_Libre Graphics Magazine 1.1 cover_ / CC BY-SA 3.0

As discussed previously, I represented Creative Commons at Libre Graphics Meeting 2011. Also attending were the people behind Libre Graphics Magazine. If you aren't already familiar with Libre Graphics Magazine, it's a cool project crossing free software and free cultural works. It isn't as much a magazine of free software design tutorials (though to some extent it is that also) as it is a design magazine offering a critical perspective on and showcasing works made with such tools.

It's valuable that we have a magazine that can show off the strengths of libre graphics tools when put in the hands of capable artists. But the people behind this magazine can probably describe this much better themselves. On that note, Danny Piccirillo recorded an interview with the main people behind Libre Graphics Magazine (Ana Carvalho, ginger "all lowercase" coons, Ricardo Lafuente). Amongst other things, the interview touched on why even the printing of the magazine itself is useful:

Ana Carvalho: In the professional world, one of the things that is usually pointed out to people that use FLOSS [Free/Libre/Open Source Software] for design is that it's not good for printing.

ginger coons: We proved them wrong!

Ana Carvalho: Yes. And... you can see it's possible. And you can do it with the same quality that you can do it with other kinds of tools. So that's a very strong point.

ginger coons: That really is a constant refrain even within our own community. People always still talk about the printing problem. So... what printing problem?

Ricardo Lafuente: There's a lot of edges to be ironed out, but on the other hand we do get compliments from printers on how good our PDFs are constructed. And that's thanks to the quality of FLOSS software. There's still this kind of misconception that FLOSS software is not up to par with professional standards... that's not true, people still don't believe that, but that's their problem, and this is one of our ways to try and prove them wrong and actually try and get their interest toward alternate ways of making beautiful things.

There are plenty of other gems in the interview. Assuming we've piqued your interest, you can watch the whole thing below:

View on YouTube or archive.org / CC BY-SA 3.0

And of course check out Libre Graphics Magazine itself. The magazine is licensed as CC BY-SA 3.0, and PDFs are available at no cost on the site, but it really is a magazine that is designed for and shines best in print, so consider purchasing a physical copy. Thanks to ginger coons and also Ana Carvalho and Ricardo Lafuente of Manufactura Independente for taking the time to do this interview and to Danny Piccirillo for the large time investment in both filming it and editing it down.