Leading agency Kinneir Dufort launches XXEquals – UK’s first female-led product design initiative
Bristol-based, world-renowned product development agency Kinneir Dufort (KD), has launched a new initiative, XXEquals – the UK’s first majority female team who are designing products for women across the consumer, industrial and medical markets.
Fuelled by the growing need to design more female-centred products, and to improve the gender balance in the design industry, XXEquals is already working on projects including smart femcare solutions, sustainable period products, voice recognition software, and futures research.
KD has previously developed pioneering women-centred products including a revolutionary breast scanning bed.
Comprising a multi-disciplinary collective of KD experts – 75% of whom are women – XXEquals is pushing for more gender equity across product development, in a move which is set to potentially benefit millions of female consumers worldwide and KD’s global blue chip clients.
The initiative breaks new ground in the design industry, and is helping to pave the way for young women interested in careers in product and industrial design.
CEO of KD, Merle Hall
KD’s CEO, Merle Hall, says: “We are incredibly proud to be the first UK consultancy in the product design industry with an arm which pro-actively focuses on products and experiences for women. It feels like there is truly a need to bring more women to the forefront of innovation and product design.
“XXEquals offers female-focused insight and an empathic design approach, resulting in innately intuitive products. We need to develop a deeper consideration of the physiological or psychological differences for female users.
“As an agency with a strong purpose – to design a better world – we feel it is our responsibility to instigate change. We are proof that a better gender balance is possible in the product design industry and we would love to support other businesses driving equality where possible.
“We are not where we want to be yet, representative of the world around us, but we are focused on our goals. It is important to us to remember that men always need to be part of the solution too, so we draw on the brilliant expertise of our male strategists, researchers, designers, engineers and makers, who are well versed in allyship and also very engaged in the initiative”.
Around half of the world’s population is female, women buy 85% of household products, and 93% of women currently buy over-the-counter products, yet data shows only 5% of the product and industrial design industry is female.
Merle Hall continues: “Without expert female representation throughout the innovation and development process now, more opportunities will be missed to leverage empathetic design, and create brands and products which close the gap between assumption and reality.”
KD has longstanding partnerships to help solve the design industry’s gender balance issue. One is with Kerning the Gap, a campaign to encourage more women into leadership roles in the industry.
Founder of KD, Nat Maher
Founder, Nat Maher, comments: “I think XXEquals will be highlighting an issue that has been long understood and long accepted, and it should be accepted no more. But also, being pioneers, I think KD will work with their peers to work out how they can also improve gender balance. They want change for the industry, and not just for KD. That’s why XXEquals has my full and unbridled support.”
With the femtech market predicted to reach $50 billion by 2025, the business case for gender balance in this industry is powerful.
KD also partners with Women of Wearables, a leading global organisation aiming to support, connect, and mentor women and allies in emerging technologies such as wearables, IoT, and health tech. Founder and CEO, Marija Butkovic says:
“I am so excited to see this new initiative by KD. In an ever-changing world of consumer technology, brands have finally come to realise that the only way to grow and become visible is by becoming more diverse. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to creating products, and this is why now, more than ever, it is important to have diversity in your team, which leads to diversity of ideas.
“A female-led product design team complements any product development company or agency incredibly well. With the growing femtech and women's health space, this is becoming even more relevant. We at Women of Wearables are very proud to work as partners and supporters of such a forward-thinking company, and I can't wait to see all exciting products and projects that will come out of it."
KD’s CDO, Craig Wightman, comments: “This is about creating a more balanced and inclusive culture overall. As a man working in design, I have, for too long, felt uncomfortable about the number of times I’ve seen products for women conceptualised, designed and developed by men.
“Male designers can design well for women, but it’s about empathy and putting yourself in the shoes of the product user. Having a more gender-balanced team is an important part of achieving that goal.”
About Kinneir Dufort (KD)
Based in Bristol, UK, KD is a world-leading, user-centred innovation and product development consultancy, which focuses on designing a better world, creating value through tomorrow’s products and experiences. KD combines expertise in Design, Technology and User Experience to help progressive and ambitious companies deliver successful new products and brand experiences globally for medical, consumer and industrial clients.
KD’s management team is 50% female, and the broader team is now more than 40% female. The new initiative, XXEquals, has a team of 75% women (and 100% female design allies).
The agency specialises in insight and innovation and product development, incorporating product and packaging design, mechanical engineering, electronics and software, digital, usability, and prototyping. Its recent awards include the Red Dot Product Design Award 2019, iF Design Award 2019 and The Good Design Award 2020 in partnership with the advanced prosthetic specialist Össur, for the RHEO KNEE XC.
KD has partnerships with Kerning the Gap, the Design Business Association (DBA), Babbasa, Frank Water, and The Big Bang Fair.
KD has a podcast – KD Conversations – and a yearly magazine, Focus, which showcases articles written by our experts on the latest hot topics, news and trends affecting brands and businesses. Insights and news are shared frequently on KD’s website.
The below XXEquals podcast episode is now available - Episode one – Why XXEquals? In conversation with our team: www.xxequals.com/teampodcast.
Twitter: twitter.com/xxequals
Instagram: www.instagram.com/xxequals
For more information visit: www.XXEquals.com and www.kinneirdufort.com.