Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Hi,

We have been given some budget for Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise. But, rather than have all sorts of funny toys to receive at the event, it might be cooler to save most of the money for participant sponsorship and cool Summit events.

Last year, we had shirts and stickers (three sizes). Previously, we began to discuss USB Sticks (among other things). And, I know that GeneralAntilles really wants a baseball cap. ;) (Which, I personally think is a really good idea -- see below.)

I propose that we stick to the bare necessities (again) this year and limit our choices to shirts, stickers, and -- if it's cost effective -- baseball caps. If you have major objectives (or, really, really, wanted that Maemo-branded USB Stick or tote bag), you can voice them here, but think about what you'd rather have: sponsorship or something that says "Maemo" on it.

But, wait... First things first...

***We need to decide what goes on the stuff.***

There may be enough money to do a two-sided shirt, so keep that in mind. The three differently sized stickers were pretty cool last year (you can see one of them on my MacBook here -- and I think it was lcuk who was with me when we got the little stickers and put them on our N810s, although I could be wrong).

Anyway...

We have a few "cool" designs already (if you know of more, please let me know).

One is mine:
http://static.maemo.org/static/1/1dd..._2009_v002.png

...on was from baloo:
http://www.linuxuk.org/images/maemo_summit.png

...and the other from wazd:
http://s52.radikal.ru/i135/0907/6d/503ea215fcad.png

We could choose from these three (and then hone the one that was chosen to be exactly what we need), or you can submit your own idea. In fact, your idea could even just be a written description:

Yes, we even need to specify colors (white is always cheaper) and we should think about amount of colors to print too (less is always cheaper).

So, let's (quickly, like in the next week) decide on the two or three items that we'll have at the Summit and come up with a single good design for what we want printed on the items.

Thanks!
Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

That's a very big sticker :)

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

If this can help to save money for other stuff, why don't we sell these gadget at a cheap price instead of giving them for free?

I know that a gift is always better, but.... I don't think it's a big cost if people are really interested in.

Don't forget about the fact the Summit has free entrance for ALL. We offer 3 days of conferences, food, party ecc... all for free :)

I think there's nothing bad if we, at least, sell t-shirts or USB keys.

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Well, this would require a bit more infrastructure (and someone to manage money at the event), so I don't think it is feasible for an open situation like this. But, there has been some talk of opening some sort of maemo.org-specific store (on CafePress or something), where people can purchase things like this. Of course, we'd have to finalize designs used there, etc., but it would be a lot easier.

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

I got bored and I have no artistic skill as you can see below but at least it's a try. ;)

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Actually, there were three: small (tablet sized), medium (laptop sized), and large (bumper sticker sized).

There's still an up-front expense, so if Nokia isn't willing to "loan" the Maemo folks additional money, selling widgets is of no help. Beyond that, there's the issue of unsold merchandise, which equals unrecovered costs.

Additionally, it may be far more trouble than it's worth for the Maemo folks to set up some system of accepting money for small purchases at the summit. Nokia's accountants may not want to be troubled with the strange, small bit of money that would be coming back in. Nokia would need to send additional staff to cover the difference between free swag on a table and a sales counter. Heck, European consumer protection laws might even be a barrier if they'd force Nokia to ship a replacement Maemo LED flashlight to New Zealand after an attendee's €2 purchase stops working a week after the summit.

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

I'll fix this. Thanks.

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

What I'd like to see:

* Black t-shirts, one sided with chest based logo.
* Black beanie hat with logo (very similar to this - http://shop.canonical.com/product_in...362170d36fd28b) - great for jogging in the cold winter months.

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

The Danish Weekend shirts were a big success with some original and well executed design plus just a bit of good quality in the clothes. Worth the investment and dedication.

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Quim, are there any bettrer photos of the shirt than this?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3645/...9eee2081_m.jpg

I'd love for people to see how the design actually fits on the shirt.

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

FWIW, I've got another quote come through on USB pens: 2GB, small with a 2-tone logo on. 350 of them comes to £1,600.

In terms of designs, I like all of the above - but to anyone submitting any: feel free to go mad, but don't get upset if we don't think it's compatible with the maemo.org trademark policy :-)

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

I would also prefer black t-shirts.

And I think that it is a must to have "Amsterdam" mentioned there somewhere (like some examples above show).

It's like all these t-shirts you get from the concerts.
Maemo & Amsterdam 2009 - I took part.
That identifies a community.

I prefer baloos design, but if it dosn't look well on a t-shirt than I would print it without the mirror.

A baseball cap woul be nice, too.

I still have on fro former days..

Regards,
Uwe

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Andrew, is this something that's worth taking money away from the Summit? I'm not being facetious -- I'd really like to know if it's an important item. If so, we should reconsider the 2-3 items (shirts, USB sticks, sticker; shirts, USB sticks, hats; just shirts and USB sticks; etc.).

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

In the spirit of the Maemo/Danish Weekend shirts, I'd love to see a shirt that was the same color as the dark gray in the m.o header ^ with a pure orange logo/content application... I think that would look pretty slick. (Same with hats, stickers, USB sticks, whatever).

(Or, even orange base with a dark gray application on top -- I'll mock a few things up in the next day or so.)

