and ink, type pasted down with rubber cement or pressed on by transfer letters.

Type had to be written on a typewriter, then courier to the "production department" where the letters could be set on the new technology "cold" type or early computers. Light green type on green background with codes to mark the size and spacing of the text. Only a few fonts and no features. This was high tech.
And then there was these guys. The sales team.


Double knit and very strange to my way of thinking coming out of the university of riots, revolution, drugs, and weirdness.

Outings, sales contest, conventions, .....this was very strange to me.

But I learned to join in, since it was better than staying in the office while everyone else went out and had fun with the newspapers money.

And we had fun

And we had more fun.
And we were adaptable to change. We moved several times.

Even had celebrations in the worst places.

And of course, there were winners of awards. Each year the Creative Services department would pull the copies of the best-of-the-best and enter them into the Virginia Press Association contest against Roanoke and Virgina Beach.

Since we had the largest circulation in the state, thus the largest "creative" staff, we would win the most awards. Every years.

Finally I covered an entire wall of my office with these plastic awards. Does it mean anything? Only if you can produce more next year.
And the advertising leaders keep us focused to the future.
But they are not around here anymore?

They were ready for anything.

But that was the 70's


Whatever became of this guy?