Several years ago, I was introduced to WordPress. It was my first taste of building for the web using open source technology. I was extremely new to developing for the web at this time and how zero concept of what open source meant. At the time, I think I had just learned about this revolutionary coding language called CSS. Mind blowing I know. But now times are different. We’ve evolved and become less secretive about the work we are doing. In fact, now open source can be found in almost every aspect of the industry. This includes new coding languages that can be revised, rebuilt and used in various ways, through the downloading and usage of fonts and images. In fact, lately we are even being faced with companies who are open sourcing their entire sites or client work. Now that’s actually mind-blowing.

I don’t think any one could have ever guessed the web industry would ever move so forcefully in this direction. But I’m glad it has. By working with open source materials, we have become a stronger, more united industry. It has lead us to build communities around these open source materials. We gather together and work in more diverse teams to continue to make these projects better. In return, we are crafting an extremely bright future for our industry. We are talking more about the work we are doing and building support groups when we are faced with difficult design choices or clients. By getting involved in open source with Wirefy, I’ve been able to meet some of the brightest individuals around the world, who have helped me to stay inspired and work smarter when building on new iterations of the framework.

There are a lot of companies who still struggle with this idea of letting go. They’ve built products that serve as their primary service offering. Some have even built these using hacked up versions of open source software. I’ve found that they are struggling to keep up. Without the community support and feedback loop they are faced with dealing with issues or bugs on their own. Unfortunately, none of us know everything and can’t fix every issue by ourselves. These companies need to let go a little. I firmly believe that if you do great work, then work will always come knocking at your door. You don’t need to be sneaky about it. Or limit your offerings to just a single hacked piece of software. Use the open source community to help you learn and be better.

This doesn’t just relate to software. A few months ago, I was amazed at how the team behind the new TechCrunch design all posted about their experiences. It was eye opening to see that each shared every aspect of their process – something that the TechCrunch had paid good money for. It lead to one of the most in-depth and exciting case studies I’d ever read. It also lead me to analyze the way, I deliver milestones and artifacts to clients. I will be approaching this idea of designing in the open with future clients. In my opinion, the benefits of designing this way strongly out weigh any concerns that they might be facing.

The benefits include the ability to remove the need for milestones as new progress will be uploaded and viewing in a continuous manner. This helps both parties to stay focused on the project goals. It also gets rid of the need for the big reveal where everything can go haywire. Another benefit is that it helps bring the client in to the process. This is great for several reasons. For me, it will help me gain further understanding and insight into their business and for the client, it allows them to feel like they are contributing and being a part of the process.

Of course, there are always the legal aspects that you have to fight against. At no time should an open design project share any sensitive materials be shared. Understanding that upfront and clearing the air around touchy material can help make you and your client feel far more comfortable about moving in this direction.

Beyond opening up software and designs to the world, I’ve also seen a few designers become far more transparent than ever before. I’ve always been a fan of being transparent with my clients. Sometimes I might be too blunt but I never do it to be mean. I do it because I care about every project I work on. I become emotionally invested in a client’s goals and company. I want them to succeed. But there are things that in the past I’ve held back on with clients. I guess I always felt that they weren’t things that the client needed to know. But in reading posts about client transparency and how far some designers have gone, I’m going to strive to make a better effort with this.

I think that by embracing an open source lifestyle, we can all be better. We’ll become better communicators both amongst our selves and with our clients. We’ll deliver higher quality solutions. Finally, we’ll build a stronger community that can fight for the future of our industry. I’m excited to see where open source will take us and what we can do with it.