It was 19 November 2003 when I registered my company with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, accompanied by my one-year-old son. Two weeks earlier, my then-husband had disappeared without a trace because he apparently needed a holiday. We haven’t seen him again, so clearly he really did need that break.
While my one-year-old son was busy flirting shamelessly with the women at the office, I received compliments on my brilliantly chosen business name: DTP-hulp.nl.
But the name wasn’t quite as ideal as it seemed. The hyphen in my URL proved particularly inconvenient, and my emails regularly ended up in spam folders. Before long, I was doing much more than DTP work. I was also creating graphic designs, building websites and producing illustrations, so the name no longer truly reflected everything I did.
Over the years, my business has therefore gone by several different names, partly because I soon began working internationally: DTPH, D-Design and Studio DeeDesign. The only thing that always remained consistent was the D. The D for Determination.
Almost 23 years later, I realise that the original name has actually stood the test of time remarkably well. While many people in the creative industry are trembling with fear about the future, I am receiving more and more requests to turn AI-generated images into professional, print-ready artwork.
And yes, that is DTP-hulp too: making files technically suitable for professional printing.
In two years, DTP-hulp.nl will celebrate its 25th anniversary — “God willing and in good health,” as my former employer always used to say.
Times are uncertain, and clients come and go. But with that 25th anniversary on the horizon, I am nowhere near ready to give up. AI or no AI, I intend to keep going, with a capital D for Determination.
#graphicdesign #dtp #printdesign
—
I’m Mireille, and I turn ideas into graphic designs that work both creatively and technically. With more than 25 years of experience, I help businesses create a strong and lasting visual identity.