Thirteen heads are
better than one.

I lead, inspire, encourage and chastise the design team.

I am an advocate and practitioner of user-centred design.

I have accepted the challenge of putting free software in front of the curve for design excellence.

Wannabe musical pioneer, wannabe digital artist, wannabe graphic novelist, wannabe TV screenwriter.

Sees software as a means to these ends, and as such, is obsessed with fixing it. All of it.

Matthew has been involved in open source design since 1999, contributing to Mozilla, WordPress, Gnome, Launchpad, and Ubuntu. He has worked for Canonical since 2004, and is a generalist on the Design team — equally happy laying out Web sites, critiquing themes, moderating user tests, or designing new applications. Redesigning interfaces is his third-favourite activity.

After joining Canonical in January 2009, I spent three months bouncing around the half-empty office with a constant feeling of near-silly excitement. There was much to do and the team head count was four, so we decided to start small and designed the new notification system for Ubuntu. And then came Ivanka. She entered the office, looked at me with deep discontent, and... changed my life forever... (I'll leave you, dear Reader, hanging on this one).

Everything that followed was a classic Hitchcock scenario – earthquake to start with and then the tension rises. I think I'm a bit of an all-rounder, so I ended up working on user experience and visual design projects, causing some fear, uncertainty and doubt. I've had my hands in Notify OSD, boot experience, Ubuntu One Music Store, and lots of other stuff. And it looks like visual design is recently winning in my skill rat-race. You'll be also pleased to know that the near-silly excitement is still there.

I make dreams come true. I make concepts become reality.

I like change and the people who make it happen. I find opportunities and encourage and support others to help them see their concepts to fruition.

I'm American and have lived in Germany since 1995. I love cooking, photography and making music.

Has a growing passion for open source software and operating systems (one in particular).
Has an obsession with pixels - if one's out of place, I will notice.
Lives design and has done for years.
Likes breaking rules and challenging convention.
Loves his fixed gear bicycles and sunshine.

I started to use computers to design things and I got very into it when these started to be animated according to user inputs or other data. That's how I ended up self-teaching different development environments and attending an MA in Interactive Objects, Spaces and Services Design along the way.

After a career as developer and technical manager in leading digital agencies in London, and some personal research, I am willing, and ready, to make a difference at a whole new level.

I am an anthropologist because I think people are great and mysterious. They fascinate me ... and there are lots of them.

I have a favourite author, Vygotsky, and some favourite ways of looking at the world - through activity theory, ethnomethodology and semiotics. With these, I can examine people's behaviours and needs from many perspectives and get to know things about them that they don't even know themselves.

Has a conviction (for producing great work) Has been (A lecturer at The University of the Arts) Has a passion (For type and Ubuntu) Has never considered using Windows Has a beard

Hello! My name's Iain and I'm the project manager working with the design team here at Canonical. I've worked in London for the last 6 years working on projects to produce applications and web sites with some of the finest minds on the planet! I got a taste for open source at a previous start up and am delighted to be working to make a fabulous and free operating system. When not managing our beautiful projects I love to tinker with Linux, take photos, cycle, ride motorcycles, wash motorcycles, polish motorcycles and talk about motorcycles. Apart from our work and Ubuntu, you're likely to end up talking to me about motorcycles :)

I started playing with computers in my formative years and never stopped! After more than a decade of getting paid to indulge my computer addiction, I now design user experience interaction architecture for the Ubuntu desktop. My passion is designing and defining innovative and integrated UX architectures from initial concepts and business strategy ideas through to functional specification and implementation. I believe in an iterative, agile approach to design, and that a coherent interaction architecture is the foundation upon which any great product is built. In the brief moments I can pry myself away from my monitor I am usually found drinking, partying, diving, playing squash or driving a 7.5t truck (though not always simultaneously).

Shorter than your average designer. Scared of Wasps. Spends too much time in small dark rooms in front of computers. Runs and really likes it. Has a thing for Vampires and is looking forward to stories of Angels. Really liked Angel. Believes the Digital Economy Bill is a complete farce and shows how much our MP's really care about their constituents. Loves magenta. Designs.