Hello everyone,

Thanks again to all of you for volunteering to help with DMAGAZINE. Our first official DMAGAZINE meeting had nearly ten volunteers and I'm sure that number will continue to grow now that we've got the ball rolling! Those of you who agreed to write articles should have already received some information from me - and anyone on the Layout team will be receiving some content in the near future!

As promised, here is a recap of what happened at our very productive Common Grounds meeting:

We discussed our VISION for DMAGAZINE: Digital (PDF) at first, possibly transitioning into a print magazine eventually. We may have a special collector's edition that is a print magazine OR we might allow subscribers to choose between digital or print versions. We are researching Mag Cloud and similar print options. PDF will be the digital format as it allows the sharing of web & video content & may be more attractive to advertisers. At first, this will be a quarterly (spring, summer, fall & winter) magazine, then bi-monthly or monthly as we gain popularity. Sections will include Photography, Graphic Design/Photoshop/Illustrator, After Effects/Premiere, Web Design/Dreamweaver/Flash/ColdFusion, and more. Artists retain all ownership/license for images. Submission is FREE. All work must be original or using stock images that allow commercial use. NO adult/sexual themes, nudity, violence, racism, drug use, etc.. "Classy" or "Artistic" nudity (non-pornographic or erotic) can be IMPLIED but not shown. Knowingly stolen work will not be printed. Release forms must be provided for all live models - the exception being stock art. Artists will have to agree to these terms prior to being published. We will NOT pay artists for their content, but we WILL offer free exposure to thousands of international subscribers; a bio/interview & artist photo; a free PDF copy of the magazine; and free advertisements or business cards printed in the magazine for all artists. We MIGHT consider different levels of membership, depending on what our members want. Free and unpaid membership will remain the same. $30 paid regular memberships will offer raffle entrance and members will NOT be obligated to write for the magazine. We are considering adding a third membership tier for members who want raffle entrance AND magazine.

MARKETING: We are trying to get local media exposure. Individual responsibilities in the near future: Brittany - newspapers in Central KY and Kentuckiana; Ace, Leo & Velocity in Louisville. Dee - see if we can get photographers' access to Rupp Arena events. Kris - Leo/Ace Weekly in Lexington. Our Summer issue will have equestrian-themed articles in honor of Equestrian games.

CONTENT: Writers have artistic freedom for all articles at this point. Stolen content and images are not to be used. No set page count or word count yet. Submit content ASAP for the March issue! Content must be original, and must be emailed to Brittany for review at content-submissions@d-mag.org
Cloud computing and file hosting/sharing will be done between the DMAGAZINE staff on d-mag.org to share ideas, images and layout rough drafts without having to meet in person. Magazine communication will occur via email and the Web, with meetings scheduled as needed.

TIMELINE:

o    Layout - Chris & Lynne will work together to create a layout. Brittany will send content samples by February 1^st. Rough draft of layout is due February 15^th. Final Draft due Feb 28th. Featured member should be towards front of magazine. Tutorials & articles should be in middle. Ad space should be considered throughout, & filled with teaser content, member sites or fake ads until we get real ones.

o    Content - Send content ASAP via content-submissions@d-mag.org

CONTENT (so far):

o    Cover Design & article about the cover (1^st issue is Joe)

o    Letter from the Group Manager each issue (Joe)

o    DMAG Calendar of events, news & local events each issue. Preview/teaser for possible Adobe events in Lexington, hosted at Spencerian (Joe, Brittany, & members)

o    Brief overview of last meeting, photos & raffle winner congrats. Dee will email Brittany photos from Common Grounds.

o    Most recent book/plug-in/software/hardware reviews and member survey/poll results from D-MAG.org

o    Featured Member - 1^st issue is longest-standing member (Brittany will interview)

o    Have some content related to time of year. (1^st issue - Joe's 2010 Resolution email)

o    "Who Inspires Us?" recurring section - (1^st article - Chris)

o    Photography (1^st issue: Amanda Townsell, James Washington, Ken Lawson) Dee & Brittany might submit work. Joe will send Brittany his Photoshop shortcuts from last meeting.

o    Web Design - Screenshots of talented designer's work. Tutorials for Flash, ActionScript, ColdFusion, Dreamweaver, or Photoshop web design plugins. Different web designers each issue. (1^st issue - John Paul Rawlins.) Chris & Brittany might submit work.

§  "Visually Stunning Websites" (recurring) - Chris suggested City of Lexington redesign. Joe suggests CSS Zen Garden. Brittany will find beautiful jQuery sites. All members email favorite sites or blogs to content-submissions@d-mag.org

§  Articles about web standards & sites meeting those standards; before-and-after site redesigns.

o    Premiere - articles & tutorials. (Kris)

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  • Videography & Special Effects: Avatar (Dee)
  • Graphic Design & Illustration - Submissions NEEDED!
    
    • Typography Trends for 2010 (Lynne)
  • Recurring sections - "Featured App" review by any member. Ken might review Readability. We discussed reviewing iPhone & Facebook app's."Lex and the Pretty" / "Urbinspiration" (recurring section) - members will submit their favorite local artists, designers & photographers, or local venues that have artwork (such as coffee shops, book stores, galleries...) Ken might review Don Ament for this 1st issue.
  • Member Classifieds/For Sale and possible small ad space or paid member ads.