Summary
Today, technologists design for a diverse, globalized world. To reach untapped markets at home and abroad, design researchers are increasingly examining how “culture” influences user behavior and mental models. However, common approaches to cross-cultural research can underestimate user diversity and promote stereotypes that have little explanatory power for design. Using examples from research projects with immigrant communities, this talk explores various cultural frameworks that can help product teams produce meaningful insights about users who don’t share the same background.
Key Insights
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Understand who is being categorized as 'people of color' and the implications of that categorization
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Whiteness is often viewed as the default in research contexts, leading to bias
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Using broad terms like 'people of color' can erase individual experiences and privileges
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Cultural values alone do not account for user behavior; context matters
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Designers often overlook critical social and economic factors influencing behavior
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Misinterpreting user needs can lead to ineffective design solutions
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Cultural framing can significantly affect how users perceive their engagement with services and products
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Assumptions about individual failure can perpetuate systemic issues in disadvantaged communities
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Recognizing our own frames of reference is crucial in minimizing bias in research
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Building diverse research teams can help capture a wider array of perspectives.
Notable Quotes
"Implicit in the wording were several assumptions that have a long and ugly history in research"
"When researchers only recruit by participants, they fail to capture the very real impact of discriminatory social institutions"
"The stereotypes we hold about certain groups guide our research process"
"We just can't accomplish these goals if we don't understand and appreciate the complexity of the people we're designing for"
"Attributing design differences to cultural values overlooks relevant user workflows, constraints, and needs"
"Designers had misinterpreted the significance of the act of walking long distances for these women"
"People do not cook healthy food because they don't understand nutrition; they face systemic barriers"
"There are many processes that are enabling and constraining that behavior"
"Research is biographically situated; our experiences shape our approach to fieldwork and analysis"
"We need a mixture of perspectives to capture the complexities of the environments we research."
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