Preston Thomas, AS '98, knows all about judging books by their covers. Since graduating from UD's Visual Communications program, Thomas has landed graphic design positions at publishing companies in Boston and San Francisco.

And, while succeeding in a competitive job market, he also was able to develop his own painterly style.

Two years before his freshman year at UD, his parents moved from Coopersburg, Pa., to Hockessin, Del. Manicured lawns and one-stop shopping centers engendered in him a need to break the mold and create art. Thomas says he was encouraged by an "incredible" art program in high school, where he was influenced by the works of Miro, Picasso and Dali.

"Out of my suburban upbringing sprang figurative paintings with bizarre landscapes," Thomas says. "Everything I painted in high school seemed to have a dreamlike quality."

After high school, Thomas decided to make the 15-minute move from Hockessin to Newark. He enrolled in UD's chemical engineering program, but switched majors to graphic design within three weeks. Matt Nuzzi, AS '96, sold Thomas on the VC program with its job possibilities.

According to Thomas, the Newark art scene revolves around UD's art department, which added to his interest in visual communications. "The different art buildings were like one giant studio where you could walk around, check things out and bounce ideas off other artists. It was a good environment to create in," he says.

"UD's visual arts program is up there with some of the best design schools around," Thomas says. "I attribute the program's excellence to the professors who have a passion for their students and a good understanding of the world that awaits them after graduation."

Four months after graduation, Thomas moved to Boston, where he landed a position as an assistant at an independent book publisher, Beacon Press. The job at Beacon was a result of a recommendation from fellow VC graduate, Lynn Buckley, AS '97, who was doing freelance work for the creative director there.

While at Beacon, Thomas worked on cover designs for paperback and hardcover titles. Based on a brief book summary and marketing plan, he would design a few cover samples that were presented to various department heads and approved or marked for changes.

Before working at Beacon Press, Thomas says he never thought about what went into designing the interior of a book. "Basically, you don't want the wine goblet to outshine the wine. Every decision you make has to keep the reader in mind. To a degree, you want the reader to not even notice the design. It's a tricky thing. Most cover designers don't design good interiors, and vice versa."

Thomas has received numerous awards for his work. From the Advertising Club of Delaware, Thomas won the Merit Award in 1998 and 1999. He also won accolades in 2000, 2001 and 2002 from the American Association of University Presses, an organization dedicated to the support of creative and effective scholarly communications, at its Book, Jacket and Journal Show. His covers from Beacon Press were included in Print's regional design annual for the past three years, and a poster he created for UD's 1998 Undergraduate Art show, "Not Yet Famous," was featured in Graphic Design Speak, A Visual Dictionary for Designers and Clients, published by Rockport.

His job at Beacon Press was located near the popular Boston Commons, and Thomas says he enjoyed Boston's brick buildings and old street lamps. But, Boston winters caused him to move westward to San Francisco, after a brief stay abroad.

When he arrived in San Francisco, Thomas switched his focus to freelance work because there were barely any jobs available for graphic designers. He designed logos, book covers and ads for Temple University Press, Stanford University Press, Verve Creative, Performance Physical Therapy and Fabgorgon Advertising. To meet the high cost of living in San Francisco, he also took work as a bike messenger.

By October 2001, Thomas found a posting at Wadsworth Publishers for an associate art director. Though he didn't have any experience as an art director, he put together a promo package citing his three years' experience in book design and hoped for the best. A month later, he had the job.

At Wadsworth, Thomas supervises more than 120 titles and designs numerous covers and interiors. He is involved in assigning and recruiting freelancers, project management, design and pre-press production.

Last May, he rented studio space at the Art Explosion, located in the artsy Mission District of San Francisco. "It's amazing what this studio space did for me as a painter," he says. "A whole new world crept up out of the recesses of my brain.

"It all started with this funky looking dog with a spiked collar biting down on a beach ball. After that, it just snowballed into more odd looking creatures with weird expressions on their faces. I would describe this new world as a funky playland for cartoonish creatures and white-trash characters with names like Belching Bob, Damn Mosquito and Cry Baby.

"Some of which have found good homes!"

Thomas' work has appeared in three shows: a solo exhibition at Club Galia in the Mission and two group shows at the Art Explosion, including the city-wide event, SF Open Studios. As a result of these shows, Thomas says he has sold 15 of his paintings.

"San Francisco is a spectacular city with beautiful views in all directions. The thing I love the most is the Bay Area's proximity to just about everything in nature. You have the ocean, redwood forests, mountains, Lake Tahoe...I can't get enough!" *

--Melissa Meisel, AS '97