News – Design and Exclusion

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The Mash-Up Americans is a media company and creative studio that explores race, culture and identity in America and what makes us who we are. We smash the traditional (and eye-rolling) “identity” verticals to instead center our stories on the universal: family, relationships, food, and issues like guilt, faith and love, through a nuanced and compassionate cultural lens. We believe that storytelling unlocks empathy; and with empathy, positive social change is possible.

We publish original stories at mashupamericans.com, produce a popular podcast with American Public Media and Southern California Public Radio and curate must-read stories in our weekly newsletter. We also work with select clients who want to create and distribute content that speaks to Mash-Up America in an authentic, meaningful way.

Design and Exclusion is created in partnership with Mash-Up Americans. Amy S. Choi is the host and both she and Rebecca Lehrer helped produce the show. Read more about Mash-Up Americans on Design.Blog.

Ivana McConnell wrote a piece on exclusionary design for Design Observer:

You can build it, but should you?

The aim of good design is to solve difficult problems in intuitive ways, and the best solutions come from those directly affected by that problem. For this reason, questions are a foundational step in the design process. We ask questions to bridge gaps and understand deeply the problem we aim to solve—what does that problem really feel like? Questions build an understanding that, once built, lets us begin to design a solution—one which addresses the problem in an inclusive, thoughtful manner. However, one question is too often lost in this process:

“Should I build this?”

Check out the full article on Design Observer.

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