UX & Open Source
UX & Open Source
Outline created: Monday, June 2nd, 2025
Outline:
- Explain what open source is
- In laymens terms: Open source is a way to freely contribute or share software, ideas, and mostly importantly, code with one another.
- Some licenses allow for others to freely commercialize work while if others use the work, it must be open source as well.
- FREE? Why would I ever want to work for FREE? But that's the illusion I am trying to break for you. We've become such a personalized, individual-focused society with ideas and knowledge that we forget some of the most important inventions were created through open source.
- Add resources to understand more about Open Source
- Explain how GNU/Linux came to be
- If this is possible with open source engineering, imagine what can be possible with the collaboration of UX or UX patterns in general
- Benefits of UX open source
- Diversifying UX
- Broadening the range of UX talent
- A platform for marginalized groups
- A platform outside of group-think
- Easier debugging -> easier identification of patterns
- This not just bound to UXers collaborating with one another but bridging the gap between developers and UX.
- Bringing a new perspective to open source and bring others to open source
- Better UX of open source projects can help open source grow further and become more socialized
- Diversifying UX
- Negatives of not utilizing open source
- Personalized, one dimensional view vs collaborative and quick mindset
- One dimensional design creates
- Other channels for patterns to emerge that might otherwise be silo'd or undiscovered within colossi proprietary companies
- Lack of understanding between developers and UX
- We unintentionally give power to large organizations seeing us and designing for us as a collective rather than us being able to define ourselves as individuals
- Personalized, one dimensional view vs collaborative and quick mindset
- If we care about experience, we should care about those we don't even know about not just our own.