Bias in Design
Discrimination, prejudice, and oppression surrounds us, and I have experienced it through my interactions with certain people or as a system issue, but it also permeates through our technology and products. All my life I’ve known there are some products for me, and others that are not, and honestly, I hadn’t given it much thought because it’s been so normalized. However, as a consumer feeling included and using fair, bias free and equitable products is very important. As designers we must actively work on considering different people to ensure diversity and inclusivity within the things we create.
When I try to sit and think of a time that I experienced discrimination while using technology or a product I realized that I had to sit and really give it some thought. Not because it hasn’t happened but because it’s happened so much that I don’t think about it much. In other words, I am clumsy, so I stub my toe, bump into things, etc. so often that at the end of the night I don’t remember where I got my bruises from. I try to remember but most times I don’t, and I just go on to get some ice to help heal and forget. Similarly, when dealing with prejudices as a consumer, if a product was not designed with me in mind, I move on to a product that is. I’m thankful that someone saw the void and created a product that I could relate to or purchase that was more diverse or inclusive and I move on.
In technology we may see some bias in apps or algorithms that are either a result of the team creating the thing or the people using it. Sometimes what was meant to not have bias can sometimes develop into something discriminatory if we are not careful. However, sometimes the flaw is in creation, and we can simply do better by having a more diverse design team, performing research, and testing with different diverse users. I experience this sometimes when trying to create avatars for accounts or if I’m creating one for my daughter in one of her games. Often times the skin tone selections are scarce and hair types and colors are not realistic for a Black Woman or child. In times like these, you either choose the closest thing and pick a straight wavy hairstyle or you choose a different app.
Prejudices also show up in toys and products that children use like crayons and dolls. As a child “flesh-tone” crayons and pencils were never my color and it was hard to find dolls that looked like me without them looking scary! I’m so thankful that there are more and more dolls being created with different hair types that my daughter can now play with. She can even draw and color using all different shades of skin tones. A 10-year-old girl named Bellen Woodard, created a crayon line promoting skin tone diversity and started her “More than Peach” initiative.
Discrimination is even felt through everyday products like makeup and hair products and the way they are displayed in a store. I was always used to seeing the “Beauty” aisle for straight hair and then looking in the next aisle over which was called “Ethnic” to find the products that were for my curly hair type. In 2016, SheaMoisture hair brand launched a campaign to desegregate the hair aisles called “Break the Walls”. This is just one way to impact the problem, but it will take some time.
I’m thankful for the strides that have been taken to improve discrimination, prejudice, and oppression within our society and within the products that we create however we still have a long way to go. As a designer I hope to be a part of the positive change.
___________________
“Using Her Magic: 10 year old girl creates brown skin crayon line promoting skin tone diversity”
“Good Hair Study – Perception Institute.”
Let's create together
Thank you for your submission!
