Creating culturally inclusive Design Systems
“Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilisation.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
I am excited to go on this journey with you into the state of digital design today, and what we can do to shape it into something better tomorrow. Now some of you might be thinking…“better” is relative and at its worst subjective, lacking the gravitas of subjective truth to back it up. Well, you can be rest assured that this series will attempt to do just that - offer a subjective truth that charts a path to a richer, more diverse, and down right spicier digital landscape.
Lets start by going on a visual journey…
This is the world we live in, full of color, texture and vibrant character. Centuries of tradition and creativity have etched out viceral depictions of the different cultures and belief systems around the blue globe we call home.
This is our physical world…so how has the state of our digital world turned into this?
Where is the color, the texture, the character and more importanly where is the diversity? Words like “clean” and “minimalist” dominate the design world, but I fear in this pursuit of less is more, we have lost what makes the world an interesting and beautiful place.
“How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?” ― Charles de Gaulle
And indeed how do you govern a world with possibly millions of cultures? The simple answer is you do not. Diversity is why the human race has flourished as much as it has. I propose instead, that we offer up a set of simple tools, methodologies and examples which encourage free cultural expression as we continue to evolve the digital frontier.
I have begun this journey myself, drawing upon my African heritage as a logical starting point. My hope is to inspire and ignite something within all digital designers, and set them on a path of self discovery that liberates them from the mantra “less is more”.
Here are some inspirational talks that sparked this debate for me:
Ingenuity and elegance in ancient African alphabets
Fractals at the heart of African designs
The next generation of African architects and designers
How to build with clay…and community
Here is a podcast I did for further listening
Looking within as African Designers
Whats Next?
Part one was about setting the stage and highlighting the status quo. Follow along as I explore various cultures, finding similarities in their visual executions, extrapolating what they have to offer and what we can draw on from a digital perspective. I will introduce my own design system and how I am building it to be cuturally inclusive. Is it possible to create a template that designers around the world can use to bring the vision of their physical world to life on the digital arena? Let’s find out and explore this future together.
“Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilisation.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
