Wrapping up GSoC’22!
My 12+ weeks in the Google Summer of Code program have finally come to an end. It’s incredible how quickly time passes and how things develop. It has been a great journey and I have learned a great deal about software web development and design from exploring the project.
GSoC is a global, online program focused on encouraging budding developers and designers into the world of open-source. GSoC introduced me to the amazing GNOME community. Looking back, a year ago, I was hesitant and apprehensive about even applying to GSoC. But this program has helped me grow and push through the boundaries of my technical and soft skills.
📌My Project
My project “GNOME HIG CSS Library” aims to create a CSS library for various GNOME web ecosystems i.e evaluating, designing, developing, testing, and documenting elements and components such as buttons, paragraphs, links, and headers, according to the revised GNOME Human Interface and Visual Identity Guidelines(HIG). GNOME’s website is the first place where a user or contributor visits, it is vital that it be welcoming to encourage more people to be a part of the community.
Goals
➢ Provide a library for developing congruent, consistent, and refreshed GNOME websites
➢ Improve the usability and accessibility of the website
➢ Shorter learning curves and easy-to-use, extensible library
Check out my previous blogs to know more about the project and my progress.
Contributions👩💻
I started by reading and understanding the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines. Next, I evaluated the existing websites both old and updated to understand how components and elements were designed and developed.
I created the mockups in Figma - a collaborative interface design tool. After the designs were evaluated and reviewed, I coded the elements and components and finally documented them.
1. Evaluated, designed, and implemented Links
I performed thorough research on how links should be designed to make them inclusive and accessible for everyone. Here’s the summary of my research - “How do design inclusive links”.
Merge Request: !53 (Merged)
Issue: #59 (Closed)
2. Updated lists with new designs
For this issue, old and new designs of the GNOME websites were analyzed to understand how the lists should be created. Factors such as color contrast, readability, and spacing were considered.
Merge Request: !57 (Merged)
Issue: #51 (Closed)
3. Updated button designs
Buttons have been revamped with several new colors, gradients, and animations. Several variants like squared, rounded, outlined, and dynamic-size were implemented for added flexibility during development.
Merge Request: !58 (Merged)
Issue: #66 (Closed)
Quick Links🔗
GUADEC 2022 - GNOME’s biggest conference🤩
But perhaps the most exciting part of my GSoC experience was when I got a chance to present and talk about my project at GNOME’s largest conference GNOME Users and Developers European Conference(GUADEC). The conference brings hundreds of users, contributors, community members, and enthusiastic supporters together for a week of amazing talks and workshops✨
I absolutely enjoyed the workshops, seminars, and BOFs. I was truly fascinated by the work that has been going on. I would highly suggest everyone attend the conference. Check out some of the intriguing and informative talks that I enjoyed in my previous Blog!
Here’s the YouTube Link to my Lighting Talk.
Future goals and Epilouge📝
There is still work to be done on the project before it can be deployed. Anyone interested in contributing can get in touch with me or my mentors. I’d be more than happy to help :)
Closing thoughts (for now😉)
I’m really grateful for the opportunity to work on a GNOME project with the awesome GNOME Community✨ None of this would have been possible without the support of my mentors Claudio Wunder and Caroline Henriksen. They have been exceptionally helpful and kind always giving me constructive suggestions, guiding me, and helping me with the smallest of doubts.
I would love to continue being a part of GNOME and contribute, collaborate and learn more about GNOME’s initiatives, where I truly feel like a part of something larger than myself.
