Charles Apple

 Longtime Chicago Tribune designer and graphic artist Steve Ravenscraft has taken a buyout.

It was a buyout, not a layoff. Despite what you see in the Chicago Reader.

Photo by Rick Tuma
—

Classy guy that he is, Steve laughs off the misreporting:

It’s funny being on the other side of the news and having your story told incorrectly.

After 18 years at the Tribune I’m starting a new adventure and making a go of it as a full-time freelancer. I’m taking a week or two off and shaking out nearly twenty years of Tribune Blue. Then it’s on to refining my business identity and posting my site.

Even though at first it didn’t seem like the best time to take this leap, after looking from all of the angles it made sense to Lee and I. Everything started to fall into place and I must say it quickly became one of those experiences that seemed right. For us I don’t think we’ll see it as anything else even if things don’t come together as we hope. There’s to many signals that indicate God’s direction in it and that gives me a tremendous amount of peace as we step out.

That’s the short version.

Joe Knowles, the Tribune’s AME for visuals, writes this about Steve:

I have never met an actual saint, but when I do, I expect that he or she will pale in comparison to Steve Ravenscraft. I have worked with many talented people but I cannot say that any of them impressed me more than Steve. He is a terrific graphic artist and designer, a fine illustrator and a well-rounded visual journalist… the complete package, a five-tool player. Most of all, he is just a wonderful person to be around. If you know him at all, you know what I mean. I’ll miss him greatly.

Tribune graphics editor Steve Cavendish writes:

Steve Ravenscraft has more talent in his pinkie than I do in my whole body (which, admittedly, ain’t that much). He is a supreme illustrator, has the ability conceptualize everything from entire sections to small design pieces and can create graphics better than the rest of the staff. He collaborates as well as anyone. And, for kicks, he’s a helluva flash designer as well.

Now imagine all of that wrapped up in a person who is 10 times nicer than he is talented.

You have no idea what a kick to the nuts his leaving is. I look forward to seeing his stuff in publications all over the country as others realize what a gi-normous talent he is.

Mike Kellams, sports editor of the Tribune, writes:

I see these notes praising Steve, a man I teamed with as an art director on A&E and teamed with again for a time to manage the art director staff. The effusive, gushing recounting of Mr. Ravenscraft is relentless.

I hated him.

Hated that he was an amazing artist (and I’m not) who was thoughtful enough to paint a wonderful scene of a stream as a wedding gift. It still hangs in our house. Where the hell does he get off?

Hated that he always – always – played well with the other children in the Tribune sandbox and always shared his toys—and talents. What’s that all about?

Hated that his steady and calming hand with section editors and Graphics and Design staff alike smoothed often choppy waters. Fine, be that way.

Hated that, from the time I arrived in 1998, I would look at his work and truly wonder how the heck he did that. Or that. Or that. And so I would go ask him and he would simply tell me, show me the secret, let me behind the curtain of the great Oz. I swear, I could just scream.

And now he’s gone. And more than anything, I hate that the most.

Robert Dorrell — graphics editor of the Sacramento Bee who worked at the Tribune for a while a few years back — writes:

Steve Ravenscraft has an immediately positive effect on you when you first meet him.  His intelligence leaps from his eyes and the quality of his work leaped from the pages of the Tribune.  He was welcoming and friendly from the get-go, and his work created a standard to which one aspired.  I wish I knew Steve better, but I can say that for me he was one of the bright spots of the Tribune.  His wit and sense of humor made work more fun.  Good luck in whatever you choose to do with your time and your expansive skills, Steve.

Last September, Tribune artist Rick Tuma wrote about his good friend:

Steve is one of those people that can wear every hat you put upon his head in the news business – and wear it damn well!

I’m getting to see this up close and personal as I assist him moving Design and Graphics onto the CT.com site. There are many days when I leave the building shaking my head. I’ll be happy if just half of his natural skills and abilities rub off on me by the time this is all over.

He quickly gains the confidence of the leaders above us and always delivers – setting the stage for even greater opportunities for our small group. What I admire the most is his ability to provide constant streams of ideas and better ways to do things. It’s hard to sit still around him.

A few examples of Steve’s work:

Steve doesn’t post his stuff online. You can see more, however, in just about any SND award annual.

Rick tells me that Steve will come in Tuesday to finalize his paperwork. The folks there may be planning to say their goodbyes then.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 18th, 2008 at 2:01 pm and is filed under Industry woes, News design, Newspapers, VizEds Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.