Spotlight: The Aims and Objectives of the Fedora Linux Design Team

The Fedora Project is one of the best-known partnerships in the world of free software. Sponsored by Red Hat, the Fedora Project is made up from members of the global free software community. Various teams are involved in the Fedora Project, with each team tackling a specific area. The Fedora Design Team is a partnership of volunteers who use their art and design skills to develop graphics and designs for the Fedora Project. The Fedora Design Team is also involved in free software advocacy and the promotion of the Fedora Project worldwide.

The Fedora Design Team: Mission and Core Activities
The Fedora Design Team’s main role within the broader Fedora Project community is to function as an in-house design firm. The team support the free open source software (FOSS) ethos by delivering tutorials, graphics, guidance and other art assets, as well as by encouraging and promoting the use of FOSS tools for design. A crucial part of the team’s mission is to use their work as a showcase for quality FOSS packages.
The team are also actively involved in finding ways to attract and support people from outside the Fedora Project who wish to contribute creative materials. The team sets targets – for example, they might aim to attract one new ‘creative contributor’ every three months.
Services and Solutions
The Fedora Design Team delivers a range of services to the Fedora Project. These include:
– Documentation Illustration: the design team facilitates FOSS adoption by providing visual aids for use in documentation.
-Web Graphic Design (Interaction Design): interactive graphical solutions to enhance the Fedora Project’s online presence
– Marketing Collateral Design: this includes designs for stickers, buttons, CD or DVD labels, T-shirt designs, etc.
– ‘Hackergotchi’: a play on Tamagotchi, this refers to stylized portraits that the team produce for use as author avatars.
Sub-Teams
The Fedora Design Team is further grouped into sub-teams. These include:
– Wallpaper Wranglers: this team designs desktop wallpaper for various platforms, focusing on FOSS and Fedora Project-related themes.
– Events Ninjas: This team is tasked with handling design requests and organizing the development of designs for Fedora events.
Examples
Physical examples of the Fedora Design Team’s work include various T-shirt designs, either expressing general FOSS principles or themed around a specific event. Another example would be the quirky ‘desk flags’ introduced in 2010; these fabric banners advertised the presence of a Fedora Project member with eye-catching logos.