At the 2006 FutureDesignDays event, Jeanna Kimbré talked about how user-focused design reflects a change in how we communicate. Photo: FutureDesignDays

Traditional gender stereotypes in product design just don’t cut it anymore – and pink is definitely out. As Jeanna Kimbré, manager of colors and materials at Sony Ericsson in Lund, says: ”Why does a woman’s phone have to be pink?”

The answer is simple: it doesn’t. Kimbré says products can target women without putting them into categories.

She thinks that the Sony Ericsson Z300 mobile phone does just that. ”It very much caters to women – it fits in a handbag and to the size of the female hand,” she says. “But it doesn’t have to be pink. It’s silver and grey but still has a female touch.”

The Sony Ericsson Z300 can be adapted to fit the mood and personality of the user through various accessories. Photo: Sony Ericsson

One size doesn’t fit all
Product design is also becoming more universal. Elisabeth Ramel-Wåhrberg, industrial designer at Ergonomidesign in Stockholm says: ”We make products that are for people to use.” Unless there’s a specific reason to do so, she doesn’t divide products into male and female.

Nevertheless, good design recognizes the differences between men’s and women’s physiology. Maria Benktzon, also an industrial designer at Ergonomidesign, describes an injection device they designed for osteoporosis patients, many of whom are older women also suffering from arthritis. The prototype they were given to work with came with a top trigger that proved to be difficult for some women to release.


Swedish company Ergonomidesign aimed to make this injection pen for NPS Pharmaceuticals as user-friendly as possible. Photo: Camilla Sjödin

”We found that if you create a side trigger where you can use the strength of all of your fingers, then you can include all users,” Benktzon says. “The way that we work with real end users in development work can lead to innovation and change of stereotypes.”

Bending the gender angle
There is ambivalence among women about being labeled “a female designer.” This is something that Magnus Mörck, associate professor at the Center for Consumer Science at Gothenburg University, found out when interviewing several designers in a research project on gender and design.

He cites the example of Volvo's "Your Concept Car," Volvo YCC, which was designed by a team of eight women and was launched in March 2004. ”Its female design crew thought it was good car design, not ‘female car design,’” he says. “Being put into a category like this may make you feel that you’re not fully professional, but someone subordinate.”
Swede Maria Uggla was one of the eight industrial designers who worked on the Volvo YCC. Photo: Volvocars

Many designers agree that diversity can lead to innovation in design. Jonas Bylund, one of the founders of the branding and design agency Syntes Studio in Stockholm, says: ”I believe that heterogeneous environments are healthier, when it comes to both gender and nationality. We all carry different backgrounds, experiences and stories, and I think this diversity leads to a more creative atmosphere.”

Customer-based innovation
Electrolux, one of the Swedish industrial giants, explicitly avoids gender-based design, but embraces values such as sustainability, which was identified as one of the key components of the Electrolux Thoughtful Design Innovator strategy.

In an effort to increase its customer-based design, Electrolux has developed four customer profiles – Anna, Catherine, Maria and Monica – based on home visits and interviews with around 150,000 consumers. Anna wants to get the chores over as quickly as possible, while Catherine is a neat freak. Maria’s life centers on home and family and Monica is super-efficient. These profiles allow Electrolux to deliver products based on what real consumers actually want.

The design studio Folkform, which won the 2006 FutureDesignDays Award for up-and-coming young designers, has created a series of furniture made out of masonite decorated with organic materials.

Anna Holmqvist, industrial designer and co-founder the company, says: “Our masonite project is an example of emotional, but also innovative design. Traditionally the Swedish industrial design scene has been very much about functionality and engineering. Now it’s more about bringing emotional and human values to products.”

She continues: “Maybe women are more willing to show their emotions. When it comes to product design we have a tendency to speak to emotions rather than to functionality."

Bylund agrees that women bring a unique approach to design – although he’s quick to point out that differences between individual designers are greater than differences based on gender alone.

”You have to connect to people in a more sophisticated way, and that involves great compassion for the end user,” he says. ”I guess it’s classic to say women are good at multitasking, but it’s exactly this ability that is necessary if you want to create great product experiences.”

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Charlotte West is a 26-year-old American in exile who recently celebrated her fourth year of living in Stockholm. She works as an editor and freelance writer.

The author alone is responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.

Classification: A186EN

© Photo 1: FutureDesignDays
© Photo 2/3: Sony Ericsson
© Photo 4: Camilla Sjödin
© Photo 5/6: Volvocars
© Photo 7/8: Emma Nilsson