Office setup for successful copywriting and translation projects
First-rate equipment is as crucial as a conscientious work ethic. I handle your projects in a welcoming, ergonomic, motivating and well-organised work environment. This has a proven positive impact on productivity – and ultimately also on the quality of your texts. Take a look round my office in Franconia, Germany:
Equipment overview:
- 200Mbps Internet connection for rapid research and communication.
- Intel Core i7 (3.4 GHz), 16 GB RAM and 64 bits for secure, speedy data processing.
- Three monitors to boost efficiency while working on your complex projects.
- Telephone system with voicemail to guarantee optimal reachability.
- Telephone headset for hands-free communication with you. Allowing me to immediately incorporate your wishes and suggestions effortlessly.
- Professional Countryman microphone to record natural-sounding dialogues and commentaries.
- Additional wireless Plantronics microphone for complete freedom of movement. Extremely useful for dictating exercise guides while trying them out myself.
- Sit/stand desk and TOGU ball to remain constantly in motion – both physically and mentally. The outcome: supple texts.
- An ergonomic MS keyboard so my ideas can flow straight into your projects.
- Giroflex office chair for back support. In case your project requires a late shift. Or I simply cannot tear myself away from your captivating content.
- Water wall for air humidification and a pleasant room climate.
I also keep myself fit for your projects in my office. It’s actually entirely logical: a copywriter in a sound physical and mental condition delivers sound texts!
Software
Dust off your dictionary, launch Word and off you go? Not quite! An intercultural communication specialist not only needs to be able to process texts in their sleep. They must also be extremely proficient in the use of CAT tools, modern communication interfaces and research tools. Depending on the area of expertise, further software components and IT skills must be acquired. Just some of the applications I own and use regularly:
- MS Office: Outlook, Word, Excel
- CAT systems SDL Trados Studio, memoQ, etc.
- Dragon NaturallySpeaking dictation software
- Office library with Langenscheidt dictionaries for English, French and German (general, medical and IT)
- Office library with various DUDEN dictionaries (e.g. Deutsches Universalwörterbuch, Synonymwörterbuch, Richtiges und gutes Deutsch and Die deutsche Rechtschreibung)
- DUDEN spell check for rapid correction of inadvertent errors
- CMS systems Joomla and Wordpress
- DTP and graphics programmes Camera Raw, Adobe Bridge, Photoshop and InDesign
- ABBYY FineReader for top-quality PDF conversion
- FileZilla for FTP data exchange
- WinZip for efficient transmission of data packages
- ESET NOD32 AntiVirus 10 for maximum security
- Personal Backup and Acronis backup systems for reliable data security
