Wrapping up week 2

Congratulations, you’ve reached the end of week 2.

This week we learnt how to create a gender-inclusive design process. We began by thinking about how we can form diverse design teams and be critically about our positions within those teams. We learnt how to ensure our research was inclusive, not extractive and we introduced you to participatory design, a practice that allows us to actively involve our stakeholders throughout the design process.

From here, Hera introduced us to the concept of designing for edge cases, an important challenge that helps us to iron out potential problems within our technologies. We looked at ways we can manage and implement feedback and effectively test our products and services, and throughout you’ve been considering how what we’ve been learning applies to our voice interface Carem.

Next week, we will start out by looking at building gender-inclusive data practices, as well as how gender intersects with advertising and the limits of representation. As we move into the final stages of the course we will be looking to the future, discussing how we can advocate for gender inclusion and speculate and what a future filled with gender-inclusive technologies might look like.

So what did you find most challenging about this week? What did you enjoy the most? Look to see what other learners have shared, does your experience echoes theirs. Share your thoughts below.