My father (Thomas J. Gough) was a psychologist by profession. Perhaps because of his quest to better understand and help people, and/or as a result of being the son of an award-winning graphic artist, he had an acute sense of the power of words, particularly when written on paper.

Consequently, my father chronicled much of his life’s discoveries, thoughts, and inspirations on little bits of colorful paper. These paper scraps, many of which were on Post-it Notes (after 1980), were stuck in books, his office, or carried about in his briefcase or wallet.

Above are a few of my favorites, with messages I find meaningful to my life and work as a graphic designer.

1) A single word, compassion, scribbled on a well-traveled note, torn and scotch-taped in repair

2) A quote from art-historian Aby Warburg, God dwells in detail

3) a note jotted down while listening to an audio tape from the library of Widener University, where my father taught in the ’80s, RE Words: the mythology…According to many ancient myths, when primordial sound took the form of words, our world was born!

Thanks Dad. I miss you.