Designer at work: Peter Poanessa

Peter Poanessa was first featured in SignCraft’s September/October 1991 issue. Back then, he mentioned he loved “going to work every Monday”—and he still does. He and Mary McCord, his wife, turn out a variety of custom-made signs, both flat and 3D, in Swanzey, New Hampshire.

This feature is your chance to look inside the toolbox of a fellow designer—to see what software and hardware they use, where they go for ideas and inspiration, and how they make their work easier and more efficient.—Editors

Computers: I use a mix of recent and very old Windows PCs and software. I do all my design work, set up all my CAD files, and run the router with 20-year-old software. I have a 19-year-old Windows 98 PC that’s on the network, but it has no Internet access because there’s no antivirus software that still supports Windows 98. I run an older version of FlexiSign on it, and do most of my design work there. I do all my presentation drawings on that same machine using Macromedia FreeHand 11. I have a nearly new Windows 98 machine configured as a backup, just in case.