Always a believer in the power of words as the written manifestation of thought and the theory that design is the visualization of those thoughts, graphic designer Fred Drennan ’69 (MA ’03) sees the future of his craft slipping away.

Drennan, who dedicated more than 25 years to product design, packaging, display and promotions for such clients as Jimmy Dean Foods, Uncle Ben’s and Neiman Marcus, also spent seven years as a graphic design instructor at a technical institute. He says his stent in the classroom showed him a harsh reality — later to become his master’s thesis — about how computer technology is shaping education, the corporate culture and the design profession.

To illustrate his perspective Drennan developed a series of thought provoking design posters that illustrate his ideas words, images, thought, education, technology and the workings of the human mind. Two posters “Keyboard and Mouse-on design and technology” and “Parallax View-on education and communication” were selected for inclusion in the prestigious 2004 Graphis Poster Annual. Seen by design professionals as the world’s premier compilation of innovative poster designs, Graphis receives thousands of entries worldwide but selects only those perceived as trend-setting or unique.

“Parallax view” illustrates a quote from Drennan’s wife on writing to materialize thought.

The quotation, displayed as if it were the letters on an eye chart, reads, “To know what I think, I must see what I say.”

Drennan is the founder of Fred Drennan and Associates. He serves as a design and communications consultant.