ABOUT the DESIGNER

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read this background page.

I first started in printing when I was 18 years old and went into design within the industry, not long after. I found the design aspect of the printing industry very enjoyable and pursued a career in that area while securing sound knowledge in the ever changing printing field. Hands-on with my finger right on the pulse.

When personal computers were introduced in the late 1980's, naturally I jumped at the opportunity to learn how the new programs worked. So for a long while, short of a few lessons in Quark Xpress everything I knew was self taught. Although the basic principles and elements of design have not changed over the years, the way artwork was produced had surged ahead. I was intrigued by the digital graphics explosion, so in 1999, I decided to update my knowledge of the standard industry programs and learn the new multimedia and web technology. I gained formal qualifications at the same time and went on to teach Graphic Design at TAFE NSW, before moving to Tasmania.

Throughout my graphic art career, I have always found my projects interesting and seeing my work in in cinemas, newspapers, books and magazines is always exciting. But one job in particular had an incredible story behind it. An Australian movie was to be made in which the main character was to gamble and loose, all his money at the start of his holiday with disastrous consequences. Because there were to be close-ups of the action, the director wanted the scene to look as real as possible. That's were I came in. I designed the theatre money to be used in the gambling scene.

The equivalent of thousands of dollars of theatre money was printed and it looked so real. It really was 'perfect'. But, by the end of the first day of filming the gambling scene, twenty percent of the theatre money went missing. Despite the directors pleas to the contrary, it wasn't long before people were trying to spend it around town. Two men went to the busy Randwick Race Course and tried their luck in the worst possible way and ended up being gaoled for trying to pass 'counterfeit' money.

Watch the gambling scene on YouTube: Movie Clip 1, Movie Clip 2, Movie Clip 3.

Thanks agian

Sally Petersen