Vital Intersection: Tech and Social Justice
When jumping into the User Experience Design world, I had my reservations. I knew that I wanted to help people, but I also knew that I needed to break into an industry that would respect my time and my wallet. UX seemed like a good compromise between hard and soft skills, and I haven’t been wrong about it yet. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed what I have learned and created so far, and I am excited for what’s to come. And, the good news is that there are many different directions you can take in the realm of UX. However, there is an idea that keeps me alert about the work I gravitate towards.
We all know that developing a strong focus on users is the key to good design solutions. So, where do we find these users? Well, they might already use the platform we are testing. Or, if it’s a new platform, we’ll gather data from users that use similar products.
There are many ways UX designers find the source of their data, but how do we know that we are really covering all of our bases? In other words, who SHOULD be our users? Are we really doing a good job of identifying who would benefit most from the products that we help build?
I am fully aware that market gaps often drive the development of digital products, especially in e-commerce, but how can we be aggressively identifying social gaps in the same way?
As UX designers, we have the opportunity to be creative forces in some of the biggest companies and organizations in the world. We also have the opportunity to use our research methodologies to promote a more holistic and inclusive digital environment.
All of these are open questions. I felt the need to post these thoughts because I know I need to keep holding myself accountable in the fight for social justice.
Check out B The Change’s article promoting some apps made for social good.
