November 26, 2008 at 5:56 am · Filed under Graphic Design
The pre-press cutout of one of the CD booklet pages
Work always takes priority - and even without my recent history in that area - these tough times mean when you’ve got a great job you enjoy - you make it Priority #1 and go beyond the panicked call of duty. That call falls somewhere between a soft clearing of the throat and avalanche.
Now along the way in recent months I’ve done a fair amount of “things.” Freelance work as of THIS day is down to ZERO, by choice (honest) but it brought my graphic skills up a few notches as I learned. Here was one of the more fascinating yet came-to-be stupid projects
Making A CD Booklet In 1,473 Easy Steps
Thank God, the final product looks great. And by great, I mean at least how I expected it to look, with a little extra shiny on top of that.
On Craigslist I got a freelance job my first and last there, at least to this point. It read something like, “local music studio owner needs two CD booklets designed. Experienced designers only.”
That was about it. I pretty much hate short don’t-explain-a-damn-thing ads like that. But here’s the thing. Ok, here the two things. 1) It sounded cool to put on my resume. 2) My resume was very much in play because at that point I was unemployed. That point would be the last week of July.
I e-mailed, he e-mailed back. There may have been a phone call or two involved and we arranged a visit. The music studio is literally 5 miles away I discovered. The studio - as so many are, was a converted something or other. This place was in transition between the two, leaning toward other.
We sat for about 45 minutes. I honestly relayed my inexperience with CD design, but confident it was like any other project, and he told me of his fledging - not floundering but fledgling - new music venture after being a real estate agent for oh so many years. We sat near one of five empty desks with a different business name on the wall; his dog Melody at first barking but quickly quieting, laid down in the corner.
There was some dust. He was in shorts and socks, no shoes.
I had brought other CDs to get a further idea what he needed or at least might want. So we talked. What he “might want” proved elusive.
The short and sweet summary of that day is that he wanted two eight-page - I think just eight - booklets for two albums of his own music. He had lyrics and he had pictures, including cover art for one of them, he just needed someone to put it all together.
I always think it’s important to acknowledge important days on a personal blog.
So today is my birthday and up until about 14:45 I was trying to think of what to write here that would be suitable reflective without turning into being maudlin.
Being unemployed sucks ass. i’ve been slowly developing a freelance roster of graphics jobs but they haven’t been enough to take the edge off the worry factor of being unemployed. Yet, I know if a person - me in this case - allows themselves to dive in a the deep end of pity it can quickly turn into drowning.
I’ve believed in myself these last few months, but there have been long moments where you wonder, where you begin to wonder whether a complete makeover is necessary or some type of can’t-afford-it in-any-case career change.
Long moments. But ultimately at the end of every day I believed in myself and my abilities as I transition into graphic design. Transition for over a year but nevertheless, not as experienced, on paper, as I could be.
And on a birthday, when I at least and i know many others do, you tend to reflect on what’s gone on before, I really didn’t want to write here about “what could be and what will be and etc. etc.”
So, all that has been happily short-circuited by the fact that I was offered a job today, and, of course accepted.
It was an interview i’d been on earlier and in a few more days I’ll divulge the employer. But it was an interview I did a couple of months ago and I was “1 of 2″ And, happily the person who interviewed me was good to her word and called me up today, as a person who was working there is headed back to college.
So many things came together well today. “Well” is an understatement. Thank you to all those who wished me well and believed in me as the months passed.
I don’t see the tagline “Simple - Like Your Clients” anywhere on the Web site for Cushy CMS but it struck me as hilarious. Since it was an add on a Mac Twitter desktop application - Twitterrific, I have to assume the advertiser believed that their target marketing was for those creative “Web design” types.
The site’s Content Management Services service itself DOES seems deceptively simple. I must investigate further.
It is what it is. Better than a lot of them who just say “I want a job.” In other words even though I am about as desperate I don’t sound that bad. And I have big skills to offer, even though they’re considered “junior” positions just for limited 18-months experience.
Have slight doubt about throwing my info out there, but how else?
Thank you for clicking on my post. I would love to make your company or department even better with my creative skills, good humor and pristine professionalism.
I am focused on client customer service to make them comfortable and overjoyed to work with me and you. My skills center around print-based graphic production and design abilities. I have my own Adobe CS software, as well.
Strictly because of budget cuts, I’ve been unemployed except for enjoyable freelance work for too long - five months - and would like to work my butt off for your company as soon as practical.
Please call or e-mail me with … any … full-time offer - no healthcare spam would be nice. I would be open to part-time work as well.
“Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no change and no need of change. Only those animals partake of intelligence that have to meet a huge variety of needs and dangers.”
