Page Comparison

Why design the open source way?

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Creating design assets for openIMIS

Depending on the needs, various tools can be used There are lots of tools available to create visual assets (graphics) for any need. While the current industry standard nowadays is Adobe Creative Cloud, we try to keep proprietary software to a minimum. Where When this was not possible or harder to achievedifficult, the minimum we will aim for is open formats. In the following we will go through recommended tools, the various file formats they support, and limitations they pose in different conversion settings.

Recommended project formats are file formats we suggest to use as source files for assets, while recommended export formats are those we suggest for file outputs

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GIMP is a free and open-source raster graphics editor used for image retouching and editing, free-form drawing, converting between different image formats, and more specialized tasks. GIMP can be used for opening and changing many types of file formats. GIMP is released under GPLv3+ licenses and is available for Linux, macOS, and Microsoft Windows. GIMP It further offers a Wiki page where it gives explanations and every detailed information one needs to understandas to how to use and understand the product.

GIMP is the first alternative software to Adobe Photoshop, recommended for creation of raster graphics for the openIMIS project. It outputs open format files, it's extensible, flexible, and easy to use. With the latest updates, GIMP now also provides many The latest version of GIMP provides several new features with an improved UI, which makes it easier-to-use UI.

GIMP can also open and work with PSD (Adobe Photoshop files), albeit but with a reduced feature set and less-than-ideal end results. GIMP may not preserve all text information or layer styles but if you have no access to Photoshop it might be a good enough solution.

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Inkscape is a free and open-source vector graphics editor. This multi-platform can be used to create or edit vector graphics such as illustrations, diagrams, line arts, charts, logos, icons, and complex paintings. Inkscape's primary vector graphics format is Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG); however, many other formats can be imported and exported. It is licensed under the General Public License (GPL).

Inkscape is an open alternative to Adobe Illustrator , and recommend for creation of vector graphics for the openIMIS project. It can output SVG files and PNG raster graphics, if necessary. The interface is friendly and not bloated , which almost everything with features: Almost everything is accessible from a single drop down menu or icon.

This is going to be the software that openIMIS will use the most to create their digital assets, as its a well-supported project and the current version is now on a stable version. Be advised While there may be is plenty of other proprietary and/or Open Source software that can output SVG create SVGs (including Adobe Illustrator can output SVG), proprietary or free software, but Inkscape is the one we recommend Inkscape the most. If is advised that your team slowly starts by trying Inkscape and . Try it and start building up some knowledge and experience around the software. If that is it’s not an a suitable option for your needs, Illustrator can still be used but by carefully outputting to SVG onlykeep in mind that output should only be in the SVG format.

LibreOffice Draw

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It supports open formats that allow you to use documents from other programs so you don't have to isolate yourself or your workflow into a LibreOffice world.

LibreOffice Draw uses by default Open Document Format for Office Applications (ODF) (.odg graphics extension) as its default output format as an international standard file format.

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With numerous shape libraries offering hundreds of visual elements, Diagrams.net covers every usecase use case you can think of for creating diagrams by embedding them within Confluence and Jira.

Draw.io lets you import and export files into open formats such as .svg, .png, .jpeg, .pdf, and .xml.

We recommend using diagrams.net in conjuction together with its native Confluence integration. Especially in situations where you might be unable to install software on your device, you can use it . It can be used from the web browser and store files on the cloud or your device. While designed as a flowchart and diagrams application, it can also replace the need for a vector editor as Inkscape, especially for basic communication design tasks.

Publishing Documents

While not specifically exclusive to design, text documents are a crucial part of openIMIS work processes and often require tight compatibility with design tools. Whilst these formats are often overlapping, we will go through the primary types of documents which often have an impact on how design processes are too.

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