Paul Brainerd, Aldus Corporation, and the Desktop Publishing Revolution

The term, "desktop publishing," is commonly attributed to Paul Brainerd. With the introduction of PageMaker software in 1985, Brainerd, founder and CEO of Aldus Corporation, contributed to a revolution in the design and production of documents. Using a relatively affordable suite of off-the-shelf hardware and software products, people at large and small businesses, schools, churches, and nonprofits as well as graphics professionals could now produce and print newsletters, flyers, and brochures quickly, easily, and at a much lower cost than traditionally produced documents. The first element necessary for desktop publishing was the graphical user interface (GUI) introduced to the general PC market with Apple's Macintosh in 1984. The GUI made it possible to design pictures and document layout on screen in a visual or what-you-see-is-what-you get (WYSIWYG) way.