Goldust Design

Here's a separate post for my Goldust Design ramblings.

I went to the half-day trial (2pm-5pm) rather nervously. I can't remember being that nervous in quite some time. I had expectancy, but expectancy that didn't form or manifest into anything I could worry over or apply logic to and then tell myself "you'll be fine" over. It was bizarre. But, as soon as I stepped through the door and sat down I felt at home. Like when I went to RotoVision, it just felt like a place I could go to work at everyday and be happy with. Publishing just is me and I don't have to try.

After initial chit-chats (sorry Derrick, I've been lazy with upkeep and details have been swallowed up by the hungry memory monster as always) I was introduced to Briony and the lady she shares her 'office' with. I say office in quotes because it was not grey hard-board and cream antiquated computers. It wasn't the hum of fluorescent lighting and stale machine coffee the word 'office' invokes in me. It wasn't spreadsheets, bad ties, day-long morning faces or industry standard furniture. It was nice. It was a bookshel of pride. It was two workstations. It was a large scanner. It was posters. It was lunchboxes. It was timetables. It was one room with two sides; textiles and text. Best of all, it was two people.
As I was given the task of typesetting a chunk of a book, conversation flowed and I think that despite the work, the fact that it's an employer I can talk to about stuff I care for is actually quite exhilerating. No longer (even though I still need to labour for wage at Tesco) is it talk of shifts missed, under-staffing and the interesting characters that the public drugs, slaps and pushes stumbling through Moordown Express' doors.
Including my trial and today - my first day of full employment (nine-thirty until five with an hour dinner [not 'lunch' because yes, I'm somewhat northern] break) - conversation has been both far and wide. Best of all I can make type jokes and they will be laughed at. I can punch the air when a new section magically lays itself onto a new page neatly and not get laughed at. I think.
Without relaying too much through of the general ins and outs, it's a relaxed and passionate environment with a good hefty chunk of geekery thrown in. I like it.
Work wise, I've typeset a scroll-full of text into form with character styles and paragraph styles paying minute detail to paragraph spacing, en/em spaces, running heads etc. That was my trial day and as boring as it might sound to some people I loved having a forty to sixty page bulk to set out per chapter and sculpt. The main bulk of today was the complete opposite in the form of saturated, highly visual spreads with minimal text and a lot of photographs and illustration. Clipping paths were made and photographs converted then they were set out amoungst spreads with relevant text and pre-described paragraph and vague spread templates. The work structure is quite interesting in that pictures are supplied along with text and the process of combination is quite particular in parts, with others quite free for invention. A simple illustrator pack with various patterns have made for great fun with trying combinations alongside photographs. Gradients, transparency, paths and all that simple creative stuff I've been gorged on now comes into play a little. I'm a bit rusty but it's fun to shake off the cobwebs.

I'm getting tired now even though I've barely written much, but I shall note things down for a more detailed part deux upon my next Goldust adventures.

I'm having fun and enjoying it Derrick. Just be happy for me alright mate? Thanks.