[mattkevan]

As a counterpoint, where I have seen designers contribute to open source projects - and where I've done so in the past myself - the push back from developers saying the designers are 'dumbing things down' or 'putting style over substance' is immense. I've even heard developers say they don't want it to be too easy to use otherwise all the noobs might start using it.

Designing in the open is much harder than coding in the open as creating and implementing a consistent ui takes discipline and consensus. The design can't be just a pretty coat of paint over the top, which is what I think a lot of people assume it is.

Also, free software is about providing choice, whereas good design is often about limiting it. If free software users wanted opinionated interfaces they'd be using iOS, not Arch or whatever.

Calibre is a great example. It's an amazingly powerful bit of software, but good grief is it ugly. It'd be fantastic to take it apart and put it back together in a way that doesn't make it look like a taxidermist's sink trap.

[1123581321]

Calibre needs self-update more than visual polish.