Profile Information
Name: Komal Patel
IRC nickname on Freenode: KomalP
Web Profile: Komchi
Email ID: kmlptl.16@gmail.com
Location (country or state): Uttar Pradesh, India
Typical working hours (include your timezone): 18:00 - 23:00 IST
Synopsis
Wikipedia has existed since 2001 when the majority of sites used to be static websites with not a lot of graphical elements. Since then Wikipedia and other sister projects have grown a lot in terms of technology used, amount of content being added and user base but the front end has somewhat remained the same. In 2016, Wikipedia got a modern update to the landing page but the sister projects such as Wikiquotes, Wikivoyage and other Wikimedia sister projects are still using the format from 2005.
The old format can become hard to read and navigate especially for newcomers. A cleaner looking format not only is aesthetically pleasing but also would allow us to add more relevant information in an orderly manner. This project aims to update all the sister project pages to the modern format set by Wikipedia across all platforms. Secondly, I want to create an “Explore” button that will encourage people to look at some new and interesting subjects/articles/quotes etcetera.
Possible Mentor(s)
@Jdrewniak
Timeline
| Time Period | Tasks |
|---|---|
| Before May 17 | Setting up the development environment. Assigning the task that I would be working on. Going through the existing code. of Wikipedia and other sister projects. Studying the resources made/used by Wikimedia projects (Handlebar CSS, Gulp.js) |
| May 17 - June 7 | Creating initial UI mockups for the web pages and mobile web pages. Discussing the possible implementations of the “Explore” feature. Taking feedback and making necessary changes |
| June 7 - June 13 | Creating final mockups and wireframes. Going through the Wikipedia page for reference. Creating individual sections that needed to be coded |
| June 14 - June 20 | Start to work on individual sections of the webpage for the desktop web pages. Adding the “Explore” button alongside the search section. |
| June 21 - June 27 | Combining all the sections of the webpage. Adding media queries. |
| June 28 - July 3 | Further polishing on responsiveness on the mobile version |
| July 4 - July 11 | Testing 1-Testing the code on different platforms and browsers to make sure it is working fine before mid-program evaluation |
| July 12 - July 16 | Mid Program Evaluation |
| July 17 - July 25 | Implementing changes received after evaluation |
| July 26 - August 1 | Creating the random Wiki page generator for each portal using Javascript lists. |
| August 2 - August 8 | Ensuring consistency of design, fonts, typographies across all platform. Ensuring the same for mobile platforms as well. Starting work on documentation |
| August 9 - August 16 | Testing 2-Testing all the features on the front page before the final submission. Completing documentation |
| August 16 - August 23 | Final Program Evaluation |
Deliverables
-Creating UI Mockups for the new webpage.
-Discussing details about the implementation "Explore" feature.
-Identifying any other components that need revision or rework.
-Creating a template with generalised sizes of fonts, images and logos that would be used in all sister projects webpages.
-Creating a generalised code for easier future reworking
-Creating a proper responsive webpage
Mid Program Evaluation
-Creating the backend code for the "Explore" button.
-Ensuring design and user experience consistency across all portals.
-Doing proper testing of all components before Final evaluation.
Final Program Evaluation
Participation
- I would be active on IRC Channel from 6-11 pm IST daily. I plan to communicate any problems I face, ideas or doubts to my mentor as soon as possible.
- If I am not available on the IRC channel, I would be also communicating through my personal Gmail (i.e. kmlptl.16@gmail.com)
- I would be maintaining a dev branch and uploading it to the master branch using git. I would be sending pull requests on Gerrit when the code is finished and tested properly.
- I would be checking Phabricator daily for any community feedback given on my task. I would also be checking Phabricator to find other small issues that I can fix.
- I plan to create to blog on my Wikimedia about the work I would be doing on the daily basis. I plan to share this experience in my college's "Digital India Club" where I am an active member.
About Me
I am a 2nd-year student at Amity University pursuing BBA. I completed my high school in science stream from Amity International School, Noida. I am proficient in design and have previously contributed to open-source projects through non-code based contributions. I have known about Google Summer of Code for some time through some students who cleared it in the past and decided to participate in it myself this year.
I would be participating only in GSoC full time and will be available for 20 hours a week.
My exams are from 10th April to 8th May after which I will be having my Summer Break. After my college starts, I might not be available during 9 am-3 pm from Monday-Friday depending on my class timings. Any work that I am not able to do during the weekday will be compensated on the weekends. Apart from that, I don't have any other commitments.
Wikimedia’s resources are undoubtedly my most used resources on the internet and I think it is the same for many others. I believe in their mission of making such knowledge resources accessible to people across the internet. Which meant giving back to the organization even more important. I have been contributing to Wikipedia since 2015 but GSoC’21 has allowed me to contribute to Wikimedia with the help of code. Meanwhile, I would get a chance to develop my web development skills.
Work Experience
I have been doing graphic designing for more than 4 years ranging in 3d modelling, vector art and raster edits. The past year I was introduced to front end web and android development (Flutter) to learn more about UI/UX design. Since then I have worked on several projects using HTML5, CSS3 frameworks (primarily Bootstrap 4) and Javascript (Node.js and Express.js).
Past Experience - Wikipedia
- I have been contributing to Wikipedia since 2015 by the alias of User:Komchi. My everyday contributions included writing articles, creating illustrations and solving queries in the Treehouse.
- In 2015, I was a part of a WikiProject called WHGI (Wikimedia Human Gender Index), later renamed as Humaniki (Humaniki | Wikimedia Diversity Dashboard Tool website) headed by Maximillian Klein. The goal of the project was to show the gender gap in content created about different genders which were further classified into by country, by birth year and by Wikimedia project. I was tasked with creating the UI of the website. While my work was very minimal especially with a lack of knowledge during that time I wasn’t able to contribute much to the project but it gave me useful insights into how open-source projects worked at that time.
- In 2017, during Wikipedia’s 15th anniversary, I held an event in our school about Wikipedia’s importance in our day to day life, how students can easily contribute with basic knowledge of coding and finally we held a video call with User:Acagastya, a colleague I met through Wikipedia and am still in touch with.
Other notable relevant past experience
- Rotaract Club of the Capital City of New Delhi - Graphic Intern - I was tasked with creating posters, banners, letterheads for various events. (some of my work)
- Global nominees, Indian Runner’s Up in NASA Space Apps Competition - Created an app “Snoozeshift”, a sleep scheduling and correction tool. Helped in designing the UI and prototypes. (Project Link)
- Asian Runner’s Up and International Runner’s Up ISSDC (International Space Design Competition) - Headed the automation department of the team and was the primary 3d modeller and designer of the team. I got a chance to work with people from all around the world. Through this competition, I got valuable industry experience and the chance to work with huge groups. (Proposal Link)