Designing for multidimensional people in an ever-changing world.
This tool helps anyone involved in creating products and services apply an intersectional lens to their work.
Intersectionality expands our ability to create more inclusive and equitable experiences, ensuring that more people will benefit and less will be overlooked or harmed.
the complexity of identities and consider them within context
context to uncover the factors and forces that affect people differently
who holds power and who is marginalized in a context
on your power in relation to the communities a solution will serve
We are all multidimensional: we each have many identities, from our race, gender, and abilities, to things like our roles as partners and caregivers, or if we practice a religion.
As people creating products and services, it’s important that we avoid examining identities in isolation, because they are complex and take on different meanings in different contexts.
Within a context, there are factors and forces that shape our experiences, including social structures, policies, people, technology, environmental and political factors, etc.
These can lead to vastly different experiences and outcomes for people with different identities.
More specifically, those factors and forces give each of us more or less power relative to those around us, which can disadvantage or harm those who hold less power in that context.
Design and research processes hold an incredible amount of power. As practitioners, we decide how we will share power with and elevate the voices of the communities we intend to serve.
As you can tell, this can get very complex very quickly. Kaleidoscope was created to guide reflection on these concepts throughout the design process.
This tool is informed by decades of hard work from many who came before us and who continue this work today: Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw, Black feminists, women, and many others who have examined how intersectionality shapes different people’s experiences in our society.
When it feels overwhelming, pause and take a breath. None of us are getting this 100% right, and we’re all still learning.
let's get startedGenerally refers to the individuals or groups who are primary users, though other non-users who are impacted or stakeholders may sometimes be included. These groups typically lack power in design and research processes. Ideally you are engaging these groups, sharing power with them, valuing their time and expertise, and creating safe and accessible spaces to make it easy for them to participate.
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