Odds are you landed here after reading a press release or story, a mention on a forum or, perhaps, you heard about us from a friend or business associate. To streamline it though, you got here because we promoted Creative Latitude. And that, my friend, is what this corner of the web is all about.

The idea started as a way for a couple of designers to get better visibility for their sites. That idea was discussed on the About.com Graphic Design forum and, eventually, evolved into Creative Latitude. From two people chatting about an idea, we grew to over 35 founding members from across the globe. Pretty neat, eh? And boy, can we calculate time zones!

The discussions about how to proceed was a democratic process. Everybody had (and still has) their say - positive, negative, good and bad. We hear 'em all. We've kept it that way throughout the development process and it remains a core value for Creative Latitude. Having feedback from people in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, etc. was important too. The Net's a global thing and we're a global thing.

Creative Latitude is about promotion and education. Nope, we're not talkin' readin', writin' and 'rithmetic. We seek to find ways to educate people about the creative process and the business value we, and our particular discipline, offer. Creativity, whether visual or the written word, affects people. It influences their thinking. Savvy enterprises understand this and use it. Creative Latitude is a place for sharp business people to find collaborators for their projects and learn about various trade practices, ethics and processes.

For those imaginative souls who are called 'creatives', this site provides a place for you to promote your practice. You'll also find a network of like-minded friends from all over this spinning rock we call Earth. Read through the articles, check the resources, look over others' sites and get inspired. If you have news about your practice, join us and post your stuff. We'd love you to join our party!

An important note about CreativeLatitude is that this whole shebang is volunteer-based. Yeah, we're a pretty philanthropic group ­ except when it comes to client stuff. We tend to charge for that. Sure, we'd love to be able to donate our time to the corporate cause, it's just that we've developed this nasty habit of eating and having a roof over our heads.

FYI: No meta tags were harmed in the development of Creative Latitude. However, several pizzas were sacrificed to the cause. It was unavoidable.