Designer News
Where the design community meets.
↵
How does Invision's documentary "Design Disruptors" represent the design community when everyone featured is white?
8 years ago from Osandi Sekoú, founder | product design
Chris Slowik, 8 years ago
But.. it's not about "designers" or "the community" in general. It's a very focused documentary on a specific type of design and the lead designers at some very successful silicon valley type companies.
Ix Techau, 8 years ago
Who thinks all designers on the planet are white? And why is it an issue if most designers in Silicon Valley are white? Is it an issue that most software designers in Japan are Japanese? Is that a diversity problem?
Corin Edwards, 8 years ago (edited 8 years ago )
Why is it an issue if one race is in a position of economic power in a country the consists of many races?
How is that even a question?
Dylan Sowell, 8 years ago You evaded the actual question. A rhetorical question is not an answer. Try again.
It is an issue if one race is in a position of economic power in a country the consists of many races.
That is inequality.
This isn't about "one race" in a position of economic power. My question was: is it a diversity issue that most software designers in Japan are Japanese?
Jake Lazaroff, 8 years ago (edited 8 years ago ) Racially, Japan is much less diverse than America, so we might expect to see many more Japanese designers relative to a documentary focused on other places. (We might still see more local prejudices, though, if—for example—people from a certain region of Japan were excluded).
Let's stay focused on the trailer, though: people of color are completely absent, which is not representative of the design community, even in Silicon Valley. And if we pull back to the design community, people of color are still underrepresented compared to the general population.
Elliott Payne, 8 years ago (edited 8 years ago )
If I'm watching a documentary about the software development scene in Japan, I think it is fair to expect about 98.5% of the voices represented to be Japanese.
https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=ethnic%20makeup%20of%20japan
If I'm watching a documentary about design companies based in the US, I think it's fair to expect to see ~75% white representation and ~ 13% black representation.
https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=ethnic+makeup+of+america
The most generous thing I can say about your comment is that it displays a shocking amount of ignorance on your part.
Replace that with companies based in Silicon Valley, and then give me the split.
I don't think that OP was questioning actual real-life ratios, but rather why this specific representation (documentary) doesn't fairly reflect reality.
(Reality, in this case, being that not all designers are white).
I think that both of you raise very important questions, and I agree that the answer/solution is non-trivial.