Designing in the open is about sharing your work and progress publicly through the course of a design project. I’ll explain how this works, where to start, and why it’s good practice for all designers. We’ll also discuss how you can give back to the WordPress community through design contributions to Core and WordPress.org.
2. Mark Uraine
I’m an interdisciplinary designer
dedicated to making the web more
accessible and human friendly by
facilitating the transfer of
information through design.
I work at Automattic contributing
to the open source project,
WordPress.
18. Scientific Method
1.Formulate a question
2.Hypothesis
3.Prediction
4.Testing
5.Analysis
Designing in the Open
1. Design Thinking
2. Propose a solution
3. Prepare metrics
4. Prototype
5. Feedback & results
19. is reflected in the confidence of their process
Maturity of a Designer
20. “Let me work and get back to you”
We design and experiment with our process
in secret.
“Check out these wireframes”
We might share specific steps when we feel
good about them.
“Let’s build it together, right now”
We sit down with the client and share our
process while formulating ideas and iterating.
1
2
3
23. Community involvement
Diversity of ideas. User insight.
Early feedback
Early feedback means quicker iterations.
Help spotting mistakes.
Less pressure
No BIG REVEAL relieves stress. A confidence in launch.
Become a leader
Sharing your process and work allows others to
learn from you.
Accountability
Accountability isn’t just to the user or the business.
25. Uncomfortable
It’s difficult to share your unfinished work.
Early feedback
Lots of public feedback, much of which may
not be helpful.
People stealing ideas (myth)
“Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who implement
them are priceless.”
Time
When everything is in the open, there’s a lot
to sift through.
33. Be inclusive
Make sure you’re aware of who’s involved in
your project.
Be accessible
Make sure your designs are accessible to everyone.
Design in steps
Make sure your steps are apparent, purposeful,
and accessible.
Encourage feedback
Reach out to everyone for feedback.
Recognize others
Give props to others who have contributed
to the process.
35. Focus on benefits
Share the benefits of designing in the
open with them.
Speak their language
Map their goals with the benefits. Sharing process
can present them as a “thought leader” in their field.
Ease their nerves
Let them know you won’t be sharing any legally
sensitive material or proprietary information.
42. Embrace your fear.
Be kind.
Share your knowledge.
Encourage others.
Be constructive.
Recognize the efforts of others.
Have fun.
43. Resources
Designing in the Open by Brad Frost
http://bradfrost.com/blog/post/designing-in-the-
open/
Designing in the Open by Sean Martell
https://www.slideshare.net/AllThingsOpen/designing-
in-the-open
Fonts
Open Sans Condensed
Source Code Pro