Last weekend, I ended up in Prague, where the Drupal Design Camp 2010 took place. This was the first Drupal Camp to adopt one specific theme, yet despite (or perhaps because of) this specialization, it attracted more than 100 participants from all across Europe and even from overseas. It was organized by Marek Sotak and Morten Heide, who was responsible for the DrupalCon in Copenhagen, but who is perhaps best known as Mortendk.

Organization

Again, it was a pleasure to participate in a Camp that was this well-organized. I was particularly impressed by the fact they sent everyone an advance Email, containing not only all the basic information and contact addresses, but also advice on public transport, all of which makes the Camp-Experience less of an ordeal for new participants, particularly those who find themselves in a country whose language they don't speak very well.

Not only was the city very well chosen (What city could be more beautiful than Prague? Berlin for sure ;-)), but so was the venue: a Cinema, aptly named the Atlas Cinema. The Avatar announced that "Drupal-Design and -Theming" was showing, which was also in blue, but far more multi-dimensional.

And the food was delicious! Now I also know about Korbáčiky as well!

Community

This camp was a truly International event. I not only got the chance to meet Drupalers from the Czech Republic and Germany, but also from Slovenia, Serbia, the USA, Austria, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, France and other countries across the globe. When I look back on my time at the CommunityCamp in Berlin last week, as one of around a hundred participants, I formed the impression that this was about the ideal size for such an event, as absolutely no-one got lost in the crowd.

Yet again, we discovered that every Camp produces its own key participants. However, just as Community-Managers can't work without their Smartphones, and Developers can't work without their Notebook, the Designers and Themers, prefer not to use their usual technical aids during the sessions, but to only listen with their ears and wait until later to hit the keys.

The evening locations were very well-chosen, which enhanced the feel-good factor of the event even more. However, there's little doubt that the city itself made the largest contribution to the atmosphere: Prague is simply unique!

Sessions

After a very ;-) short introduction by Morten, the events got underway with a session by Marek, who brought us closer to a full appreciation of Theming in Drupal 7. Bojhan Somers, UX-Maintainer for Drupal 7, delivered a report on improvements to Usability in Drupal 7.

On Saturday, a round of general discussions about how HTML/CSS could be improved in Drupal began. Based on these, Thomas Moseler moderated a session on Sunday, on the topic of how the number of 'creative' people on the Drupal-Scene could be increased, as those present were mainly Front-End Developers. This led to a lively debate, involving the Designers in the Community, about whether or not they should actually have anything to do with Drupal. The pragmatic majority spoke up for them. The outcome of these discussions laid the foundation for the Designer Starter Kit Project. By installing these profiles, a Designer can get an easy introduction to Drupal, by editing an "empty" Theme according to their own creative visions.

I was really interested in the attitude of Microsoft towards its Browsers, and why they keep Internet Explorer firmly integrated into their operating system. The less than convincing answer to the latter question (for me) is that the operating system is able to access some sections of the browser that are extemely difficult, if not totally impossible, to isolate. Shouldn't it be the other way around, that the Browser is accessing some parts of the operating system? Anyway, you have to admit that Microsoft are willing to learn from other areas, and even admitted that IE8 is far from perfect. IE9 will undoubtedly be massively improved.

On the last night, Andrew Larcombe gave a presentation about OpenLayers.

Incidentally, this weekend, I also learned there's a good reason never to use 'XXX' as a place holder, particularly in honor of someone with no involvement in 'Adult' sites :-)

Conclusions

My own personal conclusions: I had lots of fun, got a great deal of input, had highly interesting conversations with very interesting people, and I now own yet another T-Shirt, emblazoned with a design most people can't actually understand, but who cares? :-)

And last, but by no means least, make a note that the venue for the Drupal Design Camp 2011 has been confirmed, even if established too spontaneously: Berlin! So when can I book the tickets?

Regarding other events, make a note of the following: The Drupal Design Camp Berlin 2011 (to be held sometime in the Summer: dates yet to be finalized), shouldn't be confused with the Drupal Camp Berlin 2011, which is held on the14th/15th May.