Time magazine recently proclaimed that the transgender movement is “the next civil rights frontier.” Are you unsure of what it means to be transgender? You’re not alone.
Everyone has a gender identity. Gender influences our customers’ behaviors. It influences the way our customers present themselves to the world. We’re making design decisions for customers whose gender identity affects their lives, both offline and online.
Designers have struggled to understand the intersection of gender and design for decades. We often overlook gender or take it for granted. Sometimes we resort to assumptions like women like pink stuff and men like football, but these assumptions rarely help us make an authentic connection with our audience.
Meanwhile, a new civil rights movement is disrupting the notion of gender identity. As designers, what do we need to understand about gender identity? How do we design experiences that are inclusive for everyone?
The answer, as any UX designer will tell you, is it depends. Gender’s role in the design process varies from project to project. We’ll explore gender identity, what we as designers need to know about gender identity, and why an understanding of gender identity will help us make effective designs even stronger.
