Jason had two more layouts for the MSN series ready for me to work on when I first walked in the door this morning. The packaging I’m currently working on are called “form factors.” These comprise the casings and brochure inserts for an upcoming release of MSN DVDs. I’m mainly working in Photoshop at the moment, building mechanicals from the various comps which have been haphazardly pieced together by some undisclosed graphic designer. I’m building these so they’ll be ready when the powers-that-be from Microsoft give their approval (which is apparently already a week late).
I find the work rather enjoyable. To a certain extent, all I’m doing is re-inventing the wheel here. I’m scrutinizing every element of the layout and rebuilding it using the best techniques available. Since the original files use sloppy techniques it’s impossible to make quick edits to the treatment. When I finish a file everything in it has been clearly labeled, all extraneous elements have been removed, and complex components have been recreated in a manner that leaves them alterable. Occupied by each unique challenge that’s presented, I find it’s easy for me to lose track of the hours.
Mary and I ran to Fred Meyer at the crack of dawn this morning, where I picked up some headphones to use at work. Well, it turns out that the G4 I’m using is one of the older models that only have the headphone jack in the back. I suppose I could listen to iTunes as I’m working, but this would require me hunching over in my chair and keeping my ears close to the keyboard in order to accommodate the cables. Oh, well.
Another challenge I’ve just noted is that there is no Zip drive on my computer. Since I’d like to have a few screenshots of the work I’m doing, this is a bit of an issue. It seems a bit silly to burn a whole CD for only a few megabytes. For now I’m just taking the shots and saving them in a personal folder.
The people I’m working with are certainly interesting. (Hey, just because I’m working doesn’t mean I’m not making observations.) Much to their credit, I haven’t seen any egos around here. They’re all very comfortable with themselves, contributing to an atmosphere that naturally nurtures creative energies. There’s no lack of self-expression, either. Their cell phones chime everything from Beethoven to Led Zeppelin. Corporate emails convey an extremely personal familiarity. (Like I really needed to know the time in Tijuana?)The cubes are decorated with a staggering and wonderful array of, well, I don’t know how to describe it exactly, but they are covered.. (I love looking at the cubes I see on assignment.) And maybe it has to do with the Halloween candy that’s circulating around here, but I sense a bit of a buzz around here.
My cube offers a good vantage point. I face the hall that leads to the designer’s area of the firm. Sitting right next to the kitchen makes an odd assault on the senses. Natural light glows from the skylight and balcony above me. There’s nowhere to hide in my cube, and that’s a two-way street.
