Elevating Design in Free and Open Source Software

FOSS Backstage Design is the place to meet designers, UX-experts, OpenSource enthusiasts, product managers and people generally interested in UX, accessible design and usability.

Joining #FOSSDesign is your opportunity to learn about design & UX, network with the FOSS Design community and improve your skills!

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12 March 2025

Elevating Design in Free & Open Source Software

12 March 2025

FOSS Backstage Design is the place to meet designers, UX-experts, OpenSource enthusiasts, product managers and people generally interested in UX, accessible design and usability.

Joining #FOSSDesign is your opportunity to learn about design & UX, network with the FOSS Design community and improve your skills!

What to expect at FOSS Backstage Design

This year FOSS Backstage Design will feature a barcamp. This format is especially great, because it allows to shape the program to the interests of the participants, encourages everyone to contribute to the event and is a lot of fun!

At the barcamp we will build the program adhoc during the event. Just bring your session ideas and see what others want to discuss. After a short round of session pitches, the most popular proposals will be put onto the schedule.

To kick off the day and provide some inspiration, the first half of #FOSSDesign will start with a number of curated talks. This also will give everyone enough time to get to know each other, maybe come up with last minute session idea or adjust your the proposals for the barcamp.

To give you an idea what others could be interested in discussing at FOSSDesign you can have a look at the recordings from 2024

The topics that were covered included:

  • design methods,
  • user research,
  • how to incorporate Design into product development,
  • writing good documentation,
  • testing and measuring usability,
  • and even how to design for XR leveraging the power of OSS tools.

Which topic will you bring?

Abishek Sharma and Katie Wilson during the Q & A of their talk
A view of the audience of the event
A participant asking a question from the audience
Participants speaking to each other during a break.

Community, Management & Compliance

Join our partner event FOSS Backstage at a discount

At the FOSS Backstage the stage belongs exclusively to the non-technical aspects of Free and Open Source Software. It will take place on the days immediately before #FOSSDesign and boasts a dedicated Design track.

Join both events at a Discount!

Pivotal in solidifying the design in OSS community
A picture of Eriol Fox
Eriol Fox
Designer & UX Researcher

Design and how designers can be supported and sustained in Open Source is a topic that is growing in interest year on year. This is both from the perspective of open source software and designers.

OSS is exploring what it means to be more user centred, improve usability and understand how to stand beside proprietary tools with a broad user based that extends beyond OSS fans.

Designers are exploring ways to offer and improve their skills on real-life projects that have impact and that they believe as they grow their careers.

FOSS Backstages’ Design day gives an opportunity to this growing aspect of excellence in OSS and will be pivotal in solidifying the design in OSS community.

Recordings: Our Highlights from 2024

During the first edition of FOSS Backstage Design we discussed design methods, user research, testing and measuring usability, how to integrate design into product development, writing good documentation, how to design for XR using the power of OSS tools, and much more! 

FOSS Backstage Design 2024

We need software that treats us as people, not products. Open source software has the potential to liberate hundreds of millions globally from data mining and surveillance, while protecting their data sovereignty. 

This is why I’m passionate about open source, and why I’m excited about FOSS Backstage Design. By dedicating one day to UX topics, the event is a crucial step toward making open source software accessible to everyone.

A crucial step toward making open source software accessible to everyone.
A picture of Scott Jenson
Scott Jenson
UX-Strategy & Design

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