We're proud to welcome Pablo Ruiz Múzquiz to We Make Commons — co-founder of Kaleidos and the driving force behind Penpot, the open source design and prototyping tool built as a genuine alternative to closed, proprietary design platforms.
Proving design tools can be open too
For years, professional design and prototyping software was one of the last redoubts of pure vendor lock-in: proprietary formats, closed ecosystems, subscription-only access. Penpot set out to prove that a full-featured, standards-based (SVG-native), collaborative design tool could be built entirely in the open — usable by designers and developers alike, self-hostable, and free from a single company's roadmap decisions.
A long-time partner of this campaign
Penpot has been one of We Make Commons' partners from early on, and Pablo's leadership is a big reason why: a design tool built as a commons doesn't just help individual users — it removes an entire category of proprietary dependency from the open source and civic tech stack that relies on it for interface design.
Why this matters for We Make Commons
Pablo's work shows that "digital commons" isn't limited to backend infrastructure or developer tools — it extends all the way to the creative tools designers use every day.
Welcome to We Make Commons, Pablo. Glad to have you.