As designers, we have a role in satisfying our consumer needs; however, the clients we find ourselves designing for often lack diversity. In many cases, we design for those in power to successfully deliver a product to market. Oftentimes, this only includes a female perspective from a male interpretation. 

Society likes to assume the wants of a perfect woman who is dainty and submissive, often lacking the wide scope of interests, qualities, and necessities that many women possess. These perceived wants and needs are displayed clearly in many product industries. In the sporting goods industry, the women's section is often tucked away in the back corner of stores with limited selection (Sharma). In game design, we often see female characters as largely oversexualized. A recorded 119 million women drove in 2022, yet the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does not require female test dummies for frontal crash tests and alternatively uses a dummy modeled after the 1970 average male body (Elsesser). 

Why do we see women's perspectives so often neglected in the design process? It is because we lack female representation in various fields of knowledge, such as art, science, and technology. “Consequently, men have historically occupied the majority of positions of power and influence, owing to social, political, and cultural privileges” (Büchler). The barriers that keep many women excluded are present from a young age. Boys are encouraged to pursue STEM and leadership roles. In today's society, girls are not excluded from such activities, but they don't receive the same resources or encouragement to pursue them. 

How do we fix this? We go back to the implicit purpose of design: to make life better for all users. In recent decades we have seen progress that begins to pave the way for feminist design.

For example, we see in Vienna how the concept of gender mainstreaming has been considered in public policy and displayed through urban city planning. Officials surveyed residents about their public transportation usage. Women were using sidewalks and public transportation significantly more than men to fulfill the role of caregivers to both their children and parents in addition to traveling to and from work. After discovering this, the city put into effect a variety of changes, from additional sidewalk lighting for safer travel to installing ramps allowing accessibility to strollers, wheelchairs, etc (Foran et al.).

In the field of graphic design, we see a bold sense of representation that empowers young girls and women. “Female designers like Paula Scher, April Greiman, and Susan Kare began to challenge the status quo”(Vermeulen). Campaigns like “This Girl Can” from Sport England and “Real Beauty” from Dove provide a sense of belonging for women to feel seen. Feminism in graphic design strives to represent every kind of woman and every kind of person. Feminism not only pushes for gender equity, but it is important because it strives to design an inclusive world for all.

Introducing and celebrating women in the design field and accounting for our clients' needs are simple changes we can make to our design process. As Graeber says, “The hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make and could just as easily make differently.” 

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Sources

Boys, Jos. “Can a building be sexist? Meet the feminist architects who challenged gender stereotypes.” Financial Times, 15 May 2021, https://www.ft.com/content/b2fec667-f088-46dd-824f-a9064b53c0a5.

Büchler, Natasha. “The Purpose of Design in the face of Feminism.” Medium, 10 September 2023, https://medium.com/@nabuchler/the-purpose-of-design-in-the-face-of-feminism-transforming-experiences-with-creativity-and-8e59d9ca5ceb. Accessed 1 January 2025.

Elsesser, Kim. “Will Female Crash Dummies Improve Road Safety For Women? The Answer Is Complicated.” Forbes, 20 February 2024, https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2024/02/20/will-female-crash-dummies-improve-road-safety-for-women-the-answer-is-complicated/. Accessed 2 January 2025.

Foran, Clare, et al. “How to Design a City for Women.” Bloomberg.com, 16 September 2013, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-09-16/how-to-design-a-city-for-women. Accessed 2 January 2025.

Place, Alison L., editor. Feminist Designer: On the Personal and the Political in Design. MIT Press, 2023.

Sarasola, Lucila. “Bringing Intersectional Feminism into Architecture and Urbanism.” ArchDaily, 6 November 2024, https://www.archdaily.com/990977/bringing-intersectional-feminism-into-architecture-and-urbanism. Accessed 1 January 2025.