Back in a previous lifetime, I worked in the print media industry. When I started, first as a reporter for our local community newspaper just over a half century ago, it was the era of cut and paste. Great books of clipart were the go-to for graphic elements in advertisements.
Though the editorial department relied more on cameras than clipart to accompany news and features, there were occasions when an illustration was needed to add some visual interest to an article.
I remember lugging stacks of mammoth books over to the desk, then flipping page after page in the hope of finding just the right image to accompany the story.
It could be a time-consuming effort for sure with often unsatisfying results. Deadlines in journalism loom and time therefore is precious. If you don’t find what you’re looking for quickly, having any amount of time to actually be creative was minimal.
Advertising seemed to fare better as their usage of the books had them more familiar with the content. They had a better idea, therefore of where to look.
However, both sides were thrilled when technology reached the point where the content from these books became accessible online. Rather than flip through endless pages, one could simply go to the website, put in a keyword or two and isolate suitable images. Finding what we needed had just gotten easier.
Knowing that the search is on these days for Valentine’s Day, I decided to do a little scoping myself to find some terrific ad starters for promoting that special day. Here’s a great collection from iCLIPART.com
