Informal Chat With Open Source Designers
Conversing with members of OSS and sharing internship progress - Week 10 of my Outreachy Internship.
I'm thrilled to share a glimpse of Week 10 of my Outreachy internship with OpenRefine.
Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with designers from the Open Source Design community, including Jan and Django.. It was an incredibly informative experience that is helpng me improve my internship project.
My mentor, Lozana, planned the conversation as part of my ongoing Outreachy internship. The goal of the discussion was to chat with designers that have extensive expertise in open source design, as well as to get their perspective and feedback on my progress so far.
I was both excited and nervous about the chat. I was excited to learn more about open source design from experts in the field, but I was also nervous about presenting my work and getting feedback and I relayed this fear to my mentor, Lozana who assured me that was no need to worry and to relax.
Showcasing progress
I had the chance to present the progress I'd made on my internship project. I shared my design documentation created on Figma, the GitHub Issues Label Structure for OpenRefine, and the Design Contributions Documentation Structure for the OpenRefine website.
The feedback I received was invaluable. It was clear that the everyone was passionate about open source design, and they were eager to share their knowledge and expertise with me. I felt like I was invited into a collective wisdom, and I was grateful for the opportunity to learn from them.
Feedback
One of the highlights of the chat was the feedback I received. Jan and Django shared perspectives that altered my perception of design documentation. They emphasized the significance of creating a normative document – a guide that lays out the proper use of colors, distances, and design elements. This concept of a Design System Documentation added a new layer of purpose to my work, revealing that design isn't just about aesthetics; it's about building a cohesive and functional user experience.
Django's suggestion to transform my presentation slides into separate Figma pages was a game-changer. This small yet impactful adjustment breathed new life into my work, allowing me to visualize the evolution of design documentation in an interactive and dynamic manner
Beyond this, Django offered to help me get my design documentation reviewed by his friend, and Jan volunteered to edit my final draft for the Design Contributions Documentation. It was a reminder that in the open source community, collaboration and mentorship thrive.
The Takeaways
Overall, the chat was an amazing experience that I'll never forget. It was a chance to connect with some of the brightest minds in the open source design community, and it gave me a new perspective on my own work.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the chat:
The importance of design documentation
The value of collaboration and mentorship in the open source community
The idea of transforming presentation slides into separate Figma pages
I'm excited to apply these insights to my work on the OpenRefine project.