Open Sourcing Design
Closed source companies design in private. Open source communities are different.
One of my goals with the Safari Wallet project is to try and open source the entire design process. When I was getting my start as a designer, I would pour over the lickable images on Dribbble and wonder: how on earth did they get there?
The History of Open Source Engineering
I am an amateur student of the history of open source engineering. Here is my brief synopsis:
Not Unix, Free Software Movement & General Public License
Richard Stallman hated being told what to do with his computer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) so he created GNU’s Not Unix (GNU). He was great at getting things done but terrible at branding. GNU refers to itself and the Free Software Movement (“Free as in beer”) never made sense to normal people. The project was as much a legal revolution as it was a technological one. The General Public License (GPL) changed the way software was licensed and distributed forever.
Linux, Open Source Definition & Apache Web Server
Linus Torvalds wanted a kernel for himself—so he built one and put it online. Lots of people found it useful and it grew a cult following. The community grew around the code. They created the Open Source Initiative to help regular people understand why open and forkable code was so important.
The Apache web server was Linux’s killer application. It enabled developers to develop websites quickly and cheaply. It destroyed Microsofts’s stranglehold on the Internet and saved us from Bill Gate’s Information Superhighway.
Git, GitHub’s Creation & Javacript Package managers
Linus Torvalds got angry at version control systems, so he built his own. Like an absolute mad-lad he called it Git. In British, that means: an unpleasant or contemptible person. Anyway, engineers loved it and used it for absolutely everything.
GitHub is a closed source website that encourages everyone else to open source their code—isn’t it ironic? It quickly became the predominant way for engineers to share their progress with one another. In an ironic twist of fate, Microsoft bought it for less than 1% of their market capitalisation in 2018—a deft move by Satya Nadella.
GitHub has become the backbone for the Javascript ecosystem. Engineers bundle up code into open source packages which they issue on services that are deeply interwoven into a closed source website. A hilarious state of affairs.
Open Source Engineering, Closed Source Tooling, World Changing Impact
What is clear to me is that tooling lead to the open sourcing of engineering. We need new kinds of tools to open source design.
Open Source Design Tooling
We are starting to see new tooling emerge around open source design. Here are some of my favourite examples:
The tool I am most excited about is Details Pro from Sahand Nayebaziz:
Follow Me On Details Pro
If you want to follow my progress, you can download the files here:
Send: https://detailspro.app/community/design/1D10BFA6-B582-4AB1-9396-1E9A7D1A27C9
Receive: https://detailspro.app/community/design/FD5AC419-F71D-405A-B9AA-CFE8E3A9B689
Connect: https://detailspro.app/community/design/5FD0D4CC-4AA7-4196-87C8-F67524374F38
Transactions: https://detailspro.app/community/design/89E7818D-07A0-4997-9B13-10CE02A05B5A
My Details Pro Profile URL is:
https://detailspro.app/community/profile/1088
If you want to chat to me about the ideas, join the Safari Wallet Discord!
∞ Invite Link: https://discord.gg/GsZ9ymnjWh