MGDA Newsletters

First MGDA Newsletter, Designer: Pat Dunn, Editor: Patrick Redmond,
February 1979

Fourth MGDA Newsletter, Designer and Editor: Patrick Redmond, February 1980

Thirty-two dues paying Minnesota Graphic Designers Association (MGDA) members were clamoring for a newsletter in 1979. They needed to be informed about their fledgling organization’s upcoming events, learn more about past events, and have a forum to discuss topics of interest to the Minnesota design community. Under the initiative and guidance of Patrick Redmond (MGDA President, 1979-1980) the first MGDA newsletter was published. Redmond adopted a laissez-faire approach to leadership and design with the objective of engaging broader membership participation. Each of the four newsletters published during his tenure were designed by whoever volunteered to take on the project. There was, intentionally, no attempt to standardize the format. Each designer had the freedom to design in the style they wanted without interference. Experimental and eclectic design was featured in these first MGDA newsletters. Pat Dunn-Walker, then MGDA secretary who designed the first newsletter, remembers that the text was typed on an IBM Selectric Typewriter then reduced to the correct column size via photostats. Letraset press type was used for the headlines then everything cut and pasted into place. It was printed at Fast Print, the go-to low budget printer of choice, and sent to members by snail mail. Looking back on the experience Dunn-Walker laughed when she recalled just how low tech and low budget this new communication tool was. She noted, “It was fun, exciting and stressful at the same time. Our members were so thrilled to get their first newsletter! Having our own publication made us feel like we really were a professional organization.”