Tools shape practice shapes tools...

Abstract

This article narrates a partial history of two decades of doing graphic design with free, libre and open-source tools. We follow the development of tools and practices that allowed graphic design practice to shift, such as layouts being generated by scripts, books being rendered out of webpages and editorial workflows being transformed into collaborative environments. It threads through a body of shared knowledge and modes of designing with software, focusing on sites that are key in these design practices: layout tools, open fonts and publishing platforms. As practitioners and active participants, the authors provide reflections on the entangled positions of these tools and the possibilities for engagement that they offer. By following their uptake by groups and collectives in Europe through time, we end with an analysis of the way that changes in the wider free software community and digital practice affect these still ongoing initiatives.

Keywords

• graphic designers
• art education
• open source software