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Designers, how do we get you guys to contribute to open source projects?

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Re: Designers, how do we get you guys to contribute to open source projects?

#21

Post by jeremyswank »

beaumartinez wrote: post #7
pieter wrote: post #2

My girlfriend tried to design an icon for an open-source app she uses, but the experience hasn't been really great. I think the way developers in open-source projects communicate doesn't really work with designers. She sent the photoshop source file and a png to the mailing list, but was told to send in a patch instead, which meant she had to learn how to use git to check out the repository, add the icon to the repo,…

> Finally, one of the developers imported the file into the GIMP, changed some stuff on the icon without discussion, botched the output and then added that to the project. Isn't that part of the "contract" of FOSS? You relinquish copyright of your contributions to the project as a whole. (I can see how this can bite designers who don't know much about the FOSS movement.) I suppose in this situation it's a good thing…

but wait, it says the developer 'botched the output' -- shouldn't i be able to presume as a designer (who knows how to create proper output) that my contribution will not be botched by someone who may be a really fine coder, but lacks a good understanding of how to optimize images and deliver good output for the screen?

Re: Designers, how do we get you guys to contribute to open source projects?

#22

Post by perlgeek »

wccrawford wrote: post #3

Pay them. Don't -ever- expect anyone to contribute for free. When they do, treat them special instead of taking them for granted. That seems like common sense, but that's what I see all the time when it comes to programming projects, open source or not.

> Don't -ever- expect anyone to contribute for free. When they do, treat them special instead of taking them for granted.

Right, but apply the same measure to developers too.

We often get into the habit of taking some contributor's work for granted, be we shouldn't. Every patch should be treated with the same respect and gratitude. If it's somebody's seven-hundredth patch, you don't have to say "thank you" for every patch, but you should still keep that humble attitude.

Re: Designers, how do we get you guys to contribute to open source projects?

#23

Post by Charuru »

sp332 wrote: post #20
Charuru wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds unfair, developers don't get paid, why do designers do.

Actually, most kernel hackers (and I'll extrapolate wildly and say most open source programmers!) are paid to hack. PDF, relevant bits are in Tables 6, 9, 10, and 12. http://www.linuxfoundation.org/sites/main/files/publications...

If you're talking about os products that are supported by a company, there are a great deal of paid designers, eg mozilla, webkit, android, etc.

Just in this context of getting people to 'contribute', we're explicitly referring to projects where the developers do not get paid.

Re: Designers, how do we get you guys to contribute to open source projects?

#24

Post by eagleal »

Adding on others (lack of recognition/respect, very difficult to submit changes if you're not a dev, etc).

One reason designers usually don't contribute to open source, is because they're paid to improve UX/UI on their commercial competitors. If GIMP/Inkscape had the same UX/UI as the Creative Suite, there wouldn't be market for the latter (this is what designers are paid for, unlike developers).

This allows more startup opportunities or companies like Canonical (parent company of Ubuntu) to provide a free and open source product (Canonical actually has dedicated designers).

Re: Designers, how do we get you guys to contribute to open source projects?

#26

Post by micrypt »

replicatorblog wrote: post #13

1. Ask for help - I'm a designer that reads HN everyday and I wouldn't know where to look if I wanted to participate in an open source project. Is there a list? The problem is most OS software aside from GIMP/Inkscape doesn't make its way in front of designers often. 2. Make it discrete - What needs to be designed? The entire UI and workflows? The application icon? The internal navigation glyphs? Redesigning an entir…

#2 - Perhaps a reasonable starting point would be improving the look of the project's documentation.

Re: Designers, how do we get you guys to contribute to open source projects?

#27

Post by greengarstudios »

replicatorblog wrote: post #13

1. Ask for help - I'm a designer that reads HN everyday and I wouldn't know where to look if I wanted to participate in an open source project. Is there a list? The problem is most OS software aside from GIMP/Inkscape doesn't make its way in front of designers often. 2. Make it discrete - What needs to be designed? The entire UI and workflows? The application icon? The internal navigation glyphs? Redesigning an entir…

minor typo: discreet -> discrete

Re: Designers, how do we get you guys to contribute to open source projects?

#28

Post by vog »

Sirupsen wrote: post #6
pieter wrote: post #2

My girlfriend tried to design an icon for an open-source app she uses, but the experience hasn't been really great. I think the way developers in open-source projects communicate doesn't really work with designers. She sent the photoshop source file and a png to the mailing list, but was told to send in a patch instead, which meant she had to learn how to use git to check out the repository, add the icon to the repo,…

Yes, version control definitely seems like one of the biggest gaps. The communication between developers and designers have to improve, and the developers will have to realize they can't ask every designer for commits, but they can probably ask them for .zip files.

On the other hand, maybe we should make designers want to use Git.

This might be not as crazy as it sounds, as I recently learned:

A few weeks ago, there was a short presentation about Git, targeted at non-programmers such as graphics and web designers. After the presentation, one of the designers (who apparently already knew about Git) stood up and criticized the presenter for not going deeper into branches and auto-branching.

Of course, the presenter intentionally left that topic out, in order to not confuse all those Git newbies.

However, the designer argued that this is what would make Git interesting for designers. He said that all this diff/commit/push/pull stuff was boring for designers where a "diff" between graphics files is neither readable nor meaningful, and where automatic merges are impossible anyway. But branching has the power to reflect the natural work-flow of a designer who permanently goes back to previous versions in order to try different variants. Reflecting this via "Save as ..." (and naming files accordingly) is very cumbersome.

Although I personally think this guy overrated the power of branches, this might change once the Git user interfaces becomes simpler to use, more targeted to designers (rather than just software developers) and better integrated into graphical tools like Gimp, Inkscape or even Photoshop.

Re: Designers, how do we get you guys to contribute to open source projects?

#29

Post by jt2190 »

OK, I'll bite... The article states that the only way to improve the user experience is to bring in a Designer (loosely defined as somebody who doesn't code.) I'd argue the opposite: Having a programmer who really understands user interfaces and user interaction is the critical, missing piece.

Now that I'm in deep, let me go further... A motivated programmer can learn the basics of interaction design very quickly, and get the user interface to a point where it at least doesn't suck.

Re: Designers, how do we get you guys to contribute to open source projects?

#30

Post by Raphael »

Sirupsen wrote: post #18
us wrote: post #9

Open source works great for developers for many reasons. On the flipside, rarely does it benefit a designer (although not always true). 1. It exposes a programmer's code work for all to see. If it's bad, you get more than just critique. Others can point out what is wrong with the code but even better, they can correct the code or help you see what is wrong. If it's good or great, it makes for an amazing addition to a…

It's definitely easier for developers to contribute to open source projects, they can just dig into the code and easily contribute patches. Designing for a project requires a lead to a greater extent to keep the design consistent, whereas programming is more defined and concrete work: "This is wrong, fix it." If the issue no longer occurs after the patch is applied, work is done. Design work is more abstract in that…

The word is "definitely".
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