On Shrink It and Pink It: Designing Experiences for Women

What Everyone Needs to Know About
Designing for Women
Jessica Ivins
jessicaivins@gmail.com
@jessicaivins

#designwmn

Sunday, September 23, 2012

#designwmn

iMaxi: Case for the iPad

#designwmn

“You forget, but they
made fun of the
iPod name when it
came out. What
matters is the
product and what it
means to
consumers.”

~Steve Jobs,
January 2010

#designwmn

Della: Dell Microsite


The Classic Shrink It & Pink It Reﬂex


Dr Pepper TEN

Company research
found that men
perceive diet drinks as
not "manly" enough

#designwmn

Facebook Page & Application for Men Only

• Shooting gallery where you shoot things like high heels and lipstick

• "Man Quiz" with questions on activities like ﬁshing and hunting

#designwmn

When we design with gender in mind,
our instinct is to resort to extremes instead of
solving real problems.

#designwmn

What We’ll Cover

• Web design

• Industrial design

• Service design

• Design strategy

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What We Won’t Cover

Designing for girls or children

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Why Should We Care About Women As an
Audience?


Women make or inﬂuence
80% of consumer purchases in the US.

20%

80%

#designwmn

In the United States,
women generate 58% of e-commerce dollars.

42%
58%

#designwmn

Women don’t just buy for themselves.

Children Neighbors Friends

Extended Partner or
Coworkers
Family Spouse

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Women spend more time using social media
than men do.

#designwmn

Beware of myths, stereotypes, and assumptions.


Myth: Women Aren’t Into Video Games

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Approximately 75% of Casual Gamers are Women

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Holly Buchanan: Don’t Stereotype Women

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People don’t like to be stereotyped.


“Women Laughing Alone With Salad”

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The Buchanan Test

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The Buchanan Test

1. Do you feature a
woman outside of
the home?

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The Buchanan Test

1. Do you feature a
woman outside of
the home?

2. Do you feature a
woman in a role
other than
"mother"?

#designwmn

The Buchanan Test

1. Do you feature a
woman outside of
the home?

2. Do you feature a
woman in a role
other than
"mother"?

3. Is she NOT doing
yoga?

#designwmn

Visible vs.
Transparent Design
Two approaches to designing
with gender in mind

#designwmn

Visible Design

• Clearly directed toward women or men

• Use if targeting only one gender

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Great Example of Visible Design

#designwmn

Transparent Design

• Not explicitly “for
women” or “for
men”

• Meets target
audience needs
(women or men)
without touting it

• Usually
appreciated by
everyone

#designwmn

The Problem with Traditional Scrubs

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The Design Doesn’t Work for the Audience

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“One surgeon told me there wasn't a woman at the
hospital whose boobs he hadn't seen.”

-Whitney Hopkins, Femme Den

#designwmn

Endura Scrubs

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Works For Men & Women

#designwmn

Design Preferences Based on Gender


#design4wmn

Women’s Preferences

#design4wmn

Women’s Preferences

• Rounded Shapes & Lines

• Bright Colors

• Detail

• Patterns

• Unconventional Typography

• Depictions of Women

• Originality

#design4wmn

Men’s preferences

#design4wmn

Men’s preferences

• Straight Lines

• Neutral Colors

• Simplicity

• Conventional Typography

• Depictions of Men

• Conventionality

#design4wmn

Preferences by Gender

Women Men
Rounded Shapes & Lines Straight Lines

Bright Colors Neutral Colors

Detail Simplicity

Patterns [No data]

Unconventional Typography Conventional Typography

Depictions of Women Depictions of Men

Originality Conventionality

#design4wmn

Most people also prefer designs that were
created by people of their own gender.

#design4wmn

Women Have a Low Tolerance for Bad Design


Yale University Research Study

#designwmn


68%
of Men

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68% 16%
of Men of Women

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Why are women less
tolerant of bad
design?
According to the Femme Den,
women usually have no desire to
conquer a product.

#designwmn

Women Don’t Have Time or Energy for Bad Design

Send
Pick Up Grandpa a Schedule
Make Prescription Oil Change
Birthday
Dinner
Card
Help
Kids with
Pay the Bills
Homework Clean the
Bathroom
Grocery
Shopping 40+ Hour
Drive Kids
Work Week
to School Go to the
Bank
Fix Leaky
Sink

#designwmn

Femme Den’s Guidelines: Designing for Women

#designwmn

1. Emphasize Beneﬁts Over Features or Specs

RAM Processing Speed

Resolution Horsepower

#designwmn

1. Emphasize Beneﬁts Over Features or Specs

x x
RAM Processing Speed

x x
Resolution Horsepower

#designwmn

2. Craft a Story for Others

How will this product help her and other people in her life?

Neighbors Extended
Family

Friends
Children

Coworkers Partner or
Spouse

#designwmn

3. Consider the Full
Experience

• The product itself

• Advertising

• Retail environment

• Packaging

• Customer Service

#designwmn

4. Identify a Spot on the Spectrum

Feminine Not so feminine

#designwmn

Case study:
User Research for Hospital Website Redesign

#designwmn

Women Play Family Caregiver Role

#designwmn

User Interviews with Patients & Caregivers

• How do you mange healthcare for yourself and your family?

• Find doctors?

• Look for health information online?

#designwmn

Our Findings

In some capacity, all participants acted as caregivers for family and beyond.

#designwmn

“Emily” 29 Years Old

#designwmn

“Diane” 67 Years Old

#designwmn

“Joan” 44 Years Old

#designwmn

Our Recommendations Based on Research

#designwmn


• Facilitate the sharing of content via email and social media

#designwmn


• Facilitate the sharing of content via email and social media

• Allow visitors to ﬁnd doctors quickly and easily

• Provide more information on doctor proﬁles

• Personal statements

• Patient testimonials

• Contact info and directions

#designwmn

Success Story: Online Dating


Men Behave Aggressively

W

W

M W

W

W
#designwmn

Women Are Bombarded

M

M

M W

M

M
#designwmn

Everyone Gets Frustrated

#designwmn

Herway

• Both men and women sign up
for free

• Over half of Herway’s
members are men

• Women can browse men’s
proﬁles, but men cannot
browse women’s proﬁles

• Women initiate contact with
men they are interested in

#designwmn

A Few Notes About Gender


Not all women are heterosexual.

#designwmn

Not everyone falls into the gender binary.

#designwmn

Traditional Gender Categories: Male & Female

#designwmn

There’s Much More to Gender Identity

Genderqueer Pangender Cisgender Trans

Trans Woman Trans Man Bigender Trigender

#designwmn

How do you collect gender information?

Example courtesy of: http://bagcheck.com/blog/01-the-gender-question

#designwmn

Don’t stereotype women (or any audience).
Instead, take the time to understand them.

#designwmn

Resources

• 2010 ComScore report Women on the Web: How Women are Shaping the Internet
(http://cog.gd/1t7)

• Femme Den’s Series on Gender & Design (http://tinyurl.com/3jt9r4m/)

• Holly Buchanan’s Blog (http://marketingtowomenonline.typepad.com/blog/)

• She-conomy (http://she-conomy.com/)

• This Presentation on Slideshare: http://goo.gl/yyr3T

#designwmn

Thank You!
Jessica Ivins
jessicaivins@gmail.com
@jessicaivins

Slideshare: http://goo.gl/yyr3T


On Shrink It and Pink It: Designing Experiences for Women

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