LGM 2019 – Open Design, Libre Graphics: Why terminology matters
Channel: Libre Graphics Meeting
Date: 17/07/2019

Ana Isabel Carvalho, Ricardo Lafuente
Open Design, Libre Graphics: Why terminology matters

What do we mean when we talk Open Design? What about Libre Graphics? Do they overlap? How do these terms define and contaminate our practice? In this talk, we want to reflect on the Open Design movement, how it presents itself and how it encapsulates a range of differing approaches, from critically engaged grassroots practices to other, more mainstream agendas that could hardly be classified as “open”, if not for the vagueness of the term. The schism between “Free/Libre Software” and “Open Source” is also a necessary starting point for this discussion.

Is it about tools and licenses, or is there something else to an open/libre approach to design? Can we call something open because it was made collaboratively? Does open mean that one needs only to publish the source? Could we make a checklist to see if a work could be called open? Principles, tools, methodologies and licenses: can each of these be taken separately?

We’ll go through some examples of work and approaches to frame the issue, pinpoint existing dilemmas and attempt to provide ways to navigate the quirky waters of terminology when explaining what we are doing as practitioners.

Manufactura Independente is a design studio based in Porto, Portugal. It was founded in 2010 by Ana Isabel Carvalho and Ricardo Lafuente as a space for both comissioned work and self-initiated projects. Their design practice orbits around the principles of free software libre culture and critical engagement with design tools.

http://manufacturaindependente.org

This presentation was recorded on Friday, 31st May 2019 as part of Libre Graphics Meeting 2019, at the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar in Saarbruecken, Germany. To learn more, see https://libregraphicsmeeting.org/2019/.