[SLUG] Library display

[john at johnallsopp.co.uk]

Hi

I took some pictures of the library display, I hope I got the right
one (Bob?), the nice lady said there's more than one. Take a look here
<http://www.johnallsopp.co.uk/slug/> at the files starting imgp*.
Sorry the detail one is blurred.

I think the current people have missed a trick. If you look at the
display from the entrance, there's nothing to read.

Which leads me to my current beef about our stands and exhibitions,
such as they are, which is that we haven't actually got our act
together. I'm willing to put some effort into getting it right, but I
wanted to start a discussion.

I used to be a marketing consultant doing just these things, so this
isn't bullshit, it's what I get paid for doing.

My first rule for exhibition stands is that you need to be able to get
your message across in a one or two second glance. People at the
library, in those few paces from the entrance door until they're past
our stand, should be able to make a decision whether they'll look at
our display or not.

Which means we need a phrase which sums us up. Once we've agreed on
that, we can write it big on the top of the display and on that
backside facing the door, and then we can create banners for
exhibitions and so on.

So the discussion I want to have is this. What is our main theme?

Are we a Linux support group for people who know what Linux is?
A phrase that works for that might be simply 'Scarborough Linux User
Group', since those people would know what a LUG does.

Are we trying to help people convert to Linux from Windows?
A phrase that works for that might be 'Free software that works', or
maybe that sounds like we're giving away one program, perhaps 'A world
of free software'.

Are we more about the whole Open Source / Free Software movement?
A phrase that works for that might be 'Software freedom'

Am I missing anything?

Once we've decided on our main theme, that leads on to things like
graphic design standards. For instance, there's a good chance we
should probably standardise on the Tux colours for everything we do,
and perhaps we can use Tux in a standard way, along with a standard
form for  Scarborough Linux User Group. Font size, colours, margins
and all that need to be standardised so that people know when they've
got something from us, and they need to be chosen to reflect our
goals. The page layout for a 'freedom' organisation would be different
to that for a support group.

Thoughts anyone?

J