Title
Design Clinic: Unlocking Open Source Potential with User Experience
Speaker(s)
Nina Rojc
Leia Ruffini
Date and time
2025-10-23T16:20:00Z
Session type
Lightning talk (05 minutes)
Abstract
Great code is essential. But in open source, great experiences are what keep people using your tools, contributing, and coming back. In this talk, we will unpack what Design can do, breaking it down beyond “making things look nice”. We will discuss how User Experience (UX) methodologies can help improve your project to attract more users and contributors.
Following the talk, we will host a hands-on Design clinic, where maintainers can bring their trickiest usability headaches. We will help you diagnose the issues and figure out how to go about solving them.
No lectures, just real conversations, rapid fixes, and practical ideas you can take home. Whether it’s a confusing onboarding flow, an inaccessible interface, or a mystery that’s scaring contributors away, we’ll work together to make your project friendlier, clearer, and more welcoming for everyone.
Speaker(s) bio
Leia is a UX designer at Canonical and a contributor to the Open Design initiative. Driven by a mission to create positive societal impact through accessible technology, she advocates for incorporating non-code contributions and user feedback into open-source projects.
Nina is a Senior UX Designer at Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, where she also contributes to the Open Design initiative. She began her career as a visual designer and evolved into UX, driven by a passion for solving complex problems and creating impactful user experiences. With over 10 years of experience spanning startups to enterprises, she has tackled diverse challenges across industries, including hospitality, behavioral data, and compliance and risk management. Beyond design, she is a curious human who loves exploring new ideas and making a positive impact.
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