The Eurofurence Forum
Eurofurence Information => Feedback => Topic started by: Snow-wolf on 28.08.2013, 02:22:21
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Hello everyone : D
As you may have noticed, there were a few changes within the conbook team this year. Basically we ARE a completly new team and of course tried our best to make a colorful conbook for everyone as guide at the con and memory after the con. Now we are of course curious... how did you like it? :)
Of course suggestions, ideas and also critique are highly welcome, too, just tell us what you think!
Thanks in advance :)
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I really loved the new style!
The whole-colour style looks great and the layout is packed but not too dense. I also loved the idea of having the Artists Introductions. I wonder, if it would be fun to do something similar to the credit list as well? Instead of a dull list, we could write a funny one-liner or the like for each person, or at least for the directors. :3
What I didn't like too much was the amount of advertisement. That made the conbook look weird... Maybe you could cut that down a bit? It wasn't all that bad, since the adverts were all furry, but it seemed a bit much in my opinion.
The timetable looks "cleaner" and well arranged as well!
All in all it looks great. Thank you all for the hard work!
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the page numbers to related topics in the timetable was VERY MUCH appreciated, it allowed to very quickly find the details about an event, please do that again!
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I loved that new layout!
The artist introduction popped right out when I read it, awesome addition ^_^
Sadly as usual I did not have the time in reading whole bookie before half con was over :S #busypanthersarebusy
Other thing that got my attention was the maps, yes the maps, well detailed, good contrast and clear. I dont even want to look back the old con books and the maps after these x3
Also the dealer's den listing was great, nice to read what ppl are selling before even going in. Saves time from waiting in line :3
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Although I find myself unable to notice the changes in this year's conbook simply due to the fact that this was my first Eurofurence, I found it to be rather enjoyable reading and quite useful at the same time.
For somebody who was new to the con, the timetable along with the event descriptions provided a good overview of the variety of panels and other activities throughout the EF, which was supplemented really well with updates made available via the EF-App, which in turn could easily be accessed along with the public WiFi via the 2D barcodes in the conbook.
The commercials mentioned by Dhary were imho few and well integrated and selected enough to not be annoying or distracting from the more important parts of the conbook in any way.
Since they also help to pay for the printing costs of those beautifully colourful, informative and entertaining pages, I think they can easily be tolerated, especially since they are rather unobtrusive (as opposed to those in various other publications I know) and mainly advertise other furry conventions and some other furry things.
One thing, which might have been useful for those who were not privy to the Android/iOS app, would've probably been an additional insert detailling the car parks along with their daily rates around the venue (maybe even along with a little map or integrated into the one on the "show-your-badge" pamphlet).
I for my part am really grateful for all the hard work you guys put into creating this conbook, which was really helpful to me right from the start!
Keep up the good work! :3
Addendum:
Since I apparently took too much time before actually submitting this post, I can also only second what Kisu wrote! (-;
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I loved the conbook ^^
But as the head of security said, it was a bit of commercials here and there. Tho i dont mind the commercials or amount of then, rather please have more X3 But i suggest putting the commercials maby close to the end of the conbook, and gather them there, so that those that want to look for something specifik or want a way to reach their beloved artist or what it is about, can look there ^^
That way it wont bother anyone that dont like commercials, and will be easy accessible for those that likes it :3
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I gotta admit that I'm not really that much into comic stuff, but I still found that the conbook was done pretty nicely. I talked to a few people about it everyone said they loved it.
So, what can I say except: Well done! :)
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The conbook is extremely beautiful and there is nothing negative I can say because it was on par with or better than all other conbooks I have seen in some 25 cons now. That said, it's probably the best conbook, very colorful and beautiful.
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About the advertising: We already have planned for a new subdepartment that will take care of advertising applications, and limit the amount. We also may put most of them back on a double-page spread like before, so they won't interfere with the content.
About the credits: A funny one-liner would be nice to have, but seeing that the font is really small already and the credits list is almost two pages long, there would not be room for everybody, and I wouldn't like to single out some people over others.
Question to readers: How about the table of content? Is it useful? Would it be better positioned on the inside cover for easy access?
Question to readers: Since we got a new hotel next year, what do you think is the essential information you'd expect from the con book?
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Question to readers: How about the table of content? Is it useful? Would it be better positioned on the inside cover for easy access?
Question to readers: Since we got a new hotel next year, what do you think is the essential information you'd expect from the con book?
table of content is indeed useful ^^
And what i think would be essential info next year will be where to go for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And possible a night snack when someone gets the munchies. :P
maby add what type of food they tend to serve there. maby suggest places to go for taking pictures, and if something fun withing walking distance is happening. ^^ Its always useful.
