You Are Not Important
Digital design often reflects the people who create it, and not always the people it’s intended for.
Welcome to the Driftime® Desk, a newsletter for the latest happenings, thoughts, finds, and vibes from the better parts of human nature through the lens of design.
Inclusive design is no mean feat - it often starts with an honest conversation about representation and accessibility, and organically leads into an active pursuit of equal opportunity. Sometimes onboarding the knowledge and experience of others influences our decisions naturally as designers, but taking into account the challenges that people face to reframe our outlook and outcome is a necessary stage in creating fair and equitable design. But what does this practically look like?
Digital resource Humane by Design provides guidance to how we can create for user well-being rooted in inclusive, resilient, and transparent design. Their understanding of best practice is found in well-rounded and representative input - a diverse team that represents overlooked identities can help to provide invaluable insight into the needs and requirements of an inclusive community. Learning how to recognise exclusion and design for disability first attempts to solve one problem, and extends a solution to many. It’s a case of thoughtful design with depth and difference.
We’ve heard it before - design should be invisible, only being noticeable once it’s taken away. Enhancing a design experience for a diverse audience is a challenge. Different needs can’t be read as a monolith - accommodating one person’s requirements doesn’t necessarily account for the community they represent. In place of blanket change, we can begin to have the conversation about a kind of design that constantly iterates itself. Assuming you are wrong and improving by doing, generates meaningful design backed by a team of people spanning identities and experiences.
Accountability is part of progress. Psychologists, Jennifer Lerner and Philip Tetlock, suggest that we only push ourselves to think critically when it comes to explaining our thinking to others who are well-informed, or have lived experience. Balancing bias and thinking about how we often confirm our own assumptions pushes us to question our actions, and take the steps necessary to change both our design, and our approach to interaction.
The design world has a long way to go in it’s journey to authentic inclusivity. It’s a methodology and a process, one that requires input from our colleagues, collaborators, and co-conspirators. The question remains: how can we level out the digital landscape? Digital resource Another Lens suggests that it’s a case of designing with, not for people, asking us to balance our bias, consider the opposite, and embrace a growth mindset. Taking the time to reflect on our praxis is the first step, followed closely by employing a representative scope of perspectives and outlooks.
Have a unique perspective? Send us your thoughts and let’s continue the conversation.
The Driftime® team.
People ignore designs that ignore people.
Frank Chimero
of relevance…
👏 🔎 Cheryl D.Miller is a designer with both a vision and a legacy. Read AIGA's medalist article discussing what it means to authentically decolonise design.
💡 🗣 Another Lens is a research tool for conscientious creatives. Reflect on your bias and reframe your work through a series of questions deconstructing design.
💻 🌿 Designing for health and progress. Read about how the industry is changing people's lives by way of innovative design.