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Thinking out loud:

We could incorporate the #maesum hash tag into the design somehow. Ever have a t-shirt with a live feed on it? ;) But, really, I'm just talking about the hash tag itself. :p

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

I'm not necessarily advocating them. And cost per unit is probably more than a good quality T-shirt.

Suffice to say, I'd rather have a well-designed t-shirt I could wear out rather than another USB stick.

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Agreed. I also think the logo on the front should be fairly discrete - having to shout about your logo makes you look desperate. Also, IME, the size of the logo is inversely proportional to the quality of the brand - and the T-shirt.

Some mockups:

http://bleb.org/software/maemo/summit-tshirt-front.png http://bleb.org/software/maemo/summit-tshirt-back.png

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

I agree, though the sticks would be a nice opportunity to distribute bits to attendees. If not USB, how about a DVD with things like (just thinking out loud) developer docs & references, training matterial, SDK scratchbox & rootstraps and/or a Virtualbox image for the lazy, a dump of repository.maemo.org source packages, Mer images etc?

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

I'd rather invest the money making sure there is good connectivity to download all that stuff to your preferred portable devices...

And yes, small brand but... It's funnier with bigger event identifier. Like someone said, it's comparable to the shirt of a specific concert or tour of your preferred band. A collectors piece. A very tangible and concrete souvenir of a one time community experience.

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

What about a 2D barcode on the back or front that points to maemo.org portal?

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

I have a cafepress shop... if need be, maybe I can get test merchandise made using it? Just let me know.

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Thanks. Me too.

When I get a little more time (doctor and dentist appts today!)... ;)

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Please let me promote my idea for a geocoin. You can see plenty of examples at Geocoinshop.de.

Imho this is the perfect add-on to a tshirt. Of course the shirt is a must and its something everybody has a use for. But it's nothing "special". Nor is a cap nor a usb stick nor a bag nor a mug special. But a geocoin is something you pretty likley haven't gotten before.

If you are not into geocaching then a geocoin is basically a nice medal with a maemo/summit logo and a unique id. If you are into geocaching you already know what a geocoin is good for.

Also if anybody is willing to make a nice design for the summit i'd be thankful. Currently i am thinking about one with the maemo.org logo (in while/orange) on a medal made of dark grey metal. But that's of course missing the amsterdam/summit relationship. So a better design is sure needed.

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

That's a cool, gimmicky item to give out at events, but I'm not sure it's worth the cost. We have a limited budget, so we need to focus on coming up with something everyone would want -- and use.

Of course, if there's an overwhelming response for something like this, it can always be reconsidered!

Thanks,
Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Here are a few color comps. Keep in mind that the fewer printed colors the better (let's try to keep it to one or two -- making gradients out of the question). These samples aren't meant to be design ideas, but just a way to see a few possible color combinations.

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Version 1 of a Maemo Summit logo based on the Amsterdam flag.

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Here are two more variations on the flag: one-color on light gray or orange.

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Okay, I'd like that one poster sized on nice stock. Once I have my wife frame it, it's going on my wall.

EDIT: They're replicating! Now I need to choose a color. Hmm.

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

And, there's more! A direct rip off of the flag (red shirt, one- and -two-color).

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Last one for now... We are all people, aren't we? ;)

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

What about "Fixed in Fremantle" t-shirts?

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Last year, Quim had everyone (ok, just a few of us did it, but...) create our own shirts with our favorite logo contest submissions. It was pretty fun. Maybe we should do that again!

Update: Done! Check out the party on Friday.

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Here's a hat application of one of the logos.

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Tim,

Why not put these logos in a banner/web badge shape here ;)

Ps. Liked the flag rip-off logo :)

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

My only concern with that is that nothing has been "officially" chosen and I don't know if I'd like to see all number of banners flying around the internets. On the flip side, any promotion is good promotion, so... Added. :)

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

A couple of the previous ideas using black instead of dark gray. (If you couldn't tell, this is my favorite so far.)

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

I'd go for black or dark gray shirt (I prefer black, personally). Definitely not white t-shirts; you can't ever wear them lest they get stained.

So far, the "Summit 2ae9" logo is my favorite (and we thought nobody was sure how to pronounce Maemo!), and I think it would endure a conversion to 2-color on black well enough. Something like Jaffa's front/back version would be nice.

As for hats, a baseball cap would be okay, but I don't wear hats all that much. Again, I'd prefer dark gray or black, and I still like the 2ae9 logo.


I have one additional suggestion. How about bandannas? As a cyclist, there's nothing better than a wet bandanna to keep your head cool on a hot day, and they're pretty versatile, even for non-cyclists ;). I know I'd wind up using a bandanna rather more often than a T-shirt or ball cap, and much more often than a knit cap, but I'm likely an exception that way...

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

So far, white shirts haven't been offered as a choice, but... They are cheaper.

I'll let the poll take care of the other comments. ;)

Tim

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Tim, I *love* your work.

But my experience in corporate logo development, especially for a diversity council, suggests being careful when incorporating symbols like national flags. Unless you've had experience contrary to mine... maybe I just worked for a stuffy company. ;)

Re: Maemo Summit 2009 merchandise and design...
 

Or "I know someone inside Nokia"