Designers and researchers play a crucial role in not only creating more inclusive products, services and systems—but also in uncovering the nuanced and often overlooked needs of women. The Women-Centric Design tools were designed to fit into existing design & creative processes that most designers and researchers are already familiar with. Here we share how they might fit into a double diamond diverge-converge design process.
Women, their lived experience and their needs already start being excluded in the project scoping process unless we are intentionally inclusive. To ensure that project outcomes include women, it is imperative to start applying a women-centic lens from the the problem definition stage. The Women-Centric Eye is helpful to scope projects more comprehensively and with greater inclusivity.
To ensure that we do not overlook commonly missed needs of women during our research phase, include questions inspired by the Non-Negotiables. During the insights synthesis phase, ask yourself: which non-negotiables are most pertinent to this project; what did you learn about each non-negotiable; how might the non-negotiable better inform a project insight?
Leaning on your research insights and chosen non-negotiables, collect examples of well-designed solutions for the chosen non-negotiables as inspiration. Ask yourself: what makes the solution effective? Borrow the lever to create your ideation prompts and use these are guides for brainstorming more holistic solutions.