Zen Thoughts #1 : How Bias Affects Design
Welcome to the first episode of Zen Thoughts! We will be posting lessons and experience of the design process. We hope this will be very helpful for designers and founders when it comes to design. It will short and sweet for easy reading.
Most of the time, people live within a certain bias. These code helps shape their personality and decision making. We all have biases. Anyone can be biased towards or against many things including ideas, cultures, individuals, race, gender, sexuality, political standpoints, social class, species, etc.
The field of design thinking helps to uncover implicit biases, listen intently to stakeholders, assess needs and strategize likely best solutions, quickly test and refine options, and focus on customer value.
A simple example would be, the definition of color. Here is a short story, during our short trip to Melbourne. We spent a short time in the York Butter Factory workspace to help out Canya with their branding and design. We wanted to find out what color would appear in one’s mind when hearing the word ‘Freedom’.
Canya initially had a dark green color for their brand, most probably the founders imagined themselves laying down on a plain of grass by the mountainside. So, we set on a quest to find out how others would perceive ‘Freedom’. After asking many people, most people imagined that they are flying with the birds on a blue sky.
Hence, the majority voted for sky blue. Except a tiny percentage of people voted green. However, it is important to set your branding to fit into the majority’s logic and emotion. This voting process was important in their journey of brand discovery. Through voting, it helps the entire team to eliminate their personal bias, choosing the best color that fits into their brand. It is true that sometimes, it takes an outsider to change one’s mind!
We hope this helps you in your design journey!
If you need a little help with color, ping us!
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