A dominant culture

• As a UX designer, you should consider the needs of all different types of people, regardless of privilege or power.

• Society often enables those with the most privilege and power to shape the dominant culture.

• If a dominant culture’s influence is too strong, many cultural points of view might not be considered in the design process. This means that some users might be left out.

• Consider questions like:

  • How are the people using your product different from you?
  • How can you help people from non-dominant cultures feel more included in your product design?
  • Are there any challenges that people from certain groups or backgrounds might face as they experience your product?
  • If you feel a certain way about the product you’re designing, what’s the opposite of that feeling? Chances are, one of your users has that opposite perspective.

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Marginalized and underrepresented population

• marginalized population

  • is one where people experience discrimination or exclusion from mainstream society because of specific characteristics or life experiences that are wrongfully deemed as inferior.
  • Here are a few examples of marginalized populations:
    • People with disabilities
    • People with limited access to technology
    • People who speak different languages
  • It’s important to design products that are inclusive and easily accessible to all users. For example, if a user is unemployed, they might not have access to a computer with internet at home. Users should be able to fill out a job application just as easily on a mobile phone as they could on a desktop or laptop computer.

• Underrepresented populations

  • are groups of people whose values and experiences aren’t represented often enough in a society that’s shaped by the dominant culture and their point of view.
  • Underrepresented populations include people of
    • certain genders or sexualities, people of color, and ethnic minorities, among others.
  • Think about how a designer’s approach to design can be affected by their education, background, and life circumstances. For example, if your default idea of a family is a home with two parents, then you might not consider the needs or perspectives of families with one parent or multigenerational homes when designing products.

• Both marginalized and underrepresented populations aren’t part of the dominant culture, so they’re often not recognized in the design process unless the designer makes a conscious decision to include them.

• Ask yourself:

  • How can I design products so that the dominant culture is not always viewed as the norm?
  • How can I design products in a way that encourages all perspectives to be included?

Ask yourself:

https://www.coursera.org/learn/wireframes-low-fidelity-prototypes/supplement/7nDLF/understand-your-impact-as-a-ux-designer