Hexagon UX
Problem: Stakeholders want to update their website to reflect the expansion of their organization to support marginalized genders outside of Cisgender women. They want their organization and website to be a place where the LGBTQ community feels safe and included.
Roles: UX Research, Project Management.
Duration: 8 month contract.
Team size: 3 Person team.
Stake-holder interview
Meeting with Olivia was the first step in the process of organizing a plan to tackle the difficult question. What are the important steps needed to create a safe and supportive environment in a group that was built to support marginalized genders?
Design Process
Find and interview LGBTQ+ Members of Hexagon.
Find and Interview LGBTQ+ Members outside Hexagon.
Present suggestions to use in the redesign of the site.
User Survey
The purpose of the survey was to look at a snapshot of the diversity of the group and other similar organizations. The survey was posted in 8 different UX organization slacks, most of them either gender-based or LGBTQ+ based. It was also to draw the best selection of people to interview for this research.
Majority of survey responses came from people in the LGBTQ community.
Half of the survey respondents belonged to an LGBTQ+ UX community.
90% of the responders were of a marginalized gender.
User Interviews
Using the data from the survey I was able to Interview a diverse group of candidates. it was essential to listen to people in the LGBTQ community inside and outside of Hexagon.
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Interview findings
Representation
It's important for the leadership and team to have adequate representation that reflects what the organization stands for.
Clarity
There should be clarity around who exactly is being centered.
After the interviews, I reviewed the responses to find common recurring themes that the interviewers often spoke about and highlighted in their answers.
Language
There should be clarity around the language referring to the communities represented.
Diversity
Participants want more effort in recruiting people of marginalized groups to the events.
Accountability
Participants want a clear accountability process on what happens if there is harm.
Accessibility
Participants want the website to have accessibility features like screen readers.
Proposed Solutions
Here are some key features that were brought up frequently and would have an instantaneous impact on how the website is viewed by members of the LGBTQ+ community.
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After:
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Take away and impact
Although much more research is needed, this is a huge step in the beginning of connecting to the intended communities. The research shows that most issues are deeper than a re-design or content creation. However, through understanding the impact of language and images, and using it to declare what your organization stands for. That physical declaration combined with real openness to shift and improve internally, is not ommitabe in the journey of creating a supportive and safe space for marginalized communities.