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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?

#191

Post by ary »

Just as you expect that non-programmers have no clue about code, you must accept that non-designers (you) have no clue about (user interface / user interaction / graphic) design (keep reading).

Obviously this isn't an absolute, and there are exceptions to this rule. The most important thing I can get across is this; End users do not, and will not, think like you do about your software (Read 10x). The reason you must get perspective outside your own is because yours is tainted beyond repair when looking at your own project.

So, what can you do to make your open source project more appealing to a designer?

1) Let go of preconceived bias when it comes to your UI / look-and-feel.

Someone more interested in the visual appearance and usability of your application is going to want to make changes to the workflow. Just as you test your code, test your design to make sure the designer's assumptions hold up. As a president once said, "Trust but verify."

2) Develop a clear understanding of where your designers implementation responsibilities end and yours begin (and vice versa).

Which is to say, know their limits, and know your own. If they don't know how to integrate their work into your project then either help them or find a third party that can. If you don't know how to integrate their work into your project then have them help or find a third party that can. Focus on your strengths. Nothing is more dissatisfying that seeing your work butchered.

3) Check the ego at the door/keyboard/whatever.

This applies to everyone involved in any way, shape, or form. Objectivity is the ideal, but lets be realistic. Personally I know more people who have had bad experiences volunteering / interacting with open sources projects than good (including myself). While this is anecdotal I think it's still important. Don't mistake popularity with success, and don't let popularity become validation for your lack of social skills. The people at the other end of your emails, IMs, IRC channels, etc are just that... people. The golden rule gets turned up to 11 when someone decides to take some of their free time and donate it to your cause.

This is hardly comprehensive, but I think it touches on a few points in ways I have yet to see in this thread. Keep doing your good work.

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

#192

Post by lwhi »

I'd suggest it might be more worthwhile thinking in terms of development teams and UX teams.

I think the appeal of working on an OSS is that a developer gets to hone their skills and work collaboratively. It's a way to contribute (give back), to gain experience and to gain kudos.

I don't think the same collaborative aspect works as easily for design - because design problems are perhaps less easily worked on iteratively as a group.

UX, as a discipline, involves problems which can be solved collaboratively - and lends itself to team work. Design that's born from UX research tends to solve problems which have been more clearly defined from the outset.

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

#193

Post by sgdesign »

zavulon wrote: post #80
jbk wrote: post #53

I really wish I knew how to get great designers... VLC is a product, that is widely used, usable (not the mac version, though), but it is extremely ugly. It is quite hard to get designers to help us (redesigning all the buttons for example) for quite many reasons. The biggest reason is that we don't speak the same language. Many designers don't understand the criticism that usually comes around with each modification…

> usable (not the mac version, though) Heh. Obviously as VLC's developer you know better, but FWIW I've been using VLC on Mac OS X extensively, as my primary video player. I don't think it's unusable, or ugly at all.. I can't be the only one, can I?

I'm a designer too, and I don't think there's anything wrong with VLC's UI or design in general.

(Except maybe the fact that the playlist's default setting always goes back to "shuffle" for some reason.)

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

#194

Post by xiongchiamiov »

pnathan wrote: post #84
josegonzalez wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're quite wrong. GitX is available at https://github.com/brotherbard/gitx/downloads (Get the experimental branch) Git Tower is available at http://www.git-tower.com/ Textmate has a GIT Bundle at https://github.com/jcf/git-tmbundle (It's quite good, but maybe not for designers). And Giggle ( http://live.gnome.org/giggle ). Windows is the only OS lacking a good client, but I use GitX for Mac every day, as do the les…

Yes, I just picked up git for Windows, and it is atrociously unusable. Brutally atrocious. It's not like Windows is a popular operating system - git shouldn't support it as a first-class citizen. ;)

Most people seem to say that it works just fine. In my limited experience, it was just like git on Linux.

Given that git was created for hosting the Linux kernel, it should be obvious why it's not a first-class citizen.

