7 ways to lean into an open design process

From ditching silos and workarounds to embracing purple squirrels and remote work, here’s how to navigate the changing world of modern design.

To achieve better outputs and survive organizational change and scale, design needs to be more collaborative. So what do we mean when we say “open design”? Rooted in the open-source tech movement, open design has evolved since Israeli designer Ronen Kadushin coined the term in 2004. And it’s still under construction.

“Open design starts with transparent collaboration,” say Abstract Cofounders Josh Brewer and Kevin Smith. “It extends to open source and open access, as well as open tooling and data.” Abstract designer Hugo Baeta says that a big part of open design is communicating openly with his team about what they’re creating together. “Every time you make a Commit, you’re openly putting your work out to your whole team — even if it’s very rough at first.”

Teammate Vince Joy echoes Hugo’s sentiment. “Our ethos as a company is about showing your work.” Abstract is built upon the idea that the future of design is transparent, and understanding the history of our work helps us move toward a more intentional workflow.

Morgan Keys, another Abstract designer, describes open design by juxtaposing it with a closed approach. “Open design is an ‘us / ours’…