This is where we examine the successes of our designs from the perspective of the community and identify areas for immediate or future improvement. By reflecting at this phase, we're refining our methods for collecting feedback to be more inclusive and to surface any oversights.
Consider who within your organization and from the community should be involved in answering questions in this phase.
What might a solution look like that heals inequities and empowerscommunities rather than harms?
potential outputs
Create
Targeted design exploration to maximize equity outcomes
Understand
Unintended consequences of our designs
resources
Within Kaleidoscope, we're referring to inequities as disparities stemming from social and systemic oppression that lead to worse experiences and outcomes for certain individuals and groups.
Within Kaleidoscope, we're referring to power dynamics as the ways authority and influence are distributed in relationships between people or groups, which has an effect on people’s ability to act, behaviors, and beliefs. These dynamics include influence over others and can affect how individuals or groups perceive their own power (or lack thereof.)
Within Kaleidoscope, we're referring to factors and forces as the conditions or systemic structures that influence people’s experiences; these can include institutions, social structures, policies, people, technology, environmental and political factors, as well as individual circumstances that impact one's agency and access.
Within Kaleidoscope, we're referring to engage/engagements as inviting individuals or groups external to the immediate project team into the research and/or design process; types of engagement can range from consultation to methods that prioritize collaboration and sharing power (i.e., intentional actions to shift, grow, or rebalance power).
Within Kaleidoscope, we're referring to communities/community members primarily as the people and groups who will be served or impacted by the product or service you are creating. Although people can share common needs, values, or goals, applying an intersectional lens helps us avoid oversimplification, homogenous labels, and limiting assumptions when we think about groups. (For example, in a group of parents, we would benefit from looking deeper to explore the experiences of mothers, and deeper still to learn about the experiences of mothers of color.) Sometimes you may work directly with community members, and other times you might work with community leaders and advocates who have established trust with the communities your solution is intended to serve.
Within Kaleidoscope, we're referring to impact as the emotional, social, and material results of one’s interaction with products, services, and systems. These effects can be planned, anticipated, or unintended.
