Can we use Design-thinking to to tackle problems like racism, sexism and bias?

The unifying thread that connects all creatives is our desire to solve problems, to work together and to create things that make a difference in the lives of those around us.

I believe that Creativity is about friction. The best ideas don’t come about when teams agree and everyone goes along; they come from the creative friction that only occurs when different perspectives clash, and the people behind them are forced to change and grow in order to find a solution that works.

Friction is what makes you a better designer.

But with the homogeny that persists within the creative community, where do we find the diversity of thought that inspires us to produce our best work?

As an experiment, I created Perspective Cards.

Perspective Cards is a web app that gives designers a way to figure out who they are forgetting during the design process. With every click, designers are challenged to imagine their work through the eyes of another. The idea is that the more perspectives we embrace as we build, the more inclusive our work will become.

Let’s be clear, this tool is not a magic bullet. The lack of diversity within the creative community is too complex to expect any one tool will be a fix all solution.

But in the words of Clay Shirky “Nothing will work, but everything might. Now is the time for experiments, lots and lots of experiments”. We need more “experiments”, we need to keep ideating and trying all kinds of potential avenues. “Boldness has genius, power and magic in it”.