Meet the Team: William Butcher

How long have you been with DPS?

I’ve been with DPS since January 2007, so that makes it 15 years. I was fresh in Australia at the time (having recently moved here from Canada with my family) and this was the first job I applied for, so things worked out pretty well.

What is your role?

I work as our typesetter, graphic designer and desktop publisher.

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently doing work for our Disability Support Guide for Eastern Australia and our Aged Care Guide for Victoria. I’ve just finished all the design work on our Aged Care Guide for Tasmania. My normal day involves working in a desktop publishing program and gathering content from the editorial team, client services, and the website so that I can compile it all into the book, as well as for the tables that go in the back of the guide. I also check and create advertisements for clients that are advertising in our publication and make sure the publications are print ready.

What are some of the things you’ve learnt in this role?

When I started at DPS, we were working with a contractor to do the typesetting. When I joined the team my job was to gather the advertising and build a sample of what we wanted to do and then to send that to a contractor who would put the publications together for us.

I was able to bring my skill set into the role and now we can do the design and typesetting work within our company without having to outsource. It’s involved learning and making a modification to the design maybe two or three times over the years. I’ve learnt to work with others on designs too, whether that’s been the CEO or editor-in-chief, I’ve used the feedback to get something to look the way we want it to and to help make something the whole team is proud of.

I’ve also learnt lots about aged care over the years just by setting it, reading it and correcting it.

What gives you the greatest satisfaction in your role?

My greatest satisfaction in my work is the fact that we’re producing material that genuinely helps people. Whether we’re assisting people with details on disability support, aged care or retirement, we’re giving people useful information that helps make that process easier.

We all get older and we may know someone who needs to use these supports. It can sometimes be a scary time to try to figure out what to do next. Our content can help people navigate through that journey. From day one that’s one of the things I’ve been most happy about in my job here.

Now for some more lighthearted questions, which team member would you most like to be stuck on a desert island with and why?

That’s a tough one. I would probably be practical and try to figure out somebody that would be useful around a campfire or fishing. Someone that would help me survive but would also keep me company. I’ll say Ed (Ed Carrasco – Key Relationship Manager). I think he’d be very useful on a deserted island.

Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?

It’s a hard one because there’s so many different reasons why a place is great. The UK was fantastic for its European history. Uluru was fantastic in terms of better understanding the cultural history of Australia. The mountains in Canada are awe inspiring, as is the coast of Vancouver island – it’s a gorgeous place to live.

My favourite place to be though would probably be a cabin in the woods in Canada. If you could’ve gotten work there it would’ve been fantastic to live up that way. Cold in the winter and warm in the summer. Just a great time with family.

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