FOSS Backstage Design is the place to meet designers, UX-experts, OpenSource enthusiasts, product managers and people generally interested in UX, accessible design and usability.
Joining #FOSSDesign is your opportunity to learn about design & UX, network with the FOSS Design community and improve your skills!
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18 March 2026
18 March 2026
FOSS Backstage Design is the place to meet designers, UX-experts, OpenSource enthusiasts, product managers and people generally interested in UX, accessible design and usability.
Joining #FOSSDesign is your opportunity to learn about design & UX, network with the FOSS Design community and improve your skills!
Following last year’s success, FOSS Backstage Design will once again feature a barcamp. This format is especially great, because it allows us to shape the program to the interests of the participants, encourages everyone to contribute to the event and is a lot of fun!
At the barcamp, we will build the program ad hoc during the event. Just bring your session ideas and see what others want to discuss. After a short round of session pitches, the most popular proposals will be put on the schedule.
To kick off the day and provide some inspiration, the first half of #FOSSDesign will start with three curated talks. This will also give everyone enough time to get to know each other, maybe come up with a last-minute session idea or adjust the proposals for the barcamp.
To give you an idea of what others could be interested in discussing at FOSSDesign you can have a look at the recordings from previous years.
The topics that were covered included:
Which topic will you bring?
Join our partner event FOSS Backstage
At FOSS Backstage, the stage belongs exclusively to the non-technical aspects of Free and Open Source Software. It will take place on March 16-17, the days immediately before #FOSSDesign, and boasts a dedicated Design track.
Design and how designers can be supported and sustained in Open Source is a topic that is growing in interest year on year. This is both from the perspective of open source software and designers.
OSS is exploring what it means to be more user centred, improve usability and understand how to stand beside proprietary tools with a broad user based that extends beyond OSS fans.
Designers are exploring ways to offer and improve their skills on real-life projects that have impact and that they believe as they grow their careers.
FOSS Backstages’ Design day gives an opportunity to this growing aspect of excellence in OSS and will be pivotal in solidifying the design in OSS community.
During previous editions of FOSS Backstage Design, we discussed design methods, user research, testing and measuring usability, how to integrate design into product development, writing good documentation, how to design for XR using the power of OSS tools, and much more!
We need software that treats us as people, not products. Open source software has the potential to liberate hundreds of millions globally from data mining and surveillance, while protecting their data sovereignty.
This is why I’m passionate about open source, and why I’m excited about FOSS Backstage Design. By dedicating one day to UX topics, the event is a crucial step toward making open source software accessible to everyone.
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