Visibly Better

The KDE Visual Design Group [1] is barely seven months old. However, with the recent release of the Plasma 5 interface [2], its influence is already visible in the new default theme with its geometric wallpaper, icons, and fonts. The VDG's next challenges are to integrate itself into the workflow of developers with a long history of working without designers, while avoiding the reactions that have plagued new design teams in Gnome and Ubuntu.

The KDE VDG started when illustrator and designer Jens Reuterberg attended a Plasma Sprint in Barcelona in January 2014. Although pleased by the friendly reception he received, Reuterberg could not help noticing the historical lack of designers in KDE: "I thought that was weird, considering how well we handled dev-work in general," he says. Reuterberg decided to change that with "a group where inclusiveness, humility and acceptance were the guiding ideals and where anyone could be a part." The result was the VDG, which now includes 11 regular contributors, whose expertise ranges from design to usability.

Andrew Lake, who oversees the development of the VDG's new Breeze default theme, likens the situation in design to that of code: "Design has labored under the myth of the one genius or the ivory tower from which good design is handed down – the cathedral of Raymond's legendary essay [The Cathedral and the Bazaar] [3]. I saw in Jen's posts and interviews the same seed that launched the free software movement, but for visual design – a democratization of design. It's an opportunity for anyone, regardless of skill, to learn and contribute in a meaningful, sustainable way to KDE."

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