Blogstar Memoirs

Work Experience at Rockstar Memoirs

As my watch ticked towards quarter to ten, I could feel myself transitioning into a mild state of panic and nervousness. This was my first time in North Sydney and I was alone trying to find building 247, that which was the location of Rockstar Memoirs; yearbook design and publishing. A couple of times during my trip to the workplace, I was swept with a kind of “oh crap, where the hell am I?” mood as I silently contemplated and cursed the differences between the content of my current location and the content in my map. Nonetheless, I didn’t get too lost, and I arrived at my destination right on time. My work experience program at Rockstar Memoirs was about to begin.

My overseer  was Amelia Walkley, Creative Consultant. She welcomed and introduced me to everyone there, making sure I felt comfortable and at ease. Nathan encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and feel free to approach anyone and just be myself; everyone was really kind and approachable! After going through all the important details with Amelia, I was logged into their intranet on a MAC (every young designer’s favourite toy!) and was given my own Rockstar account -  I felt a part of the team. On their administrative webpage, I was exposed to grid tutorials in InDesign, the philosophies in which Rockstar Memoir builds their work on, an overview of recent projects that were up for grabs, and the Rockstar blog which delved into the thoughts and recent happenings of the Rockstar team – a rather entertaining read. My first task was to create a form, Rockstar Paparazzi. I had to take photos of everyone and formulate questions for them to answer as their profile. Amelia told me that it was a fairly busy period for Rockstar so rather than wait for responses, I moved on to the yearbook library, after sneaking some time to photoshop an image or two of course.

After some time, I moved to the other studio and immersed myself in a wide collection of all the past projects that Rockstar had undertaken. My next task was to organise and sort the library, but at the same time, jot down some ideas and brainstorm some design layouts and concepts. Sorting bookshelves could seem like a boring task to others, but when its combined with your favourite hobby and what you like doing, any dull task can be turned into something that you enjoy and are enthusiastic about.

As lunch break ended, I went back to my task with a new sense of gusto and drive. To paint a clearer picture of this, you could compare it to getting a Hyper potion in Pokemon  when you’re in the midst of a battle, or taking pots in World of Warcraft… if that helped at all.  By this time, all my nerves had vanished. From my cosy hub near the bookshelf, I was attentive to the constant ringing of the phone as the team exerted all the help they could give to clients; schools needed to be chased after and projects completed to meet the due date – the afternoon was a very busy part of the day.  After helping Chris L unpack/pack a few boxes of yearbooks, and dropping some envelopes for Amelia at Westpac, It was soon time to hit home.

I left with a broad smile on my face at the success of my first day. I witnessed the hard work that Rockstar inputs in all their projects, and the youthful drive of the team. My respect for such people only expanded as I learned to appreciate the effort and quality that is exerted into these projects. From witnessing today’s routine, I’ve come to realise that teams like these are often under-credited as some clients fail to recognise the full enormity of the hard work that is developed in constructing quality yearbooks. Rockstar is a great environment composed of driven people, balancing studies and work, all striving and aiming to produce only the best quality results. I look forward to the remainder of my time with you guys!

(Soz for the long post…)