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The whole conbook was great, but a detail I really liked was that the contributing artists got a chance to introduce themselves with an one-liner
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Question to readers: Since we got a new hotel next year, what do you think is the essential information you'd expect from the con book?
MAPS!
everybody will be lost, so having maps with strategical points of interests (event rooms/exits/passageway/registration/conop/medic/bars/toilets/etc..) is imo the most important.
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Maps.
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Okay maybe this is a stupid idea, but: in addition to maps, is there a way we can add (small) photos of the entrance to rooms etc. in some way? I'm thinking it might be easier to recognize what a place is than just a top-down map. Especially for those who have trouble reading maps, and I know for a fact there's plenty of people like that.
If it won't fit in the conbook (because I know just how hard it can be fitting all information in there), than perhaps the idea is still valid for the website. Perhaps even a small tour video could be made and posted online? But that's not for this topic.
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that could be a nice addition to the mobile app
Okay maybe this is a stupid idea, but: in addition to maps, is there a way we can add (small) photos of the entrance to rooms etc. in some way? I'm thinking it might be easier to recognize what a place is than just a top-down map. Especially for those who have trouble reading maps, and I know for a fact there's plenty of people like that.
If it won't fit in the conbook (because I know just how hard it can be fitting all information in there), than perhaps the idea is still valid for the website. Perhaps even a small tour video could be made and posted online? But that's not for this topic.
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The conbook this year was great! I hope I can help out a bit more next year :)
Question to readers: Since we got a new hotel next year, what do you think is the essential information you'd expect from the con book?
I agree, maps! It would be awesome to have an extra sheet for taking away with a map of the surroundings of the hotel, much like the maps you get at tourist information.
Maybe on one side there could be the hotel floor plan and on the other side a map with surroundings such as stores, restaurants and pharmacies.
Maybe it is also possible to shorten recurring information such as convention rules a bit and include some information about the venue and the city!
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The conbook this year was great! I hope I can help out a bit more next year :)
Maybe on one side there could be the hotel floor plan and on the other side a map with surroundings such as stores, restaurants and pharmacies.
mmm, there was already one with the surroundings, the one with the various restaurants and shops offering special prices for EF attendee, it was on an extra A3 sheet folded that came with the conbook.
but having the hotel map on the other side could be a nice idea
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Question to readers: How about the table of content? Is it useful? Would it be better positioned on the inside cover for easy access?
Question to readers: Since we got a new hotel next year, what do you think is the essential information you'd expect from the con book?
I liked the table of contents. To me it’s not important if it is positioned on the inside cover or where it was now. As soon as you knew where to find it, it was useful. The references in the timetable to the page numbers of the event descriptions were very helpful too.
To second question: Maps, as said by the previous writers.
There was one more really little thing I want to mention: The character you used as a hyphen in compound words (like e.g. “open-minded”) was too wide in my opinion. This may sound like nitpicking, but I really always got stuck in reading because I misread this sign for a dash. Interestingly, the hyphen that was used for syllable division at line endings was shorter, how it should be.
In any case: Thanks for your great work.
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Big kudos to the Conbook team! For the first time, you did a wonderful job. This was the prettiest and most useful conbook I ever held in my paws. High-quality artwork, nice paper quality and a clean and elegant layout.
Also, thanks for the useful additions: Finally we had a table of content and page references <3 It also bears repeating that the artist's portraits were a really nice touch. Not sure if we need to introduce our directors that way. In my opinion, there's too many hard-working volunteers at this con to just select a few.
(Edit: Got rid of a potentially provocative sentence that wasn't about the conbook.)
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I think that generally conbook was great. Colorful and useful, as it should be :) Page references from timetable to event descriptions was great. There was few mistakes though that timetable and event description were showing different rooms.
Few small Imo suggestions:
Put something important and often needed to centerfold. Like hotel/event area map. That page is so easy to open and find in less than second. I understand it is good place for nice art piece also, but I'd prefer having something useful-through-the-con on those pages.
Instead of so much art, I'd love to have some fictional furry stories in conbook also. Stories are underrated :) I can't remember which con it was that had multiple short stories written to conbook. It was nice to read them while idling in random convention queue.
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The decision to have no stories in the conbook was deliberate - it's one of those things that individuals keep requesting, but in the end, the vast majority only sees it as a wall of text of dubious value :) So I requested to no longer include any fiction in the book. It requires an attention span that most people don't have at a con. A comic would work.
