Designing for no one
Eyes opened
I have recently read a book by Caroline Criado-Perez called “Invisible women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men”. The author lines up numbers of examples of “gender-neutral” designs, proving how these were actually biased and what are the consequences for the users — mostly, women.
Such gender blindness can cause inconveniences in some cases — like smartphones that were designed too big for female hands, but in other — like cars that are safer for taller users, fatal injury and death.
One of the things that the author is trying to prove, is that whenever we think of “people” we think “men”, unless stated otherwise — the prejudice that is at the root of gender inequalities. This thinking is not deliberate or malicious, it’s just been around for so long that we assume it as our own.
It is a heavy read, full of statistics, nevertheless it is eye opening — it made me think how important it is to be conscious of our own biases and getting to know who are we designing for. I have realised that even though I am a woman, I am also biased to think of an “average person” as of a “man”.
Shaped by bias
We live surrounded by objects designed by other people — the world they have created is a reflection of their biases. Inevitably, we are also being shaped by it. It is particularly important to be conscious of that if you are a designer yourself. The choices we make as designers can have unpredictable impact on lives of others. We have a responsibility not to perpetuate harmful patterns but to become aware of them and try to correct them.
The problem with biases is that they can live in our minds undetected. If you are not sure which one is living in your head rent free, there are lists of most common biases and how to counteract them out there (like this one). Basically, it all comes down to humility and awareness.
One size does not fit all
So, we are aware of our biases and methods to counteract them. Now let’s try to design something for a wide audience! How to ensure that everyone is happy with what you come up with? Can we use qualitative data to be sure we are not skewed by any prejudice?
While talking about large groups of people, it is tempting to establish an average within them and tailor your solution to fit that. There is a fascinating story about how that was proven to be an unlucky approach.
In 1950s the US Army began mass recruitment of new pilots to expand its air forces. And with that came a decline in performance and a rash of deaths. It was discovered that the cockpits were designed for an “average” man, based on ten critical physical dimensions — and not even one person possessed these “average” dimensions. The cockpits were designed to fit exactly no body.
Power of empathy
As designers we have a unique opportunity to shape the world around us. And there comes responsibility with that. At some point in designers career comes a point, where the growth is not impacted by how many new books and publications they read but rather how sensitive they become in spotting user’s pains and needs. Training in empathy is a constant, never-ending process.
Whether it is an app, that should be accessible for all ages, or a tool that should be safe for palms big and small, we must always put the user in center. It is equally crucial to be able to learn as to unlearn — to shed the beliefs and prejudices that come from living in a biased world.
We make many decisions on behalf of our users. Let’s make sure they are the right ones.
