Personal
Why do we need an inclusive design scene?
The Dutch design field isn’t an accurate representation of our society, but it should be. To make sure everyone has a chance to design and access the world around us. Also, there are benefits to making sure your organisation and products are inclusive:
- Easier recruitment: Diversity makes recruitment easier, because it’s valued by people who are looking for a job (Kim Abreu) and you’re looking at a larger group of candidates (Maurice Cherry).
- Better business: A diverse team improves creativity and diligence (Katherine W. Phillips) and it’s linked to higher financial returns (McKinsey).
- Better products: More inclusive design solutions work for a broader range of people, which might also mean more users and higher profits (Maurice Cherry). And solutions for the specific needs of a small group of people might be improvements for many (Microsoft Design, Disability Science Review); think of curb cuts and closed captions.
What can we do?
I want to help Dutch designers find out what they can do. So, this is a collection of learnings from marginalized communities both in and outside of The Netherlands and the field of design. You can use it as inspiration, a checklist, a reading guide, or however you want.
Updates
You could star the repo on GitHub, but if you prefer human-readable updates, I’ll try to send you an email, once in a while.