Re: Volunteer

[Nathan Upchurch]

Title: Upchurch PWM Ltd

Hi Rob, Thanks for the welcome. I've read through the intro page and had a look at the activity list. I'd like to get involved with activities 3 (Brand Refresh / Logo), 4 (Landing Pages [copy writing]), 5 (marketing collateral) and I'm happy to take a look at what 9 (social networking) involves and see if it's feasible for me time-wise. The prospect of a site redesign IS daunting die to its size, but I really like the landing page idea. Increasingly, software solutions such as this one are represented by super simple pages with big shiny buttons (EG inky.com, mailchimp, ifttt.com, pagelime.com) that concisely articulate the benefits and features of the product with a clear call-to-action. I think we could get away with what we've got, if when a user searched for "open office" they were greeted with such a page, and then directed through to the nitty-gritty if that's what they were after. (if I'm making any sense?) I could easily create a landing page like this using Adobe Muse that would be less intimidating and (I think) increase conversion rates. We could even have a mobile and/or tablet version at the same time. This could then be updated quickly via FTP, and the .muse file could even stored on a communal google drive / dropbox folder for immediate editing by anyone who works in Muse. Just a thought at any rate! I built my whole site (and the mobile site) in Muse (and Edge Animate). I like the idea of a logo redesign, because while I think what we have is great, the whole "glossy" trend is going to be out shortly. I think it's better to stick with a flat vector graphic to create something more timeless. I'm happy to help. Kind Regards, Nathan Upchurch www.upchurchpwm.com 07513772758 | 01896 753 202 | Skype: n.upchurchpwm Please follow me on: Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin On 16/01/2013 17:15, Rob Weir wrote: On Tue, Jan 15, 2013 at 6:48 AM, Nathan Upchurch <nat...@upchurchpwm.com> wrote: Hi There, I'd like to subscribe to the mailing list, please, and I am happy to volunteer to help. Hello Nathan, welcome to the Apache OpenOffice project! I can confirm that you successfully joined the mailing list. Thanks also for the intro. I'd recommend a quick review of our Intro to Marketing page, design for new volunteers like yourself. There are other modules there that explain how Apache projects work, roles, decision making, mailing list etiquette, etc.. This is all good background information. http://openoffice.apache.org/orientation/intro-marketing.html Much of the marketing for the project has traditionally taken place via participation in open source conferences, with presenters, booths, etc. This is the grass roots activities that almost all open source projects are involved with. So we're planning a strong presence at the Fosdem conference in Brussels in February. But we're also increasingly looking at what is needed to increases awareness of OpenOffice to a more mainstream audience, beyond the open source and tech crowd insiders. This has been through blogging, social media, press interviews, SEO, etc. A list of activities that one or more of us have expressed an interest in is here: https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OOOUSERS/Marketing+Activities If any of those sound interesting, let us know. I see that you have skills and experience in design. So feel free to explore the OpenOffice website, see what we have and give us your appraisal. I think many of us believe we need a "refresh" of the site design, but the task is daunting, so any easy fixes are best. We're also looking at a "visual signature" refresh in the OpenOffice client in the next release. As part of that we've also been discussing a possible logo redesign. Regards, -Rob My skill set is as follows: Graphic Design Print Design Web Design Photo retouching and compositing Social Media I use the following software: (Adobe) Photoshop Illustrator Muse Indesign Edge Animate (occasionally) Dreamweaver My background is in print design, production and management. My business website is below if you'd like to get an idea as to what I can do. Kind Regards, -- Nathan Upchurch www.upchurchpwm.com 07513772758 | 01896 753 202 | Skype: n.upchurchpwm Please follow me on: Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin