Design + Code? (An Outreachy Retrospective)

It’s been a fun few months working on Wikimedia’s design system project via Outreachy. As the project officially draws to a close, I’d like to reflect on the lessons learned and opportunities had.

Overcoming Overwhelm

When I started this project and realized the scope of the design system, I immediately became concerned that I might not complete it in time and, therefore, not meet expectations.

As something of a perfectionist, this fear immediately sent me into analysis paralysis, where I’d spend time researching design systems, tokens, and Penpot instead of actually doing the work.

Fortunately, I could practice composure, one of the core values I wrote about at the start of the project.

After a couple of weeks, I mentioned that I thought I was running behind to my mentor, who promptly assured me that it was normal to have some ramp-up time and that the project timeline wasn’t set in stone.

This assurance helped calm that anxiety and enabled me to better break up the tasks and plan for them.

My Outreachy Highlights

One of the highlights of working on the project was when the Penpot team noticed my tweet and reached out.

This validated that publicly sharing my progress updates was working. Later, I organized an official collaborative meeting between Penpot and the Wikimedia design team, in which I participated.

I couldn’t have imagined such an outcome at the start of the project when Penpot was new to me, and I had to figure it out on the fly.

The other main highlight was meeting some of the Wikimedia team members in person for dinner. This was possible because they had an offsite in my town and decided to invite me.

This was really uplifting and helped make the team and organization as a whole feel more human and real.

Enhanced Design Skills

The project had me dive really deep into design systems, forcing me to dust off my design skills. In the end, I developed a deep understanding of design systems, tokens, Figma, Penpot, and the space between design and code.

At my end-of-project meeting, my mentor acknowledged this and even suggested I look into design engineering roles going forward.

Next Project Steps

Project phase one, which involved actually moving and recreating the design system, is done. We are now awaiting some collaborative results before proceeding to the adoption test runs.

I will continue to be involved on a volunteer basis in both the design system and its code representation.

Final Thoughts

Being an Outreachy alumna and working on such an interesting project has been rewarding. I learned a lot, developed my design skills, had interesting conversations, and made new connections. I couldn’t be more grateful.