By Frank J. Romano March 16, 2006 Hi, my name is Matt. I am a freshman attending Foothill High School. I have an assignment that was given by my teacher. My question to you is: "what is the most important piece of advice you would give someone who is interested in the field of graphic communication?" Dear Matt: Stay interested! Graphic communication covers all forms of visual media, especially print. It is appropriate that you asked this question during the year of Ben Franklin's 300th birthday. He made printing a true business and still had time to be one of the founders the United States of America. Printers really are good at big projects--like making magazines or forming an enduring democracy. Printers really are good at big projects--like making magazines or forming an enduring democracy. Print is a profession that will bring you in contact with lots of interesting people--photographers, authors, editors, illustrators, marketers, and other creative individuals who produce what will become books, magazines, ads, websites, and more. You will deal with giant corporations and small businesses. Everyone needs to communicate in order to do business or sell or inform or entertain. Your days will never be dull. You will have to master a host of technologies and deal with information in many different forms. You will work with other talented people to take ideas and put them in some format--whether on paper, or pixels on a screen, or, in most cases, both. You will become a media specialist. The field of graphic communication is complex and the processes are intricate and technical. Keep in mind that if your job is too easy it will probably become a program or a robot, but if it requires solving problems, companies will reward you well to do it. You will work with computers and networks and imaging systems of all kinds. You will have to constantly upgrade your technical and business skills. You will never stop learning, and that is a part of the joy of being in this industry. There is no feeling greater than when you hold a book or some other printed product in your hands and think "I did that." Printing is a wonderful career and you will be challenged and rewarded. There is no feeling greater than when you hold a book or some other printed product in your hands and think "I did that." Even after a lifetime, you will still have that feeling of accomplishment with a hint of awe. There are some who say that print is old media, but I contend that it is as new as the day it was invented and every day that it is re-invented. A hundred years from now the printed product will still be new to someone, but electronic media will have long disappeared into cyberspace. Print is for now and forever. I hope you will stay interested in graphic communication, today and throughout your life--because helping others to communicate is a noble profession. Good luck, no matter what path you take into your future. Frank Romano Professor Emeritus, Rochester Institute of Technology