Thom, I work with designers and git all the time (iOS dev)
Git does work for the design files (however less well than with the text the programmers work with).
I'd say generally speaking, it works better if you do design and cutups for a programmer who then implements a fork. He then submits the fork to the project to be merged in to the main project if the rest of the implementors agree.
Gotta find a front end programmer who likes you and thinks you're doing the right thing for that to pan out well.
It works when I have cut out the files and do the CSS/jQuery etc.
But my point is more about about design iterations within photoshop, fireworks etc.
Obvious problem is file size. It's going to be interesting to see whether LionOS will allow for some sort of integration with GitHub that allow for this.
the nice thing about fireworks is that the fileformat is a viewable PNG when opened by someone without fireworks, so process files are visible by everyone involved.
i reckon we'll get to a point where early in a repo's life there'll be a concepts/design folder with process files - would also make sense to plan the architecture in the same fashion...hmmm the possiblilities
so that the dev planning the models/views can collaborate with a front-end designer as to the architecture of a site, but all within github etc etc etc. i can but hope.
Not just that, although that is a problem IMO especially with PS where the files can get very big.
But also just a problem of state.
A lot of designers who use PS use layers and groups to show different scenarios within the same file.
But as I originally stated.
The reason why many designers don't joing these projects is because it doesn't take their way to work into account.
Yes you can learn to use Github or other versioning tools but that's not good enough if you ask me. Especially if you want to have more designers to participate.
Yeah, the everything in one giant file thing is a big problem for collaboration in general (even among designers).
I thought the reason many designers don't join the projects is because many technical people are surly when you try to tell them to put things here and here and here... etc.
It's not like you can't share a dropbox folder then occasionally check into the code base, or never check in the PSDs at all.
Git does work for the design files (however less well than with the text the programmers work with).
I'd say generally speaking, it works better if you do design and cutups for a programmer who then implements a fork. He then submits the fork to the project to be merged in to the main project if the rest of the implementors agree.
Gotta find a front end programmer who likes you and thinks you're doing the right thing for that to pan out well.