Ruchika

Getting started with designing tshirts, and some thoughts on inclusive body sizes

Tshirts are an important and memorable merchandise for Debconf (and other conferences as well). Our workshop will focus on teaching attendees how to super impose a design on a blank tshirt using open-source software GIMP. This skill will be helpful to design cloth merchandise for conferences.

Regarding GIMP, we will cover basic features first and subsequently, a full process to overlay a design on a blank tshirt. Post that, we will share few ideas for advance customization. So, this workshop is perfect for beginners who have never used GIMP, and are thinking of getting started with designing merchandise for open-source conferences.

In addition, we will also be discussing few considerations for designing cloths like: bigger busts, regular vs slim fits, colors and dyes, thread counts etc. This is to include our varied and diverse body sizes and community as a whole! :)

Prerequisites: laptop with GIMP installed. if not, can help to install gimp on site as well.

Walk down the memory lane - reflecting on all DebConf merchandise till date, and some inspiration

An event’s impact is largely determined by the memories it forges. An effective method to create these remembrances is to give tangible merchandise as reminders of the fun.

With this talk, we aim to present and break down DebConf’s merchandise journey till now. We will share our thoughts on all the past merchandise offered and offer all the participants – nostalgia and maybe a laugh or two. We will evaluate the merchandise using a few factors like reusability, ecological impact, inclusivity etc, and also highlight some of the parallels from other similar open-source conferences. Underlying thought is also to forge better merchandise design thoughts among the Arts community.

This talk is perfect for Debian arts community, people who are considering to better the merchandise and need inspiration - and really anybody who would like to go down the memory lane with us.

The talk is structured into the following 2 parts:

Part 1: Discussion of factors that should be taken into consideration for good merchandise? for example: - Sustainability: Ensuring that the merchandise aligns with eco-friendly practices. - Usability: Selecting items that attendees can integrate into their daily lives. - Interactivity: Incorporating elements that engage and interact with the recipients. - Aesthetics: Focusing on the visual appeal of the merchandise to enhance its desirability. - Alignment with community spirit, etc.

Part 2: A walkthrough of some of the best merchandise offered and DebConf’s journey in merchandising through the years Based on the above-mentioned aspects and our observations, we analyze each item’s ‘wow factor’, identify areas for improvement, and and share inspiration from how other conferences have solved similar problems.

We hope this talk can serve as a reflection on some remarkable past work by the Debian community while sprinkling in plenty of nostalgia along the way!