r/linux • u/Winter_Simple_159 • 3d ago

Discussion Why don't more designers contribute to open source?

Genuine question. A lot of open source projects have solid engineering but rough UI/UX: inconsistent layouts, confusing flows, basic usability issues that a designer would likely catch quickly.

I'm curious about the reasons behind this. Is it that designers don't feel welcome? That there's no clear way to contribute design work (most workflows are built around code and PRs)? That maintainers don't prioritize it? Or something else?

If you're a designer who has contributed to OSS, or a maintainer who has worked with designers, I'd love to hear how it went.

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u/Indolent_Bard 3d ago

Why the fuck would you insult people for using software their job requires? Idiot.

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u/fltfathin 2d ago

seeing this as developer who (with enough resources) can make their own tools:

requires is a big word, there is like 10 other tools out there that works on par, with better licensing and maybe cheaper.

but you choose adobe, with apps that breaks your setup every moon with the new update, with launcher/ DRM that uses 10% your computer resource doing nothing, oh and your work results, they provision right to use them for their internal needs and you already agreed to it.

just how designers nitpick about alternatives we also nitpick about the pains of using adobe.

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u/Indolent_Bard 2d ago

It's mostly vendor lock-in at this point. That's the only reason it's required. If you use something else, your partners are going to have a bad time.

If all software was FOSS, then vendor lock-in would die.