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Achievers always stand on the shoulders of those who’ve achieved before. Often we don’t know of the dedicated and brilliant creatives who’ve come before—but we owe them for our abilities! Michael Waitsman was a quiet giant worth knowing. As one of the most visionary graphic designers in the country from 1972 to 1995, he was a rare creative genius who was also a technical guru. He helped pioneer new media and ideas for 25 years, most of which he shared with Liane Sebastian (the principal of Prosperia Publishing) and co-authored 8 Concerns of Design.
“Michael
Waitsman was a fount of originality and boldness of concept, a conceptual
powerhouse, with an unerring sense of style and elegance, an incomparable
integrity, and the gentlest spirit for all that. I first met him at
the 1982 World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago, after corresponding
with him for a year. Memories of him stay with me: collaborating on
his prototypes of Proteus
and Void (producing
these sets within two months); driving to Chicago two years later for
his and Liane Sebastian's wedding;
camping on his office floor during the Chicago art show; hearing with
shock in 1993 that he had developed a brain tumor; the heartache of
losing him within two years. A brilliant talent, pioneer in graphic
arts and electronic multimedia, a radiant spirit and unforgettable friend.”
—Kate Jones, Kadon Enterprises,
Baltimore
Michael’s
vision was always ahead of his time. In his 20's, he earned the industry's
highest design award: CA 77 (from Communication Arts Magazine),
for album cover design. This gave him the confidence to venture forward
as a maverick. Michael's talents were sparked when his background in photography
and education in computers (Roosevelt University and IIT) became the doorway
to the future of graphic design.
Working as a freelancer for several years, he teamed up with Liane in
1978.Their work grew to international acclaim, as the partnership won
awards and designed visionary projects for a wide range of clients, including
the Great Books Foundation, the American Bar Association, World Book Encyclopedia,
and Hyatt International Hotels.
As a champion
chess player, Michael was always driven to design games, many of which
have enjoyed market success (Proteus
and Void are
available from Kadon Enterprises).
Michael founded ADEPT, the Association for the Development of Electronic
Publishing Technique, which grew to over 700 members in the mid-'80s,
as desktop publishing was born. Michael and Liane's design firm, Synthesis
Concepts, Inc., was one of the first two firms in Chicago to design using
the Macintosh computer, and defined the cutting edge for the next twelve
years. (In the days before desktop publishing, Michael designed a mathematical
system for laying out magazine pages with the first IBM PC.)
A pioneer beta tester for Aldus, Adobe, and Macromedia, Michael established
an exciting platform to thrust Synthesis into multimedia, interactive
platforms, and the first Internet design. Michael's last passion was for
interactive presentations created in Macromedia Director.
As Michael (an avid CompuServe user from the beginning) was finally combining
all his skills into interactive media, tragedy struck. He was diagnosed
with a brain tumor in 1993. (His grandmother believed it was because he
used his brain too much). He passed away on February 19, 1995.
Michael’s greatest wish was to be a part of the Internet revolution,
and his work helped bring computers to design. He showed us the path and
the skills we all need to cultivate and thrive with a technological art
form; he was there at the beginning of the World Wide Web and lived long
enough to foresee its potential.
His life touched thousands of creative thinkers and helped focus an industry,
whether publishers today are aware of his contribution or not.
Perhaps after we are gone, we get to look back here to see what happens.
Maybe Michael can see you reading about him, and he smiles because you
think of him. Isn't to have a strong influence and impact on others all
that we most hope for?
© 2008 Liane Sebastian, Evanston
