The Pros and Cons of Open Source Design
@Mushon.com Oct 09
Making“Design By Committee”
Work
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Open source is great!What about
Open source design?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
1. Scratch an itch
Thursday, October 15, 2009
1. Scratch an itch
• OS motivation - personal interest in(and low costs for) collaboration
Thursday, October 15, 2009
1. Scratch an itch
• OS motivation - personal interest in(and low costs for) collaboration
• OSD motivation - not so straight-forward
Thursday, October 15, 2009
1. Scratch an itch
• OS motivation - personal interest in(and low costs for) collaboration
• OSD motivation - not so straight-forward
• Chicken & Egg - Designers don’t use OSS
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Encoding/DecodingStuart Hall 1980
2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Encodingframeworkof knowledge
A
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Mutual Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Decodingframeworkof knowledge
B
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Encoding
Decoding
AA
Thursday, October 15, 2009
A
Encoding
Decoding
ERRORB
Thursday, October 15, 2009
AA A
Thursday, October 15, 2009
A
AA
A
A
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Encoding
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Encoding
• Defining a language (code) is key in design (graphic, color, layout, animation, interaction...)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Encoding
• Defining a language (code) is key in design (graphic, color, layout, animation, interaction...)
• Coding without a shared language (code) is impossible
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Encoding
• Defining a language (code) is key in design (graphic, color, layout, animation, interaction...)
• Coding without a shared language (code) is impossible
• Setting collaboration standards is essential
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Encoding
• Defining a language (code) is key in design (graphic, color, layout, animation, interaction...)
• Coding without a shared language (code) is impossible
• Setting collaboration standards is essential
• Standardization VS. Innovation
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Decoding
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Decoding
• Code either executes or it doesn’t,but a message interpretation isn’t binary
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Decoding
• Code either executes or it doesn’t,but a message interpretation isn’t binary
• Inconsistent design fragments the message (our brains can’t really multitask)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Decoding
• Code either executes or it doesn’t,but a message interpretation isn’t binary
• Inconsistent design fragments the message (our brains can’t really multitask)
• Wikipedia’s has a largely rational guidelines for decision making, design’s doesn’t
Thursday, October 15, 2009
3. Granularity
Thursday, October 15, 2009
3. Granularity
• In coding (software) and writing (wikis) the building block is granular - a character
Thursday, October 15, 2009
3. Granularity
• In coding (software) and writing (wikis) the building block is granular - a character
• Allows for varied contribution:
Thursday, October 15, 2009
3. Granularity
• In coding (software) and writing (wikis) the building block is granular - a character
• Allows for varied contribution:
• Accessible ladder of contribution
Thursday, October 15, 2009
3. Granularity
• In coding (software) and writing (wikis) the building block is granular - a character
• Allows for varied contribution:
• Accessible ladder of contribution
• History
Thursday, October 15, 2009
3. Granularity
• In coding (software) and writing (wikis) the building block is granular - a character
• Allows for varied contribution:
• Accessible ladder of contribution
• History
• Moderation
Thursday, October 15, 2009
3. Granularity
• In coding (software) and writing (wikis) the building block is granular - a character
• Allows for varied contribution:
• Accessible ladder of contribution
• History
• Moderation
• Transparency
Thursday, October 15, 2009
(would I be wasting your time if I thought so?)
So is it simply undoable?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Resource sharing/ Open Culture
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wordpress 2.5admin by HappyCog
Wordpress 2.7Modified by the Wordpress team
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
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Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fixing it: 1. Scratch an itch
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fixing it: 1. Scratch an itch
• Price is always itching, but it’s not enough
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fixing it: 1. Scratch an itch
• Price is always itching, but it’s not enough
• We can’t force the use of bad tools as an ideologic statement
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fixing it: 1. Scratch an itch
• Price is always itching, but it’s not enough
• We can’t force the use of bad tools as an ideologic statement
• Some success in webdesign / Wordpress
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fixing it: 1. Scratch an itch
• Price is always itching, but it’s not enough
• We can’t force the use of bad tools as an ideologic statement
• Some success in webdesign / Wordpress
• Still very code-based
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fixing it:2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Collaborative Encoding:
Fixing it:2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Collaborative Encoding:
• 1st step:Conduct a networked research(we already have collaborative tools for that)
Fixing it:2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Collaborative Encoding:
• 1st step:Conduct a networked research(we already have collaborative tools for that)
• 2nd step:Define a modular and extensible language* Support simple inheritance (like in CSS)
Fixing it:2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Collaborative Encoding:
• 1st step:Conduct a networked research(we already have collaborative tools for that)
• 2nd step:Define a modular and extensible language* Support simple inheritance (like in CSS)
• 3rd step: Document the language (style guides)
Fixing it:2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fixing it:2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Collaborative Decoding:
Fixing it:2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Collaborative Decoding:
• Some design decisions are rational, and can achieve consensus, like:
Fixing it:2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Collaborative Decoding:
• Some design decisions are rational, and can achieve consensus, like:
• UX research
Fixing it:2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Collaborative Decoding:
• Some design decisions are rational, and can achieve consensus, like:
• UX research
• Technical aspects of design
Fixing it:2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Collaborative Decoding:
• Some design decisions are rational, and can achieve consensus, like:
• UX research
• Technical aspects of design
• Design best practices (in typography, use of icons, interaction paradigms...)
Fixing it:2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Collaborative Decoding:
• Some design decisions are rational, and can achieve consensus, like:
• UX research
• Technical aspects of design
• Design best practices (in typography, use of icons, interaction paradigms...)
• Blogs share resources and documentation
Fixing it:2. Language
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fixing it: 3. Granularity
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fixing it: 3. Granularity
• When possible, use granular building blocks - namely: use code
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fixing it: 3. Granularity
• When possible, use granular building blocks - namely: use code
• Get designers on version control systems
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fixing it: 3. Granularity
• When possible, use granular building blocks - namely: use code
• Get designers on version control systems
• Put all master files online
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fixing it: 3. Granularity
• When possible, use granular building blocks - namely: use code
• Get designers on version control systems
• Put all master files online
• Explore file non-code versioning (Dropbox?, Alienbrain?)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
We can’t just sprinkle design with the magic pixie dust of
“Open Source”
@Mushon.com Oct 09
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Collaboration is hard!Let’s make it easier.
Suggestions?
@Mushon.com Oct 09
Thursday, October 15, 2009