Ubuntu Wiki

I'm a freelance designer from Germany and contribute in the artwork and design realm.

Blog: thorwil's design for free software, Ubuntu category

Launchpad page

History

I started to use free software out of plain curiosity. Once I had Internet access, the easy and free availability, lack of license/copy-protection hassle and nobody wanting to lock my data in proprietary formats were pretty convincing. A growing interest in interface and interaction design drove me to get in contact with developers and I got to enjoy the community spirit in and around free software projects. Debian, Gentoo and now Ubuntu, as I got tired of having to configure lots of things and want to see Free Software succeed on a broad front, to the benefit of a maximum of people.

I started to design logos for free software projects in 2004. My first mail to ubuntu-art happened at the end of 2007. In 2009, I went to the UDS-L in Dallas following an invitation.

Contributions

• Providing feedback and suggestion on the artwork mailing list. Welcoming and informing newcomers about what is going on.
• Logos and small graphics for UCK, Brainstorm, Wubi.
• Countdown banners, 3 times in a row providing one of the chosen designs and always making it unto ubuntu.com
• Creating backgrounds.

• Cleanup of the structure and content and maintenance of the wiki Artwork section. John Baer has to be noted for improving the main page based on my work.

• All but the last page listed on https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Documentation#On%20Design.

• Helping the Canonical design team as one of 3 community members with choosing wallpapers from the Flickr pool for 9.10.

• Currently helping the Ubuntu Manual Team with the title page design. See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-manual/Artwork

Portfolio

Ubuntu Customization kit

One step on the way and the finally chosen logo for the Ubuntu Customization Kit. This seems to be my earliest piece of work related to Ubuntu, starting in May, 2007:

A look at the Installer of Ubuntu 7.10

Walk-through, suggestions and mockups, PDF presentation

Ubuntu Brainstorm

Nicolas Deschildre asked for a logo for the brainstorm site before it went up. Next came templates for banners and a set of icons to illustrate the process:

Backgrounds

8.10

Full size

9.04

Full size

Full size

Full size

Full size

Full size

Wubi

The logo and an illustration for Wubi:

ubuntuusers.de

A proposal for ubuntuusers.de, hasn't been adopted:

Release Countdown

8.10

Full set

Alternative proposal, not continued:

9.04

Full set

9.10

Full set

Version number text figures

More about this

Next

• Continue with the title page design for the Ubuntu Manual Project.
• Investigate the use of the Google App Engine to write a tool that helps with selecting wallpapers from the Flickr pool (Flickr itself lacks features that would make this a lot easier). Afterwards consider the creation of a site that would beat the wiki for artwork contributions.
• Spread design thinking and methods.

Testimonials

Thorsten Wilms is the most active Ubuntu Artwork community member. He has been amazingly helpful and has done a lot of the dirty work when nobody else could or would. His work has been included in and around Ubuntu for a long time. He's also worked very successfully with the Canonical Marketing and Design teams.

Thorsten definitely deserves membership. +100 from me kwwii

Thorsten’s classy artwork speaks for itself. His interface design critiques are also insightful and thought-provoking. He’s a valuable member of the community. —mpt

Thorsten has been very active in helping the Ubuntu Web Presence team, both by contributing his excellent artistic talent but also in working with and encouraging the others on the team as they use their talents. newz