Community-building, inclusion, and the role of privilege in design: Musings from the 2018 Design + Diversity Conference

A few months ago, I was selected as a Design + Diversity fellow with 9 other people who were chosen because of their commitment to empowering their communities through design. We stayed in the most beautiful hotel, shared resources with each other, and talked about how and why we wanted to empower our communities through design.

Now, I’m receiving emails from executives in my old group at Microsoft that congratulate me for being chosen, receiving a Surface Pro (something I’ve wanted for years), and sharing everything I’ve learned on LinkedIn and Twitter. I’m shaking hands with creators, designers, entrepreneurs, and CEOs of color who were told that they couldn’t make it, yet here they are. This one is for the brown girls and boys and non-binary individuals who never thought they could make it in the tech industry.

What is the Design + Diversity Conference?

For so long, conversations about power and privilege were confined to 1:1s and office corners, but they were brought to the forefront through the Design + Diversity Conference, a 3-day event with workshops about everything from using bias in machine learning to the importance of teaching in every role. The conference is premised by the notion that the design industry needs to be diverse because it’s the voice of the world.

This conference enabled me to put action to vision and think about how I can empower underrepresented voices and advocate for diverse & inclusive spaces. Everyone at the event cares about their craft and community, and I’m so lucky to be a part of a community of people who challenge me to recognize my own biases and assumptions.

Create a safe space for vulnerable conversation

This event reminded me about the importance of starting conversations about diversity & inclusion, which was evidenced by the introduction from Antionette Carroll and Timothy Hykes about the ground rules: we were invited to create a safe space, encourage conversation, and take care of ourselves by taking a break or stepping out if we needed it. We were also reminded that empathy is understanding without agreement, so we always have a responsibility to hear someone out about their point of view.

Without further ado, here are a few of my takeaways from the conference:

Power and privilege influence design

George Aye’s first workshop began with a simple but powerful notion.

The design industry lacks a basic understanding of power and privilege.

Surprisingly, I had never heard anyone in the industry recognize the fact that not everyone has the power to create change, and that having access to tools in design is a sign of privilege. This manifests in a few different ways:

1. Power asymmetry affects your relationship with clients: Aye defined power as the ability to affect an outcome.
2. Design innovation culture is steeped in privilege. Aye proposed a simple definition of privilege: a gift you did not earn. Because people have different amounts of privilege, not everyone can take the same risk.
3. Access to power and privileges shapes your lived experience.

Machine learning will reflect bias if we continue to use biased data.

Jamila Smith-Loud is the associate principal of Research and Insights at Google where she works focuses on ethical machine learning. She talked about how machine learning can reinforce societal bias. To show us an example of algorithmic unfairness, Smith shared a 2016 article from the Huffington Post, which showed how an image search of nurses on Google brings up photos of white females, and images of doctors tend to be white males.

Skewed data like this can reinforce preferential treatment. The consequences of this seemingly benign algorithm are profound – people of color may not see themselves as a future doctor, lawyer, or future college grad. This can show up in other ways too. Currently, Amazon Prime doesn’t deliver to predominantly white neighborhoods in Chicago, which reinforces the current lack of resources in the community.

See everything as an opportunity to teach

Ruki Ravikumar, the director of Education at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, talked about how schools are often a microcosm of cities, and they have the potential to reinforce cultural norms. Educators have to break down complex problems into digestible pieces, so take every opportunity that you can to share your work in a way that communicates its impact on anyone.

The speaker talked about how our lives are on a spectrum, and a lot of it is centered on opportunities to learn, apply and teach. She went on to explain that design thinking is learned through creative problem solving. She said that designers are often intentional learners and listeners, but she invited everyone to an intentional teacher – after all, a lesson well-taught will stay with a person forever.

Teaching is a team sport – so build up a network of educators who inspire you.

Have a mentality of abundance: Crystal Martin, a consultant at Slalom Consulting, talked about how people often get evaluated as individuals because companies don’t have a culture of trust. She noted that people are the most creative in spaces that are safe and loving, which is why she proposed a mentality of abundance. This approach is underpinned by the idea that people do better work when they are supported and empowered by their community.

Here are a few ways to create abundance in your own work:

1. Get some sleep – we could all use more of it.
2. Give credit to other people’s contributions. If someone supported you in a project, say their name.
3. Teach and mentor: When you share your knowledge, you honor the people who helped you get where you are.
4. Give more of what you want.
5. Be in situations where you can get feedback on your work. Flexing this muscle creates confidence.
6. Look inside and self-reflect. If you’re not learning something new every day, you can’t grow.

Know how to tell your story

I’ve always believed that designers are responsible for telling a story about their approach to problem solving and the impact of their work, particularly because their end goal is to create experiences for people.

Ultimately, true diversity & inclusion initiatives start with being intentional, which means that everyone from the entry level employees to senior leadership is responsible for identifying gaps and addressing them.

I learned a lot of other things too – that it’s important to ask tough questions, design is empowering and knowing your value can be dangerous, the world is brighter when you share it with others, train stations make for beautiful hotel rooms, and the most impactful people empower themselves and their community.

Here are some reflection questions that I’m keeping in mind as I bring my conference findings into my work:

• In what ways do you use your privilege?
• How does your personal journey influence your work? What keeps you coming back to your work regardless of barriers and expectations
• What’s the impact when you don’t see yourself represented in your industry?

As for what happens next, I’m applying for my writing opportunities and getting more bylines, and I’m hoping to write at least one post a month on LinkedIn and Medium. I’m so thankful that I was invited to attend this conference and learn from the most amazing designers, researchers, makers, leaders, educators, animators, and people of impact.

Now, go and create, invent, and design your world – and think about how you can make it more inclusive.