DesignMeets: Exploring DEI and its Impact on Design

In today’s era of shifting demographics and changing social norms, “DEI” or diversity, equity and inclusion, is now broadly recognized as the litmus test for creating fairness and achieving social justice in our society. A good way of measuring our relative progress in recognizing the contributions of those from underrepresented groups and creating environments where all individuals and groups feel sufficiently respected and valued to participate fully in social life.

When these three elements work together as mutually reinforcing components, they create a sense of belonging, where everyone feels part of the wider group and empowered to speak up and play a part in creating a truly inclusive and equitable culture. Based on present evidence, this may be best described as a work in progress. While many design organizations in our space have had success in creating diverse environments, we’re still a long way from being equitable and inclusive. Fostering diversity is a great place to start but we need real progress in all three.

Right now, Canadian employers are slow to take up the challenge. A recent survey revealed that while most companies are focused on DEI, only a few of them seem to be committed to achieving the end result in the long term (Mercer 2020). As user-centred design researchers, we’re motivated and inspired by the values and meaning of human empathy and compassion. And as designers in the humanist tradition, we’re challenged to design from this perspective in human behaviour and experience.

The question is, how are we to take this perspective to the next level? Can we take our user empathy a stage further and go beyond what we current understand as inclusive design?

Inclusive design has its origins in the concept of universal design from the 1970s. Coined by U.S. architect Ronald Mace, “universal design” was the design of all things used to the greatest extent possible by anyone capable of using them, regardless of age, physical ability or status in life. It became the design standard for the built environment and deemed as “inclusive.”

Conceptually speaking, design and DEI would take us further along this spectrum. Pursuing the DEI mindset to its full extent would not only target all users across the full range of human diversity, abilities, language, socio-economic strata and culture, it would also integrate the principles within design practice and design thinking, and significantly affect the evolution of the profession itself.

So, is DEI destined to become a leading factor in the growth of our profession? Will it be a priority in our thinking and creativity? And will it shape the design studios of the future as well as the career choices of the next generation of designers?

Today, our panel of experts – Ana Rita Morais, Shaun Vincent, and Gavin Barrett are here to share their points of view on this important topic and tell us what “DEI” means for them.

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