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The decision to have no stories in the conbook was deliberate - it's one of those things that individuals keep requesting, but in the end, the vast majority only sees it as a wall of text of dubious value :) So I requested to no longer include any fiction in the book. It requires an attention span that most people don't have at a con. A comic would work.
Oh yes, I very much support the idea of a comic! If you want to go nuts, you could even get a team of multiple artists together and let different people draw different panels / pages (depending on how long it is). It'd probably be easier than working together on one big picture anyway.
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That's one awesome idea....
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The maps are needed in the pocket guide (too). I usually leave the conbook in the room while the pocket guide goes in my pocket and is always around. It was a pitty the banner brawl was missing in the pocket guide and so I missed it too. When you note such mistakes after print write them on a flipchart at registration and everyone can fix his pocket guide. I'm aware you did just-in-time updates with the app, but even though having a S3 and gsm-internet the pocket guide was still easier to use: especially because you couldn't mark and get alarms for your events of interest and were always confronted with the initial alphabetical order of events using the app. The only pages which looked odd in the conbook was that which advertised (primarily for the other cons): Printed text literally using the last millimeter (and sometimes cut off) not using the usual header or footer or pagenumber simply made it look like not really belonging to the conbook. Skip counting them, print them all on the same physical sheet of paper and they can be easily ripped out later.
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mmm, the pocket guide may be too small to have useful maps on it, beside it's already full, it would require adding at least one additional fold (that would still fit into a A4 format length it seems)
The maps are needed in the pocket guide (too).
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I love the cover artwork SO much, you did choose the right artist for that. :) :)
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I love the con book and I'm considering hanging some of the artwork in my room now! Though I have to admit shamefully that I didn't give it a good cover-to-cover read through until after the convention (and I'm certainly not alone there). XD When I got it, I went straight for the schedule and the event descriptions.
The advertising didn't strike me as negative because it was thematically appropriate, actually had some nice looking artwork, and (most importantly!) didn't intrude on the content. An ad for "<insert popular soft drink brand here>" would have looked entirely out of place, but I don't think there is anything questionable about furry events promoting each other, or related events and services. (And I think the amount of advertising in general was rather low. On a quick look I'm counting 5 full pages, not counting the "end tide" page, and two banners on the bottom of other pages. That is less than 10%. Next time you go to the dentist, flick through some of the crap mags there.)
I also entirely missed the pocket program, but I sort-of invented my own version of it by printing the online PDF in "2 on 1" mode so it comes out in A5 format if I cut it in the middle. Then it fit nicely into my A5 note book that I was carrying around most of the time anyway, I can text-marker interesting events beforehand, and if i put the last page in upside-down i can just flick out the whole program to quickly see the floor plan. (Only slightly larger font and b/w printer friendly contrasts would have been nice for that, but it worked great nevertheless so no complaints.)
And last but not least... I LOVE MAPS!!!111 <3 And the online PDF was great to familiarize myself with the general layout before I arrived.
Oh, and I didn't use the "app" because I was the only person at the convention without a smartphone and unlimited data plan. Please keep the printed stuff as well, and it works without batteries.
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Oh, and I didn't use the "app" because I was the only person at the convention without a smartphone and unlimited data plan.
No, you were not the only one ;).
Please keep the printed stuff as well, and it works without batteries.
Indeed, please keep it :).
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The Conbook layout and design was the best ive seen yet. (EF14-19)
Nothing moar to say ... keep it that style.
For the 20th anniversary it would be cool to have it like the Anthrocon Conbook.
One-Two Sentences about every Sfatt Member - explaining what he does and is.
It doesnt have to be written as big as in the AC Conbook. Bould would be a nice to have and
kinda honour for every Staffer doing a great job.
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The art in the conbook is simply astonishing. We have so skilled artists and it is a pleasure to enjoy their work while reading the conbook. I really like the style. Keep it!
Does Eurofurence have an official mascot? No? Wouldn't it be appropriate to have one? Small comic strips could also be an awesome extra feature. He/she/it could then appear in these, if it were.
One-Two Sentences about every Sfatt Member - explaining what he does and is.
I totally agree. The staff of EF should definitely be mentioned in the conbook. Their hard work is what makes it possible for the rest of us to have an awesome time, and a blast of a con!
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One-Two Sentences about every Sfatt Member - explaining what he does and is.
I totally agree. The staff of EF should definitely be mentioned in the conbook.
Unfortunately, the number of pages has a hard limit, so any new feature requires either smaller print, less art, or dropping another feature. The staff listing in the credits section should give you an idea who's who and does what - and that is two pages long already. So many great people working here!
We do appreciate the appreciation though ;D
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We do appreciate the appreciation though ;D
Thank you for appreciating us appreciate you appreciate us all.