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

#195

Post by xiongchiamiov »

alanfalcon wrote: post #131
mechanical_fish wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But how, as a design idiot armed with a recently downloaded copy of Gimp, do I tell whether or not my fine edit has "botched" your design or not? Here we come to a fundamental problem of FOSS economics. There are three forces which protect the software from the work of well-meaning but clueless people: A) Physical reality. The software has to work. If I take an ax to the internals of Apache it will quickly become app…

I can define "wrong": Wrong is using the square image stretched to fill a rectangular space, instead of using the rectangular image I provided. It's mis-aligning elements intended to be shown on a grid. Or attempting to convert that PNG with a complex alpha channel to a GIF.

While those may be commonly agreed upon as being wrong, it's hardly an encompassing definition.

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

#196

Post by xiongchiamiov »

jbk wrote: post #77
lovskogen wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a interface designer and a VLC user. I'd love to help. How? Who's the key decision makers? If the interface needs alot of code to get right, will this be prioritized?

How? Come and discuss on IRC, or by mails. Key decision makers on that part of VLC is 2 or 3 people at max. If the design is there, the code will follow, believe me.

Providing forms of communication other than IRC and mailing lists (and issue trackers) is probably the first step towards getting designers participating.

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

#197

Post by Corrado »

ThomPete wrote: post #128
schwabacher wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the intrest of bi-lingual education could you explain what you mean when you come in talking about alignment? Developer here, and I would definitely be thinking 'right, left, center'?

So to speak in your language look at the pink lines here: http://www.000fff.org/uploads/code_alignment.png Alignment is everywhere. When you start analyzing interfaces you will often find that great interface design attempts to have as few alignment lines as possible. Obviously text on a line is alignment too (horisontal). And then there is optical alignment which is especially important in typography.

You want to have as few alignment lines as possible? I would think that aligning elements (buttons, form fields, etc.) would be a good thing. Of course, I'm a developer so that may be my problem. :)

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

#198

Post by philwelch »

Corrado wrote: post #197
ThomPete wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So to speak in your language look at the pink lines here: http://www.000fff.org/uploads/code_alignment.png Alignment is everywhere. When you start analyzing interfaces you will often find that great interface design attempts to have as few alignment lines as possible. Obviously text on a line is alignment too (horisontal). And then there is optical alignment which is especially important in typography.

You want to have as few alignment lines as possible? I would think that aligning elements (buttons, form fields, etc.) would be a good thing. Of course, I'm a developer so that may be my problem. :)

If all of your buttons are aligned to one line, that's better than having half aligned to one line and the other half aligned to a different line. If none of your buttons are aligned, then you don't have zero alignment lines, you have as many alignment lines as you have buttons.

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

#199

Post by [deleted] »

jrwoodruff wrote: post #129
flink wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

re: 2) I can't speak for all developers, but I generally try to work with the mantra of "first make it work, then make it work well and then make it pretty or fast (depending on what the project is)". I guess that I am a little guilty of thinking of "design" as mostly eye candy and nice-to-have (when in reality, some parts of design probably should be part of making it work well). But I also abhor applications that h…

Totally agree. On all points I think. Shiny interfaces that don't work suck as much or more than crappy interfaces that do. Developers should not just code, designers need to at least understand programming and it's basic concepts. A big part of the problem, I think, is there are just not enough people, on both sides, that can bridge the design/develop gap.

[deleted]

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

#200

Post by d5tryr »

megablast wrote: post #157
texture wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other guy hit the nail on the head. Most developers aren't designers, and in fact they tend to think in ways that are the opposite of aesthetically pleasing. It's why there are so few developer/designers (I'm one of them). The problem with design is that it is something that is not easy, but it SEEMS easy, because everyone has an opinion, and they think it's just as valid as anyone else's, even a professional des…

"The problem with design is that it is something that is not easy, but it SEEMS easy, because everyone has an opinion, and they think it's just as valid as anyone else's, even a professional designer. " No, the problem with design is that every designer has a different opinion, and believes that their opinion is 100% correct, and there is no sway room at all. It has to be done that way, or no one will come to the sit…

That is an unfair caricature. I can't think of any designer who has ever said something so absurd.
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