HibbittsDesign.org

About Paul

Paul Hibbitts designs and builds open-source software that turns Markdown into modern, self-managed websites for educators, digital publishers, and content creators – drawing on over 25 years of experience in software interaction design, UX consulting, and higher education, across more than 140 software projects.

Portrait photo of Paul Hibbitts

How It Started

Before focusing on open-source publishing tools, Paul spent many years teaching user interface design, including redesigning SFU's CMPT-363 User Interface Design course for online delivery. In keeping with an early embrace of open education and OER, the Canvas LMS course remains public, alongside earlier course hubs built with Docsify and Grav CMS.

Screenshot of the SFU Canvas LMS CMPT-363 User Interface Design course home page
The CMPT-363 course embedded in Canvas LMS.
Screenshot of the CMPT-363 User Interface Design Course Hub built with Docsify, showing the same course content as a standalone site
The same content, published as a standalone Docsify site.

That teaching work is also where the Learning + Technology Development Process Model (Hibbitts & Travin, 2015) originated, cited in Tony Bates' open textbook Teaching in a Digital Age.

Diagram of the Learning + Technology Development Process Model: two interlocking cycles, Technology and Learning, with steps Design, Assess Technology Fit, Deliver, Assess Learner Needs, Evaluate, Implement, Conceptualize, and Define
Learning + Technology Development Process Model (Hibbitts & Travin, 2015)

What People Are Saying

Educators, publishers, and open-source users have shared their experience with these tools – read the full testimonials.

Open Source Philosophy

If Paul had to point to one design approach behind these projects, it would be a systems-oriented one – paying attention to how elements connect, rather than optimizing each one in isolation. Read Systems-Oriented Design in Practice for what that looked like building the Grav Helios Course Hub and Docsify‑This.

Two more pieces look at specific parts of that same approach: loving open-source projects the way you love a favourite song or book, in Building Open Source Projects with a Positive Vibe, and writing documentation that works as both a development compass and a user guide, in A Dual-Purpose Framework for Better Open Source Documentation.

For teams that need more direct support with these tools, Paul offers a few professional services alongside this open-source work.