Tonight at the end of the Front End User Group Meeting, we discussed how we might take on the design process for DrupalCon Portland.
It was noted that no Portland-based or even PacNW design shops submitted proposals to the Drupal Association's Request for Proposals.
Several expressed how Portland Drupal shops are mostly small shops that can't afford to unilaterally commit to such a project.
Many shared the desire to contribute and wondered if such a project could be crowd-sourced to the Portland Drupal and Design community, of which we are so proud.
With this in mind, here is my humble proposal:
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A design contest is held in which the deliverable is Style Tiles or other such sampling of a Portland-themed DrupalCon design for use on the conference website, badges, signage, etc.
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The submissions are judged and voted on by the Portland Front End User Group meeting next month (3rd Thursday of August 2012).
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The prize is a cash portion of the budget proposed to be used for the winner of the RFP.
(With the design idea in hand, work on specific tasks as a community can now commence, thus avoiding the dreaded "design by committee" option.)
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A "cat herder" acts as PM and single-point of contact to the DA.
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The project tasks are managed via an online ticketing system, to be determined by the cat herder.
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Code and Design Sprints are organized by the cat herder "after hours". The community and especially the Front End User Group is invited to participate in the fulfillment of all tasks set forth in the DA's RFP and final scope of work.
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The Portland Drupal Community proudly displays their work at DrupalCon Portland!
Thoughts? Suggestions?
Respectfully submitted,
Amber Himes
Comments
Design contests have come up
Design contests have come up in the past within the larger Drupal community, and I would draw your attention to some of the discussion that has surrounded them: http://groups.drupal.org/node/237478 and http://groups.drupal.org/node/243283
I'm sure people more closely involved in design can point to additional threads, and I'm not suggesting that there is a consensus but there has been thought on the topic.
Good point
In the effort to avoid taking advantage of a small business, we wouldn't want to in turn take advantage of designers under the mask of a contest.
The consensus seemed to be that we wanted to work on this as a community but only if there was a design to work with already.
The splash page was brought up as a potential starting point. Does anyone have details on whether that would be a viable option?
Amber Matz
The design community
In regards to crowdsourcing, the issue is how the call for design is worded and how the designer is compensated. The Portland design community can be sensitive. Let's not forget the call for design the City of Portland had a few years that offered basically praise and kudos for a complete website redesign (including theming and development) for the city. Needless to say that went over like a lead balloon (on fire). Although AIGA (the American Institute of Graphic Arts) has a firm stance on crowdsourcing http://www.aiga.org/whats-the-harm-in-crowdsourcing/ they also have design competitions. Since this organization has a strong presence in the design community, I would take a look at their contests and maybe take their lead for verbiage. http://www.aiga.org/competitions/ or perhaps even team up with them or the local AMA.
On a personal note last night was the first time I had heard about a call for design or RFP and I would lover to take a crack at this project.
Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Samuel Beckett
Best to give shops a chance to respond to the RFP
I agree that it would be the best course of action to just wait and give local shops the chance to submit proposals for the original contract, since last night was the first time to hear about it for many of us.
Here is the link to the Association's Call for a Design Partner:
https://association.drupal.org/drupalcon/design-partner
Portland-area shops: Don't be swayed by the already-past deadline of July 9. It was my understanding that this was the 2nd time this RFP was submitted and the priority here is to contract with a local company. Contact the Drupal Association directly if you have questions of clarification.
Amber Matz
Having previously worked at
Having previously worked at Aten Design Group (the company that did design for Drupalcon Denver) and seeing first hand how much work is involved, I don't think crowdsourcing or having the community take this on is a good idea.
While I'm certain the community could produce the items needed in the time frame required, I'm dubious that they'll be able to do so with the quality and unified design that a dedicated design agency would.