> This is why we need more design expertise in FOSS.
The secret probably is having well defined roles: whoever writes the code shouldn't be involved in interface design and vice versa, unless they prove themselves good at it, as the two tasks require very different sets of skills. This is easily accomplished in commercial software writing where roles are defined and salaries paid, but in the FOSS world where everyone and their cat want to be the famous developer, the UI designer role is rarely recognized for its importance.
And the main barrier to design work being integrated into FOSS is usually the attitude of project maintainers. I know plenty of designers who’ve worked as developers and all of them contribute to FOSS… just not as designers. The attitude of the post to which I responded is a perfect example of it— the way developers do it is the advanced way to do it but designers just want to make the Tonka version for idiots. It doesn’t fly in commercial software but FOSS is fun for a lot of developers specifically because they don’t have to listen to a project manager telling them to make it pixel perfect just like the designer asked. And hey — it’s their Project and they can do with it what they will, but it rubs me the wrong way to see those same people blaming users for struggling with their “advanced” interface and scoffing at the utility of experts and their work.
There’s definitely some utility in separating roles— as an experienced designer and developer I can assure you that making the right design decision is a lot harder if it’s going to be a pain in the ass for you to code — but the most important factor is having the right expertise for the task. We’ve all seen the cargo culted loopdy loop code written by non-experts armed with tutorials, and having one of them do the design and one do the coding won’t work out any better. Same thing with devs and UI work. Design is a wholly different skill set that requires study and practice.
The secret probably is having well defined roles: whoever writes the code shouldn't be involved in interface design and vice versa, unless they prove themselves good at it, as the two tasks require very different sets of skills. This is easily accomplished in commercial software writing where roles are defined and salaries paid, but in the FOSS world where everyone and their cat want to be the famous developer, the UI designer role is rarely recognized for its importance.