The Diversity Canvas

Understand the diversity of your audience

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Click on the image to download the template.

One size doesn't fit all. To create inclusive solutions it its vital to consider the diversity of your audience to understand who might feel excluded or have different needs from the dominant majority. The Diversity Canvas helps you facilitate this crucial exploration. It's a great place to start if you are looking to take a more inclusive approach.

What is it?

The Diversity Canvas helps you consider the diversity of your audience and the factors that might make people feel excluded or affect their needs or experiences. It helps you identify the potentially underrepresented groups whose perspectives you'll need to consider in order to create inclusive solutions. It suggests a number of factors to get you started, and then invites you to think about other factors that might be most relevant for your circumstance.

Why does it matter?

Acknowledging and addressing the diversity within your audience ensures that your solutions resonate with a broader range of individuals. By understanding who might feel excluded and the reasons behind it, you pave the way for more inclusive, accessible, and effective solutions that cater to the needs of a diverse and varied audience. Often underrepresented voices are not heard, so explicitly calling out the groups you will focus on will lead to a more inclusive approach.

When should you use it?

Use The Diversity Canvas when you are designing user experiences to help you better understand the diversity of your audience. This is an important first step, before you get into the details of your user experience, as understanding who you are creating solutions for, and their unique needs, will ultimately help you create better solutions.

How does it work?

The Diversity Canvas allows you to explore the diversity of your target audience and identify the factors that will have the biggest impact on their needs or experiences.

Step 1: Audience. First define who your target audience is. Be as specific and detailed as you can.

Step 2: Diversity Factors. Now identify which factors will have the biggest impact on people’s needs or experiences.

Only consider people within your target audience.

Consider which historically underserved or minority groups could be most impacted by your product or service.

Consider who might feel excluded and why.

Consider why people’s needs might differ.

Consider what opportunities you could create by serving specific groups.

Once you have completed The Diversity Canvas you will have a better sense of the diversity of your target audience and the variety of needs you will need to meet.

You can now move on to

The Viewpoints Canvas⁠

to explore common and unique user needs in more detail.

What is it?

Why does it matter?

When should you use it?

How does it work?

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