The final module, Designing for Cultural Diversity, is going to look at DEI through the context of social diversity. The importance of bringing together and being able to design for multiple cultures through digital experiences cannot be underestimated, which is why we will focus on how to design for the richness, diversity and lived experiences of various cultures. Through the talks, interaction and workshops of this module participants will get insights and tools to better navigate cultural diversity and be able to shape more inclusive and equitable experiences and products – not only through their design thinking but also through design doing.
Nikhita is a co-founder of Xeno Co-lab and is design expert with experience in handling, managing product and service innovation cases. She is a trained product designer with keen interest in user-centric and application oriented design thinking and business innovation. Her design background comes handy while translating the insights into tangible and implementable product & business opportunities. She has wide experience in design research, innovation strategy and design implementation projects across industries including consumer electronics, automobile, digital services, UI/UX.
Both the co-founders of Xeno Co-lab, Swar and Nikhita are very passionate and vocal about the need for companies & designers to start proactively designing for diversity & inclusion and they both spend their time sharing their experiences and stories of having worked in a diverse country like India. Nikhita has also implemented and shared her experience with the design community as a co-speaker with Swar at various global design platforms such as Internet Week Denmark, Design Matters Mexico 2023, SDN Global Conference 2021 & 2023 and have been a facilitator of workshops centered towards building human-center capabilities within organisations.
When we talk about diversity, it becomes important to truly understand the implicit and explicit layers of diversity, ‘culture’ becoming one such crucial implicit aspect of diversity. The culture that our consumers are surrounded by or connect with; shapes their behaviours, beliefs and biases which has a direct impact on the way they use and interact with the products and services that are uniquely designed for them. So how do we make sense of these diverse cultural aspects such as religion, family beliefs, biases, gender dynamics that are directly shaping our consumer’s behaviours? How do we acknowledge these nuances to design truly accessible and inclusive solutions?
Strategic designer, graduated in Environmental Management (UESA), Master in Strategic Design (Unisinos), and PhD in Design (UAM). Strategist, educator, and facilitator. Researcher with a focus on ecology, regeneration, systemic thinking, diversity (DE&I), futures, and decoloniality. She is a visiting professor at IED-SP and ESPM-SP, and is currently the Research & Development Product and Project Manager at Re.green, a company that restores tropical forests for people and the planet. Co-founder of Radar ASG, an initiative that helps organizations advance in their socio-environmental goals. Former Director of Community Mobilization for Innovation at (011).lab, the innovation laboratory of the São Paulo City Government, and coordinator of the Bachelor’s Degree in Product and Service Design at IED-SP. Ecology activist, poet, and feminist.
Radical localism rethinking design practices
