Kaleidoscope is a digital tool to help anyone involved in creating products and services apply an intersectional lens to their work, which expands their ability to create more inclusive and equitable experiences. It provides unique value by translating key concepts related to intersectionality into the context of design and bringing structured focus on these concepts into seven specific moments of the design process.

Intersectionality can feel like an overwhelming concept to consider in practice, but Kaleidoscope breaks it down using accessible language and clear guidance on how to explore concepts, like context and power, in each phase of the design process. Discussion prompts guide teams to:

(1) Embrace the complexity of identities and consider them within context (2) Examine context to uncover the factors and forces that affect people differently (3) Identify who holds power and who is marginalized in a context (4) Reflect on their own power in relation to the communities their solution will serve.

The prompts are also available for download in Miro and FigJam canvases, and on Google Slides, enabling teams to bring the conversation and its outputs into their existing workflows and tools. To help teams move from reflection into informed actions that will impact experience and outcomes, Kaleidoscope also provides recommended next steps. For teams wanting to dig deeper, links are provided to relevant activities, frameworks, and resources.

The aim of applying an intersectional lens to the creation of products and services is to ensure that more people will benefit and less will be overlooked or harmed. By prioritizing the reflection necessary to take more informed actions, Kaleidoscope helps teams operate in ways that address the shortcomings of more traditional design thinking approaches (e.g., prioritizing speed, knowledge extraction, reductive personas, and designing "for" others.) The structured reflections empower teams to operate with more intentionality, humility, and awareness of the complexities their solutions must account for. All of this enables more informed decision-making and, ultimately, more inclusive and equitable experiences.

INTENT + PROCESS

As an organization that strives to embed inclusion and equity in our work, we recognize the importance of intersectionality in designing for these outcomes. We wanted to learn more to deepen our understanding and develop a tool that would be broadly applicable.

We explored the tension between creating something specific and actionable, while still being accessible and useful in different domains. Through iteration and evaluative research, we determined that providing discussion prompts tailored to specific moments of the design process was more important than providing answers.

Finding the right language and tone for this tool was also tricky. To guide these potentially challenging but essential conversations, we wanted to be direct in our choice of words, but we also needed to avoid using academic jargon that would be inaccessible to most people.

Throughout our process, we engaged with DEI experts, anthropologists, and people creating products and services within agencies, small- and large-scale organizations, and in complex domains like healthcare and social impact.

DESIGN CHOICES

Kaleidoscope's visual and interaction design was inspired by its namesake – evoking reflection and a lens through which you view the world. With its dynamic patterns, the kaleidoscope felt like an apt metaphor for a topic with so much dimensionality: what might at first feel overwhelming becomes clearer when you pause to look more closely. As with a real kaleidoscope, the same objects are always present but interact and manifest in different ways depending on how the field of view has rotated (or, in the case of this tool, what phase of the design process you're in.) When we slow down enough to take a deeper look, relationships between objects come into focus, and different parts of our field of view are illuminated.

The vivid color palette, playful shapes, and cheerful animations were designed to reflect the richness, diversity, and vibrancy of identities. Juxtaposed against a dark background, they mimic the illumination, patterns, and movement within a kaleidoscope. The visual language was crafted to be engaging and uplifting – a counterbalance to what can feel like a heavy topic to consider.

The experience has three distinct stages, beginning with an introduction to each shape, inviting users to consider the concepts of identity, context, and power individually. The shapes then come together to form dynamic patterns that represent different moments in the design process, before transitioning to quieter layouts that enable users to focus on the prompts and discussion with their teammates.

STAKEHOLDER INTERESTS: BENEFIT TO USERS

In addition to taking the guesswork out of translating intersectionality into the context of product and service design, Kaleidoscope's structured reflections ensure that this lens can be applied in the most impactful moments of the design process.

Working through the prompts as a team increases transparency, alignment, and confidence that they are acting on their values, even when there are competing priorities and increasing demands on their time. Kaleidoscope also guides practitioners to recognize and challenge assumptions and biases, helping to ensure that these do not unintentionally influence the insights and solutions that emerge from the design process.

The practitioners that tested Kaleidoscope appreciated that it provides accessible language for bringing these factors and tools to their teams. This reduces the pressure to find the right words themselves – especially for those who may feel a risk of being marginalized in their workplace. As one designer put it: "The reflection questions dissolve the tendency to go about [design] in a transactional way. But without a tool like this, it's hard to think of these questions when [your project] is go go go."

Even for people who are more experienced with discussing identity, systemic forces, and power, Kaleidoscope provides a helpful structure to guide conversations and ensure they haven't overlooked any important considerations. One DEI expert described Kaleidoscope as a useful tool to "create more transparency and alignment. Equity is the water [we] swim in, but a lot of it is implicit. [This tool would] remind us to be explicit about aspects of equity and to make sure [everyone] is onboard."

STAKEHOLDER INTERESTS: BENEFIT TO SOCIETY

The decisions made during the creation of products and services influence the experiences and outcomes of diverse communities with many different needs and aspirations. Practitioners working in product and service design – and in tech, in particular – inherently have power and often a great deal of privilege. With this comes assumptions, biases, and things they simply cannot know or understand from their own lived experience.

Kaleidoscope provides value by structuring reflection to help anyone involved in the creation of products and services better understand their own identities and power, and the perspectives they bring to their work. A more responsible approach to creating products and services also includes considering how deeply communities will be engaged throughout the process, which Kaleidoscope guides alongside exploration of identity, context, and power. The tool helps practitioners become aware of how all these factors affect the decisions they make, which ultimately determines who a solution will benefit and who it leaves behind.

Kaleidoscope is designed to be broadly applicable across many different industries – from health, finance, and consumer goods to transportation and civic services. With thousands of products and services being launched every year, there's immense potential for reach and positive impact by applying an intersectional lens in order to shape more inclusive and equitable experiences.

STAKEHOLDER INTERESTS: BUSINESS IMPACT

Kaleidoscope represents an accessible yet impactful way for businesses to deliver on the aspiration to create more inclusive and equitable experiences. Ijeoma Oluo describes intersectionality as "[helping to] ensure that fewer people are left behind and that our efforts to do better for some do not make things far worse for others. Intersectionality helps us stay true to our values of justice and equality by helping to keep our privilege from getting in our way. Intersectionality makes our systems more effective and more fair." Without an intersectional lens, businesses risk creating products and services that are unable to meet the needs of the diverse communities they're intended to serve.

While prioritizing reflection on identity, context, and power requires us to slow down a bit, we believe doing so is essential. It leads to more meaningful and innovative solutions that have greater viability in the market, and it's necessary if businesses want to ensure their solutions won't unintentionally cause exclusion, inequities, or harm. With the challenges our society faces today, and the rise of AI and automation, it's more important than ever for organizations to bring values and intentionality to their work, including an awareness of how their inherent power and privilege affect the solutions they put out into the world.

CLOSING

Kaleidoscope is informed by the decades of hard work from many who came before us and who continue this work today: Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw, Black feminists, women, and many others. Our hope is that this tool will contribute to ongoing conversations within our industry. It represents our commitment to learning and evolving our practices to create better futures for all, not just the privileged few – a commitment we hope others will make as well.