Denise Harman

My Journey in
Advertising and Design

In May of 1982, I was struggling to finish my senior internship program in graphic communication at the University of Texas at Arlington. When I say I was struggling, I guess what I actually mean is that I was trying to get used to the concept that I had just completed a bachelors degree in graphic design without so much as touching a computer, using only traditional art materials. I then realized that I was square in the middle of a revolution called “desktop computing.” I was being given a computer at my job and being told that I really needed to learn to create art with a very cool new tool, and they gave me my first computer.

In that transitional time, I saw my future, and the future of humankind, flash before my eyes. Was this really possible? Had technology finally arrived at a point where it could be used as fluidly as a pencil, brush or marker to create art?

I spent the weeks right after receiving my degree that summer of 1982 in the library or the bookstore reading everything I could find on computers and art. I discovered that there was a small industry just coming into its own that people called “computer graphics.” Design companies were launching into a brilliant variety of techniques to bring about the magic of creating their artwork using digital data input.

I had found a new inspiration for my career. I really wanted to find a role for myself in this new industry. I worked hard to learn how to use a PC and taught myself how to use an Apple Computer as well. I had a feeling that they would both stick around for a while and that I needed to know how to use both. As it turns out, that was a correct assertion. I worked as a computer graphic designer for 17 years before going into my teaching career. I have taught all ages from elementary school to college how to use the computer to create art.

In the late 80s, I remember thinking to myself that one day, millions of people will work in this industry, because it is just too much fun!

Now they do.

Maybe you will be one of them.

Welcome to the revolution.

Your instructor,
Mrs. Denise Harman