We are heading to Michigan that wonderful mitten-shaped state in the Upper Midwest for this weekend's gathering of WordPress aficionados. The designers of this sticker for WordCamp Jackson use the custom shape on our die cut machine to full effect, with the blue-toned color palette really shining through. They got their event branding as the foundation and they feature the City of Jackson logo along with a WordPress logo atop Cascade Falls, a local highlight.
According to Ashley Maurer on the WordCamp Jackson organizing team, the Cascades were built in 1932 and still remain one of the largest man-made waterfalls in the world. "For our logo, designer Joel Worsham wanted to represent something our little city is known for, so the falls were the natural choice!" says Maurer. "He also used the logo for the city of Jackson (the O in Jackson is a map showing the Jackson county in light blue), and then the three shapes above represent the three main levels of the Cascades." The City of Jackson has a few claims to fame, but one is that it's the birthplace of the Jackson Style Coney Island Hot Dog, a true American delicacy. Jackson and Detroit (78 miles east) debate the true birthplace of the Coney, but that's a story for another post.
This edition was really popular, as it was originally going to be a single track event. If you're not sure how a WordCamp works, each day is broken speaking sessions and workshops, often by topic areas called "tracks." These organizers had so many session submissions that they had to add a micro track specifically for developers. There is a lot to learn about WordPress, which is one of the most popular web publishing platforms online today. WordCamps are meeting all around the world every weekend, with some events hosting entire days where participants help work on the WordPress codebase and try to improve the tools as part of a service project. It's more that just a web hosting platform, and we are also in support of community events, whether they are tech events or local 5Ks.
Here's a little bit more about how WordCamp works, in the words of the folks at WordCamp Jackson.
WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress, the free and open source personal publishing software that powers over 75 million sites on the web. Each individual event is organized by local WordPress users, developers and fans. Showcasing local talent is one of the best things about WordCamp, and a WordCamp program includes local speakers/presenters whenever possible.