Show a respect for the diverse opinions, belief systems, and contributions of others.
Examples: user research, personas
To me, this practice starts at a young age as we observe our environment and those close to us exhibit a predisposition towards accepting and acknowledging diversity or a lack thereof. I am fortunate enough to have learned from people around me to show respect for the diverse opinions, values, belief systems, and contribution of others.
Through courses such as Design Research, Design Thinking & Strategy, Brand Identity, and Interaction Design that is reiterative of doing research on target audience and creating personas, this skill was thoroughly emphasized. It has helped me understand the importance of user research and how essential and impactful diversity and inclusivity is in design.
These are personas I created for an Independent Project in Interaction Design 4 where we have to design a solution for a user problem. I decided to do an outfit planner app for individuals who struggle with daily in deciding what outfit to wear leading to decision fatigue, time consumption, dissatisfaction, and frustration. The design solution is a user interface/app with features such as personalized style quiz, virtual closet management, mix-and-match suggestions, weather integration, shopping integration, daily outfit planner, and community interaction.
We also had to do an empathy map for our target audience, which highlights this skill even more. By doing that, we were able to put ourselves in the target audience’s shoes and empathize with them and in a way, help us try to understand what they are going through.
Interact with others in groups or teams in ways that contribute to effective working relationships and the achievement of goals.
Examples: group projects + presentations, group works, etc.
Our group project for Design Thinking & Strategy is a great example. All of us communicated well and were respectful to each other, and collaborated with each other and understood the importance of team work. Recognizing this, we strategically divided tasks based on individual strengths. This approach not only helped in our productivity, but it also instilled a strong sense of accountability.