As you probably know, there is annual convention called Flock. This year’s is happening in Cape Cod, Hyannis, MA and will begin the morning of Tuesday, August 29. Sessions will continue each day until midday on Friday, September 1.

I have asked all of the session leaders from Flock some questions.

And now you are about to read one of the responses.

Designing Fedora Badges by Marie Nordin

What is the goal of your session at Flock?

The goal of my session at Flock is to educate and guide attendees through the process of creating Fedora Badges artwork. I would like to help Fedorans who are interested in being artistically creative find a fun and useful outlet with active mentors to guide them. Another goal of my session is to empower contributors to have the ability to create badge artwork for their events and projects within Fedora.

What does it affect in the project?

Fedora Badges is a fun motivator for people to become more involved with the Fedora project. It reaches most areas of the project and it has the ability to create a large amount of contributions. My hope is that my session will create more Fedorans who are capable of making Fedora Badge artwork. This would allow for more badges to be published and in turn, create more contributions and participation throughout the entire project.

What does your talk focus on?

The Fedora Badges Design session focuses on creating badge artwork and showing that any person can do that. I will guide attendees step by step through the process, helping them overcome any obstacles, giving them all the necessary resources, and showing them how to keep contributing in the future.

Without giving too much away, what can attendees expect to learn or do in your session?

Attendees of my session can expect to learn exactly how to create artwork for Fedora Badges using Inkscape, Pagure, and badges design resources. They will learn techniques to overcome challenges in the creation process, how to improve their designs building from artwork that already exists, and how/where to find guidance for their designs.

Who should attend?

Anyone who wants to:

Be creative

Learn how to use Inkscape (or sharpen their skills)

Learn about graphic design

Contribute to a fun and artistic part of Fedora

What do you do in Fedora/how long have you been involved in the project?

I help to run and guide the Fedora Badges project and I contribute to the Fedora Design team as my extra time allows. I first got involved with the Fedora Project with an internship in 2013 through Outreachy. I completed the three month internship under the guidance of my mentor, Mizmo. During that time I designed over a 100 badges and a style guide for badge creation. I have continued to stay involved by making artwork, mentoring newcomers, triaging tickets, and speaking/teaching about Fedora Badges.

What attracts you to this type of work or part of the project?

As an artist and graphic designer, I am naturally very attracted to the Fedora Badges project. I enjoy the creativity and collaboration that the badges project allows. I became involved with badges because of the design, and I have stayed because of the community. Each time I have been privileged enough to attend Flock, I find more and more people who are excited and happy about what the Fedora Badges project does for this community. This is a great motivator to keep doing what I am doing to make Fedora Badges a success!